Alignment with the Government of Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan president, is increasingly becoming a financial and political liability for nearby jurisdictions, according to new research that echoes risks already familiar to Bermuda’s financial sector.

A paper released this week by Dunn Pierre Barnett & Co Canada Ltd argues that expanded sanctions regimes, more compliance scrutiny and shifting United States foreign policy priorities means countries can no longer afford to be neutral when it comes to the Venezuelan regime.

Since early September, American forces have launched at least 29 known strikes on vessels suspected of carrying US-bound illegal narcotics, killing 105 people. Yesterday, US president Donald Trump announced the first successful land strike in the country.

While the report focuses on electoral dynamics in countries including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Barbados and Grenada, its findings resonate strongly in Bermuda, where sanctions compliance is already a central regulatory concern.

According to the island’s Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit, Bermuda currently enforces asset-freeze sanctions against more than 50 individuals linked to the Venezuelan state, under United Kingdom-aligned and international measures.

The list spans senior political leadership, the military, intelligence services, the judiciary and electoral authorities.

Among those sanctioned are some of the most prominent figures in Venezuela’s power structure, including Diosdado Cabello, a former ruling party heavyweight; Delcy Rodríguez, vice-president; and Tareck El Aissami, former vice-president and oil minister.

The DPBA report argues that such sanctions exposure has direct economic consequences for Caribbean states, particularly those reliant on tourism, correspondent banking relationships and cross-border financial flows routed through US-linked institutions.

“Caribbean electorates are increasingly sensitive to foreign-policy positions that threaten access to tourism markets, correspondent banking, remittances, visas and international finance,” said Cleophas Justine Pierre, the report’s author and managing director of DPBA.

In Bermuda, asset-freeze sanctions prohibit any dealings by regulated entities with listed individuals, while even indirect exposure can trigger enhanced due-diligence requirements and raise red flags with correspondent banks.

The report warns that “strategic inertia is not neutrality” amid sanctions enforcement and reputational risk.

• For the complete FSIU sanctions list for Venezuela, see Related Media

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