This report originally published in January 2016.
Venezuela is a nation in the midst of uncertainty and transition.
This is a pivotal time in Venezuela’s developmental trajectory, and LEVICK Business Intelligence assesses that at this moment in its history, Venezuela is fraught both with peril and with unforeseen new opportunities for foreign businesses.
With historic parliamentary elections earlier this year giving Venezuela’s political opposition its strongest foothold since the ascendance of the “Chauvistas,” and with the US government cracking down even harder on Venezuelan operatives throughout the Western Hemisphere, US and international entities that are doing business in Venezuela, or those that are simply considering their first entrance to the country, face a labyrinth of new challenges. Of particular concern to these organizations will be how to properly and effectively conduct one’s business free of regulatory scrutiny, and on the right side of US and Venezuelan law.
Those looking to adjust their activities in-country would be wise to consider not only the current strength and disposition of the government in Caracas, but also growing sanctions regimes as well as drug smuggling and graft investigations originating in Washington. The new potential to be swept up in wide-ranging US-led investigations will undoubtedly create significant challenges and risks for quite some time.
The US is expected to bolster its investigative and prosecutorial resources through the entirety of 2016, specifically to look deeper into so-called problem regions in Latin America, including Venezuela.
LEVICK Business Intelligence understands that US individuals and business will have to tread all the more carefully into the next year, and suggests businesses and investors not only monitor developments, but also undertake the necessary steps to assure their operations will not run afoul of fickle Venezuelan internal regulations or far-reaching US laws.
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