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Venezuela's Debt and Bonds in 2026: How Much It Owes, to Whom, and the Restructuring

Venezuela owes between $150 billion and $240 billion, by most estimates, and nobody knows the exact figure because the central bank stopped publishing it in 2018. On May 13, 2026, the government announced a formal, comprehensive and orderly process to restructure its external debt and PDVSA’s, and hired Centerview Partners as its adviser. But in early November there are still no talks with creditors: the U.S. license that allows the work only covers advisory services, not negotiating with creditors or changing the debt. Data as of November 2, 2026.

Venezuela’s debt at a glance
Estimated debt $150 to $240 billion, depending on the source
Last central bank figure About $90 billion, in 2018
In default since 2017, PDVSA’s bonds
Restructuring announced May 13, 2026
Government adviser Centerview Partners
U.S. license GL 58 (May 5, 2026): advisory services only
Negotiation with creditors Has not started

How much does Venezuela owe?

There is no recent official figure, so these are estimates from different sources:

Estimate Figure Source
Central bank, 2018 About $90 billion Infobae
Private estimates, May 2026 More than $170 billion Infobae
Total with interest, awards and loans $150 to $200 billion Bloomberg, via El Nacional
Official calculation cited by El Nacional (October 7) About $238 billion Venezuela Restructuring Desk
Financial Times, June 2026 About $240 billion Venezuela Restructuring Desk

The gap depends on what is counted: bonds, loans, unpaid interest, arbitration awards and court judgments. The economist Alejandro Grisanti estimates that about $40 billion are claims between public entities, which are not external debt, per the same tracker.

What is the debt made of?

According to the Venezuela Restructuring Desk, an independent tracker, with data as of October 13 (figures are approximate and overlap; they do not add up in an audited way):

Type of debt Estimate
Sovereign and PDVSA bonds (principal) About $60 billion
Unpaid interest since default About $40 billion
Oil companies and commercial creditors $30 to $50 billion
Expropriation and arbitration awards More than $20 billion
China (bilateral loans) $10 to $20 billion
Russia (bilateral loans) About $6 billion
Development banks About $4 billion

The Chinese and Russian loans are opaque, and part of China’s is repaid in oil. The awards, such as ConocoPhillips’s, overlap with the claims on CITGO (who owns CITGO).

Since when has Venezuela been in default?

PDVSA stopped paying its bonds in 2017, per Infobae. Since then most of the bonds of Venezuela and PDVSA have been in default, and unpaid interest keeps adding up. One bond, PDVSA’s 2020, is backed by shares of CITGO: on October 27 the Second Circuit in New York upheld its validity and that of the pledge of 50.1% of CITGO Holding, per the lawyer José Ignacio Hernández and Venezuelan media (I could not read the ruling; the collateral cannot be enforced until OFAC allows it).

What did the government announce in May 2026?

On May 13, 2026, the Venezuelan government announced the formal start of a process to restructure the country’s external debt and PDVSA’s, in a statement that describes it as formal, comprehensive and orderly, per Infobae. It hired Centerview Partners. The article gives no terms of the negotiation: no haircuts, no timelines, no rates.

What does the U.S. allow and prohibit?

U.S. sanctions are the main obstacle. On May 5, 2026, a week before the announcement, OFAC issued General License 58. According to its text:

Separately, Executive Order 14373 (January 9, 2026) declares null any attachment or judgment against the funds that the Government of Venezuela and PDVSA hold in U.S. Treasury accounts from oil sales, and says those funds are not the property of creditors. More in Venezuela sanctions.

Other OFAC licenses that matter for the bonds: GL 5Z delays until November 5, 2026 the date the authorization on PDVSA’s 2020 bond takes effect (FAQ 595), and OFAC keeps in force GL 3I (certain bonds) and GL 9H (certain securities), both dated October 18, 2023. I did not read the full text of those two.

Who are the creditors and what do they want?

According to anonymous Bloomberg sources, cited by El Nacional on October 11, the ad hoc creditor group controls about 37% of the outstanding debt, with a face value of at least $22 billion, and expects to reach 40% in the coming weeks. Its members include Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo and T. Rowe Price, among others; the article does not say how many funds there are. Other creditors include bondholders outside the group, oil companies with awards, China, Russia and the development banks.

How are Venezuelan bonds doing?

The bonds maturing in 2027 rose about 4 cents in the week of October 11 and have returned more than 60% so far this year, per El Nacional. They fell in late September, when it emerged that the government planned to delay debt talks to prioritize oil deals. We do not give bond prices here; market prices change daily.

What role does the IMF have?

The government rules out asking the IMF for financial assistance, per El Nacional; an unconfirmed market rumor says the IMF would only advise. The firm Emfi Securities calculates that an IMF assessment could cut creditor recoveries by almost 19 percentage points, to a little under 38%. More on the IMF’s roadmap for oil and mining: IMF news.

When will negotiations start?

There is no date. What is known:

Can you buy Venezuelan bonds?

The defaulted bonds trade in the secondary market, but U.S. sanctions limit what U.S. persons and companies can do with them, and OFAC has specific licenses for certain bonds and securities. This page is not investment advice: anyone thinking of buying needs a sanctions lawyer.

What is not known