The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have resumed cooperation with Venezuela, which had been suspended since 2019. This allows the IMF to fully assess the country's economy for the first time in 20 years.
Reuters reports that the move could unlock Venezuela's financing through frozen special drawing rights ( SDRs) . International reserve asset of the IMF. ).
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the fund, relying on the position of the majority of its members, is now interacting with the Venezuelan government under the leadership of interim President Delcy Rodriguez. The World Bank also announced the resumption of cooperation with the Venezuelan government under Rodriguez. As noted, the last loan to the country was provided in 2005.
“This is a very important step for the Venezuelan economy,” Rodriguez said in a televised address, thanking US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for helping to normalize relations with the IMF.
US banking holding company JPMorgan estimates that Venezuela's special drawing rights — assets available to countries cooperating with the IMF — amount to about $5 billion.
It is noted that investors are currently actively buying Venezuelan bonds in the hope that a change of government will allow for debt restructuring. Changing the terms of debt repayment in the event that a country cannot repay it. . In March, the IMF said it was beginning to resume engagement with Venezuela, starting with collecting baseline data and assessing the economy after years of lack of information. However, a full restructuring of a country’s debt is usually based on a new IMF loan program — as well as data that determines what level of debt is sustainable for the country.
US operation in Venezuela on January 3
On the night of January 3, US forces launched strikes on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. The Venezuelan government declared a state of emergency and ordered the deployment of the Armed Forces. They added that they would complain to the UN and other organizations demanding that the US government be condemned and held accountable.
As stated by the President of neighboring Colombia, Gustavo Petro, the United States attacked a number of military and other facilities in Venezuela, as well as the country's parliament.
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado called on Venezuelans to “take power into their own hands” and be ready to “implement what is communicated through official channels.”
Trump later announced that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores had been captured and taken to the United States, where they were indicted. Maduro is charged with narco-terrorist conspiracy, cocaine smuggling, and illegal possession of weapons and explosives. The couple were taken to a federal detention center in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City.
In court, both denied their guilt, and Nicolas Maduro stated that he remains the legitimate president of Venezuela and is a prisoner of war. He did not ask for his release. The judge set the next hearing for March 17, 2026.
Vice President and Acting President Delcy Rodriguez made an address to the nation, during which she stated that the country “has a national government” and that Maduro remains “the sole president of Venezuela.” However, she later stated her readiness to cooperate with the United States. Trump confirmed that Rodriguez is cooperating with American officials, but if she stops, the United States may launch a second military operation in the country,
Trump had previously threatened that Rodriguez would “pay a very big price — perhaps more than Maduro” if she did not comply with Washington's demands. On January 5, Rodriguez declared her readiness to cooperate with the United States and called for dialogue instead of confrontation.
On January 10, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said that some sanctions could be lifted to facilitate the sale of oil from Venezuela.