The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on May 5 that it had issued a license allowing Venezuela to hire consultants and legal and financial advisers for debt restructuring negotiations. The authorization covers the Venezuelan government and its entities, including state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela.

Venezuela's debt stands at around $170 billion (more than 200% of gross domestic product), including bilateral and commercial loans, arbitration awards and roughly $100 billion of government bonds and unpaid interest since 2017. The country's bonds rose more than $0.02 after the announcement to $0.55 on the dollar, the highest level since October 2016. Several U.S. Treasury authorizations have gradually allowed foreign private sector companies to reenter Venezuela's oil and gas market under acting President Delcy Rodriguez.