In August 2017, the Trump administration issued complex new sanctions against Venezuela, prohibiting the purchase of bonds issued by the Government of Venezuela or any of its entities, including new bond issuances of state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). On November 2nd, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that the country will attempt to restructure its debt; difficult due to the new sanctions. Last week’s arrest of six CITGO executives could further complicate the legal battles over PDVSA assets, and may signal renewed infighting within the Venezuelan government.

In this podcast, RANE founder David Lawrence sits down with James Bosworth, founder of the consulting and technology firm Hxagon, which provides risk assessments and predictive analysis in emerging markets, to discuss the issues facing the Venezuelan bond restructuring. Bosworth writes and consults on politics, security, economics, and technology issues in emerging markets, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean. He is the author of 'Bloggings By Boz' where he provides daily analysis and commentary on Latin American politics and US foreign policy.