Venezuela Prepares to Disclose Roughly $240 Billion in Debt Before a Record Restructuring

Venezuela's interim government is preparing to disclose total liabilities of about $240 billion, well above the $150 billion to $200 billion that investors had expected, as it begins one of the largest sovereign debt restructurings attempted. The disclosure was reported by Euronews and earlier by the Financial Times.

The figure is large relative to the size of the economy. Caracas is expected to estimate its gross domestic product at about $100 billion, which would put its debt at more than 200 percent of output. The liabilities include both sovereign bonds and the obligations of the state oil company.

The restructuring follows a sharp political reordering. Nicolás Maduro was captured by US forces in early January, and under interim President Delcy Rodríguez relations with Washington have improved, with the Trump administration lifting sanctions on her government in April. The government has described the process as a comprehensive and orderly effort to return the country to the attention of international investors.