Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA)

Rule Changes

Central to reform debate; infrastructure severely degraded

Hugo Chávez nationalized Venezuela's oil sector in 2007, expropriating assets from ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and other foreign companies. Nineteen years later, less than a month after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's National Assembly passed legislation reversing that policy. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez signed it into law.

Updated May 26

Force in Play

Core revenue source for Maduro government; central node in the sanctions-evasion narrative

The U.S. Coast Guard is now chasing a third Venezuela-linked tanker in international waters near Venezuela—under a judicial seizure order. Two other tankers have already been stopped in the past 11 days, including one dramatic helicopter boarding that the administration amplified on social media.

Updated May 15

Rule Changes

Issuer of the PDVSA 2020 bond; ultimate parent in the CITGO ownership chain under dispute.

CITGO has been the prize everyone can see, but almost nobody can touch. For years, a single U.S. sanctions lever has decided whether the PDVSA 2020 bond's "CITGO shares" collateral is a real hammer—or just a threat on paper.

Updated May 15

Force in Play

Core revenue source for Maduro government; shipping routes increasingly paralyzed.

Trump's Venezuela "blockade" threat is now backed by policy. Washington has added new Venezuela-linked sanctions and also targeted Iran's shadow-fleet network. Together, these expand the pool of already-sanctioned vessels that the U.S. Navy could board if they try to trade with Venezuela.

Updated May 15

Force in Play

Owner of the seized crude cargo and backbone of Venezuela’s sanctions‑strained economy.

A US Coast Guard team fast-roped from helicopters onto the supertanker Skipper off Venezuela's coast. Within hours, President Donald Trump was bragging in Washington that the United States had just seized one of the world's largest tankers and would likely keep the oil.

Updated May 11