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"Hedge funds explore investment opportunities in 'drug cartel' economies in Latin America, including Venezuela"
  • Yonhap News
  • January 12, 2026 at 7:00 AM
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  • WSJ: "Venezuela business, previously ignored, now being pursued... also interest in Colombian and Cuban sovereign bonds"
  • "Risks such as political instability in Venezuela and potential conflict with the U.S. also exist."


A citizen walks past Wall Street in New York.A citizen walks past Wall Street in New York. [Reuters Yonhap News]

Hedge fund investors are beginning to explore the investment opportunities in Latin America that could arise from U.S. President Donald Trump's military action in Venezuela, driven by what is being called "Trumpian Monroeism" (a version of the Monroe Doctrine, a hallmark of 19th-century American isolationism), the Wall Street Journal reported on the 11th (local time).


As President Trump aggressively moves to strengthen U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere, with the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as a catalyst, American financial capital is also following suit.


Several hedge funds and other investment firms are already planning trips to Caracas, Venezuela's capital, and some are investigating "niche products" such as unredeemed sovereign debt, the WSJ reported.


Additionally, some are focusing on sovereign debt in Colombia and Cuba, countries viewed unfavorably by President Trump. The WSJ also noted that the share prices of small banks in Greenland, a Danish territory that President Trump has openly expressed ambitions to incorporate into the U.S., have surged recently.


For several years, most U.S. fund managers had considered Venezuela a prohibited investment destination due to U.S. sanctions, the Maduro regime's political repression, and poor economic management.


However, investors now believe that a combination of political changes following Maduro's extradition to the U.S., U.S. intervention, and U.S. investment in Venezuela's vast oil resources could make debt restructuring possible, the WSJ reported.


Charles Myers, chairman of Sigmão Global, a New York-based consulting firm, stated that his firm's experts are planning a trip to Venezuela to assess investment prospects, and that client requests to accompany them are flooding in.


Celestino Amore, co-founder of Canaima Capital Management, which has invested in Venezuelan sovereign debt for five years, said, "This is just the beginning for us. It's the start of much larger deals."


Some are also anticipating opportunities in other industrial sectors in Venezuela that have declined under the Maduro regime, the WSJ reported.


Ben Cleary, a partner at Tribeca Investment Partners, based in Sydney, told the WSJ that his firm is interested in Venezuela's undeveloped mineral resources and plans to send a team to conduct direct assessments over the coming months.


However, the WSJ pointed out that significant investment risks remain, as Venezuela's domestic instability or potential conflicts with the U.S. could hinder reconstruction efforts, and reviving Venezuela's aging oil infrastructure would also be a challenging task.


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