The overthrow of Nicolas Maduro in early 2026 brought one of the world's largest sovereign defaults back into the spotlight. Amidst US President Donald Trump's statement that the United States would "manage" the oil-producing country, international creditors launched a new wave of efforts to recover funds. This is stated in the Reuters material, writes UNN.
Details
Experts estimate Venezuela's total external debt at $150-170 billion. This includes:
$60 billion - outstanding bonds of the government and state-owned company PDVSA.
$19 billion - claims recognized by US courts against Citgo's parent company (exceeding its market value).
More than $10 billion - debts to energy giants (including ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil) due to asset expropriation.
Given the country's projected GDP of $82.8 billion, the debt-to-economy ratio exceeds 180%, making deep restructuring inevitable.
Key players and obstacles
The main creditors are:
China and Russia: China is the largest bilateral creditor, providing over $100 billion between 2007 and 2016. Russia also has significant stakes in oil projects that Trump plans to transfer to American companies.
International bondholders: speculative funds bought debt at 27-32 cents on the dollar, hoping for political change.
India and others: for example, India's OVL is trying to recover almost $1 billion in debts for dividends and investments.
Recovery prospects
Citi analysts predict that at least 50% of the principal debt will need to be written off to stabilize the economy. Restructuring is complicated by Caracas' lack of cooperation with the IMF over the past 20 years and existing US sanctions that restrict the issuance of new bonds without a Treasury license.
According to Donald Trump, American oil companies are already ready to invest billions in restoring the destroyed infrastructure, which could be the only source of funds for paying off old debts.
Events in Venezuela and threats from Iran: how world oil markets react04.01.26, 22:40