Unpacking Venezuela’s peculiar debt restructuring

Can dim prospects turn bright?Photograph: Reuters

Jul 2nd 2026|4 min read

THE EARTHQUAKEs in Venezuela on June 24th are a humanitarian disaster. They are also an economic calamity. Estimates suggest damage of at least $10bn, equivalent to a tenth of Venezuelan GDP, already diminished by years of mismanagement and corruption. It could cost ten times that. To make matters worse, they struck just as the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez, installed after America deposed her predecessor and boss, Nicolás Maduro, is preparing to renegotiate the country’s $240bn or so in debt. A deal would help clear the path for economic recovery—if it can be pulled off.