US sanctions force Caracas to restructure foreign debt
VENEZUELA began a complete restructuring of its foreign debt yesterday in response to US financial sanctions.
In a televised address on Thursday night alongside Vice-President Tareck El Aissami, Mr Maduro announced the refinancing of all foreign debt payments as part of “the struggle against the blockade and financial persecution.”
He said state oil company PDVSA would make a $1.12 billion interest payment on bonds to the JP Morgan bank yesterday, out of an existing debt estimated at $120bn.
More from this author
Similar stories

The new ‘Bolivar’ Act expands the brutal sanctions programme as the Trump team signals a return to aggressive regime change and foreign mercenaries plot insurrection and assassination, writes TIM YOUNG

TIM YOUNG warns that the president-elect’s record of economic and political interference from his last stint in the White House show dangerous potential for escalated aggression against the Bolivarian government from 2025

ROGER D HARRIS and PETER BOLTON dissect how mainstream outlets normalise US interference, downplay sanctions' impact, and distort the reality of Venezuelan politics and popular will