The United States on Tuesday granted Venezuela permission to hire financial advisers to begin restructuring its debt, an important step that could allow the country to emerge from decades of economic malaise.
The Treasury Department has been easing sanctions on Venezuela following the ousting earlier this year of Nicolás Maduro, its former leader. On Tuesday, the department issued a general license that will allow Venezuela to begin the process of repaying approximately $60 billion of defaulted bonds owed by the government and its state-run oil company. Venezuela owes about $170 billion to investors around the world across all kinds of debt, including commercial loans and interest.
Venezuela can now begin hiring consultants, lawyers and bankers as it prepares to restructure its debts, which include billions of dollars of unpaid compensation owed to oil firms such as Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips.
Since the downfall of Mr. Maduro, the United States has essentially taken control of the Venezuelan oil industry. President Trump has urged U.S. and European oil giants to invest at least $100 billion into Venezuela.
The Trump administration has said that it has started sending millions of dollars of oil revenue to Venezuela’s government. However, it remains unclear exactly where that oil money is going and how it is being used.
Rebuilding the oil industry alone could cost more than $180 billion and take more than a decade, according to analysts at Rystad Energy, a research firm. Even then the country would produce less than it did at its peak in the 1990s.
The Atlantic Council estimated in an analysis earlier this year that Venezuela will need substantial debt reductions of 50 percent or more to avoid a cycle of repeated defaults and attract foreign investment. Such discounts could be difficult to come by as much of Venezuela’s debt is owed to China and Russia.
The United States has been urging the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to re-engage with Venezuela as it embarks on its economic reconstruction. Last month, both institutions announced that they would begin working with Venezuela and its new leader, Delcy Rodriguez, for the first time since 2019.
Alan Rappeport is an economic policy reporter for The Times, based in Washington. He covers the Treasury Department and writes about taxes, trade and fiscal matters.
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