weighted score 7.1 · nine dimensions
Country Risk Profile
Venezuela
Sourcing risk, regulatory exposure and audit intelligence for Venezuela-origin supply chains.
Forced & child labour
6
Gold and diamonds on ILAB list. Forced labour in artisanal mining and agriculture. Human trafficking documented. 8 million citizens displaced.
Worker rights & FOA
7
ILO conventions ratified but unenforced. Independent unions harassed. Minimum wage meaningless under 475% inflation. Humanitarian crisis dominates labour conditions.
OHS & audit transparency
7
Institutional collapse prevents credible auditing. No functioning regulatory oversight. Third-party access extremely limited due to security conditions.
Food & product safety
6
Food safety regulatory system non-functional. Severe shortages of medicines and basic goods. No credible product certification framework operating.
Environmental & regulatory
5
Oil industry environmental damage extensive. Orinoco Belt operations cause documented pollution. Deforestation in mining areas (Arco Minero). No environmental enforcement capacity.
Governance & anti-corruption
9
TI CPI 2025: 10/100 — near lowest globally. Systemic corruption across all government levels. State capture complete. Judiciary non-independent. Maduro removed January 2026.
Tariff & preferential access
8
EU and US sanctions restrict trade access. No functioning FTA framework. GSP access suspended. Oil exports subject to sanctions licensing.
Non-tariff barriers
8
OFAC sanctions create absolute barriers for most transactions. Currency controls and hyperinflation prevent normal trade. Financial system largely disconnected from international banking.
Supply chain traceability
8
No reliable trade statistics published. Institutional collapse prevents any supply chain documentation. Gold and mineral supply chains entirely opaque.
Labour & Social Risk
Labour & Social Risk
- Forced labour risk
- Documented forced labour in mining (gold, coltan) and agricultural sectors. Human trafficking a significant concern, particularly affecting indigenous communities and migrants from Colombia.
- Worker rights
- ILO conventions formally ratified but enforcement collapsed alongside state institutions. Independent trade unions face harassment and persecution. Minimum wage effectively meaningless at hyperinflationary levels.
- Humanitarian crisis
- 8 million citizens displaced since 2014 — largest displacement crisis in Latin American history. Remaining workforce faces severe poverty, malnutrition, and lack of access to healthcare.
- ILAB status
- Venezuela listed on ILAB List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor for gold and diamonds. Child labour documented in artisanal mining and informal economy.
EU Regulatory Exposure
EU Regulatory Exposure
- EU sanctions
- EU sanctions on Venezuela targeting individuals, arms embargo, and equipment for internal repression. Less comprehensive than US sanctions but restrict key transactions.
- US sanctions
- Comprehensive OFAC sanctions on PdVSA (state oil company), government officials, and financial transactions. All sanctions remain in force. Selective US oil purchases began January 2026 under military operation framework.
- EUDR exposure
- Venezuela produces gold, timber, and cocoa — EUDR-regulated commodities. Due diligence requirements apply but practical sourcing is severely constrained by institutional collapse.
- EU Forced Labour Regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 applies from December 2027. Gold and diamond supply chains from Venezuela present high likelihood of challenge under Article 5 investigations.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Logistics & Supply Chain
- Primary export corridor
- Caribbean Sea ports (Puerto Cabello, Maracaibo) historically served oil and commodity exports. Port infrastructure severely degraded.
- Oil export routes
- Oil production ~1M bpd (from 3M+ pre-crisis). Exports primarily to China, India, and selectively to US since January 2026. PdVSA infrastructure in critical disrepair.
- Infrastructure collapse
- Road, port, and power infrastructure severely degraded after decade of underinvestment. Frequent power outages affect all economic activity. Telecommunications unreliable.
- Trade data
- Venezuela has not published reliable trade statistics for years. BCV (central bank) data sporadic and unreliable. Supply chain visibility effectively zero.