Hedge fund and oil company executives team up to visit Venezuela; Venezuelan interim president hints at openness to foreign investment.

Sources say dozens of hedge fund and oil company executives held meetings in Caracas this week. Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez indicated she may be willing to reopen the country’s economy to foreign companies.

This is the largest-scale investors’ meeting Venezuela has held since the U.S. arrested Nicolás Maduro in early January.

On Monday, Rodríguez met briefly with about 50 investors at the presidential palace. Sources said she discussed a broader policy and legislative agenda and reiterated the need for the U.S. to lift sanctions, but did not provide a specific timeline. Because the meeting was not public, the sources asked to remain anonymous.

On March 24, Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications and Information released a photo showing Rodríguez meeting domestic and foreign investors at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas.

On Tuesday, Rodríguez confirmed during an appearance on national television that an investors’ meeting had taken place and said that Venezuela would send a diplomatic delegation to the United States later this week. The photo also shows Venezuela’s finance minister, Anabel Pereira, among others.

Sources said the delegation visiting is organized by the U.S. consulting firm Signum Global Advisors, and attendees include representatives from hedge funds and energy companies. Sources said executives from firms such as Kirkoswald Asset Management and BlueCrest, Michael Platt’s private investment company, are also on the list.

Earlier this year, Signum chairman Charles Myers said the company had been in talks with several multinational companies and asset management firms and had seen strong investment interest even before this trip. The company arranged for investors to travel to Ukraine last year to attend meetings related to reconstruction work.

These meetings mark a major shift in Venezuela’s situation. For years, due to U.S. sanctions on the Maduro government, Venezuela has been largely excluded from global markets. Since Maduro was arrested, the Trump administration has moved to restore diplomatic relations with Venezuela and eased restrictions on Venezuela’s energy industry in an effort to attract foreign capital into this oil-rich country.

Since Rodríguez took office, Trump has repeatedly portrayed her as an ally of the United States and said he wants U.S. oil companies to rebuild Venezuela’s dilapidated energy infrastructure to increase production.

On March 24, Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications and Information published a photo showing Rodríguez speaking at a meeting held at the Miraflores Palace.

In addition, Venezuela’s government and state-owned energy company, the state oil company PDVSA, still owe $100 billion in defaulted debt and overdue interest. Because of U.S. sanctions, negotiations between the government and international investors on how to deal with these debts have long been at a standstill.

Sources said that this week, investors also held meetings with senior officials from various government departments, executives from PDVSA, and representatives from the private sector.

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