People familiar with the discussions say the IMF is considering setting up a local office in Venezuela, restoring a permanent presence after years without one. The goal: expand technical assistance now that officials in Caracas are providing more economic information to the Fund. Conversations with Venezuelan counterparts are under way, but no decision has been finalized.
This potential move comes roughly five months after Venezuela formally reconnected with the IMF while Delcy Rodríguez has been serving in an acting capacity in the administration. After a long stretch of isolation, senior IMF leaders visited Caracas in late July for the first time in over two decades. In its wake, a bigger IMF staff mission arrived, slated to finish this week.
An IMF spokesperson said the Fund is in close touch with Venezuelan authorities as engagement deepens. A technical team is currently in Caracas working on topics that include capacity building, data reporting, and strengthening institutions. Typically, resident representatives are based in these local offices, helping Washington maintain tighter links with member governments and enabling IMF experts to provide hands-on guidance.
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Venezuela has started releasing core indicators again, notably inflation and gross domestic product, after years of irregular updates. The IMF, for its part, has not run its standard annual Article IV review of the economy since 2004. Amid a cash crunch, the government coordinated with the Trump administration on measures aimed at making the oil-rich country accessible to foreign investors and at laying the groundwork for a debt overhaul after nearly a decade in default. Historically, 1956 saw the IMF establish its inaugural local office within a member nation in Paraguay; Bolivia and Haiti followed later that year, and technical assistance remains a key non-financial tool to reinforce institutions like central banks and statistics agencies. Requests for comment went unanswered by representatives of the Venezuelan government.
