Venezuela’s Battered Bonds Tempt Investors Amid US Pressure (1)

As mounting US pressure on Venezuela sparks a rally in the Latin American country’s defaulted bonds, some debt holders are betting on more gains to come.

The country’s dollar notes have surged since late August, when the US ramped up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro by sending a military fleet off the Venezuelan coast as a part of an anti-narcotics operation in the Caribbean. Notes due in 2022 are trading at 23 cents on the dollar, hovering around their highest price since US sanctions were imposed in 2019.

“With the US increasing its military presence close to Venezuelan waters, I ...