June 3 (Reuters) – Global investors remain wary of signing deals in Venezuela, even after the interim government enacted business-friendly reforms backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, a dozen sources with knowledge of private sector investment deliberations told Reuters.
The South American country’s efforts to lure foreign investment in sectors as diverse as oil, shipping, pharmaceutical and chemical production have foundered as investors remain leery of the legal system. Six investors and six members of advisory firms said potential deals have been stalled by uncertainty over dispute resolution, judicial independence, past expropriations, arbitration and currency controls.
Three of the investors already operate in Venezuela, and the rest are mulling opportunities in shipping and chemicals.
At an oil industry event in Houston in May, Venezuela Hydrocarbons Minister Paula Henao noted that the new oil law includes mechanisms to settle disputes both within and outside Venezuela. Potential investors remain wary of the OPEC member country.
“Legal certainty, at this moment, does not exist,” said a lawyer at an advisory firm who asked not to be identified for security reasons. “There are still risks for companies.”
Many investors also worry about the poor condition of Venezuela’s ports, power systems, water supply and other infrastructure, after years of under-investment under former President Nicolas Maduro, who was removed by Washington in January.
“The challenges we’re having right now are not so much the laws as much as the logistics of doing business in Venezuela,” said Jesse Cole, president of Sky Drop Capital. His firm’s evaluation at the port of Guanta found a lack of refrigeration, an unstable electricity supply, water shortages, and no reliable heavy transport services.
“Many companies are in a scouting phase, assessing whether they can really do business,” said Esteban Elias, Latin America head at law firm Leech Tishman. He said the country’s history of expropriating foreign assets was a particular concern.
“There is concern that if (expropriations) happened before, it could happen again,” he added, though he acknowledged U.S. participation as a positive.
Trump has repeatedly praised acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez for quickly opening oil and mining sectors to foreign capital through sweeping reforms, inking deals with major international producers and hosting dozens of potential investors in Caracas. Yet doubts persist about how reforms will be implemented, the sources said.
Notably, over 70 workers from state oil company PDVSA remain in jail on corruption charges from the Maduro government, and a lawyer working for Canadian miner Gold Reserve has been imprisoned since 2023 on accusations of treason.
Gold Reserve has been trying to reactivate a major gold mining project in the country, and several other companies are exploring opportunities in areas like shipping, chemicals and energy services. Others already operating in Venezuela are reassessing their exposure, according to investors and advisers interviewed by Reuters.
The government has not disclosed the number or scale of potential new investments. The communications ministry did not respond to a request for comment on investor concerns or the detentions of the PDVSA workers and the Gold Reserve lawyer.
One executive involved in mining projects in southern Venezuela, who asked not to be named, described delays in basic administrative tasks like receiving official data, while another said the process for securing visas for foreign executives had been slow. A source in the port sector in the former industrial hub of Valencia said concerns for investors included currency controls, difficulties with imports and labor laws.
“This change doesn’t happen overnight; it requires clear policies and processes … knowing how to enter the market and how to protect that capital,” said an Indian pharmaceutical executive who met with officials in Caracas and requested anonymity.
DETENTIONS AND DUE PROCESS
Unresolved disputes dating back two decades have also hindered Venezuela’s efforts to attract new capital.
Energy companies including ConocoPhillips have secured multibillion-dollar arbitration awards over past expropriations. Yet a source in Caracas who has attended meetings with investors said, “Some companies have post-traumatic stress.”
The detentions of the PDVSA workers and Gold Reserve lawyer Jose Ignacio Moreno underscore the reasons investors remain hesitant to fully trust the government’s reforms.
According to a case file seen by Reuters, Venezuela detained at least 170 PDVSA workers between June 2024 and June 2025 as part of a probe of alleged fuel smuggling. Authorities have accused them of crimes including trafficking and money laundering. Many have been released since January, but at least 78 remain jailed, according to an association of their families.
Three relatives of detainees told Reuters they dispute the allegations and described limited access to private counsel, alleged coercion during interrogations and the accused not being permitted to testify at hearings, if hearings occur.
Evidence includes interviews with anonymous witnesses conducted by much-feared military counterintelligence group DGCIM, according to the almost 400-page case file.
Meanwhile, Gold Reserve’s attorney Moreno has been held since 2023 on charges of treason and conspiracy, according to sources familiar with the case. After months in a cold cell known as “the freezer” at DGCIM headquarters, he was transferred to a notoriously harsh prison. His plight has investors worried about the safety of professionals working for foreign investors, two analysts told Reuters.
Gold Reserve won a roughly $1 billion arbitration award against Venezuela over mining assets expropriated during the wave of nationalizations, but is still trying to fully collect the funds. The company did not respond to a request for comment on the Moreno case.
People close to the proceedings say Moreno was detained without a warrant on accusations from another prisoner that he is a member of the CIA and that he has not seen his lawyer since December of last year. His family has denied he has committed any wrongdoing.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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