Hedge funds, including Carronade Capital Management and Canaima Capital, are actively seeking investment opportunities in Venezuela’s unpaid financial claims, following the US capture of President Nicolás Maduro and the potential for a debt restructuring, according to a report by then Financial Times.
Specialist funds are targeting rarely traded instruments tied to Venezuela and its state oil company PDVSA, which could yield significant returns if the country honours longstanding liabilities. These claims include promissory notes, receivables, and ICSID arbitration awards, some dating back to expropriations under Hugo Chávez in 2007. Estimates suggest roughly $30bn of these claims exist globally, often in tranches under $500m.
Hedge funds including Carronade Capital Management and Canaima Capital have been tracking these claims, while investment banks like Seaport Global are facilitating trades between sellers and buyers. Large corporate claimants remain prominent: ConocoPhillips holds an $8.7bn arbitration award, and nearly $20bn of claims relate to PDVSA’s US subsidiary Citgo, where Elliott Management recently won a contested bid to take control.
Market participants note that arbitration claims are independent of bondholder votes, giving hedge funds leverage in demanding repayment. However, experts caution that Venezuela’s complex debt landscape—including overlapping trade claims, bondholder rights, and legal disputes—may limit near-term recoveries.
