Investors are looking to capitalize on the Donald Trump administration's plans to expand influence in the Western Hemisphere, The Wall Street Journal reports, calling it the “Donrow Trade“.
These plans are called the “Donrow Doctrine“, a reference to the Monroe Doctrine - the foreign policy program of the fifth US president, James Monroe. It declared both parts of the American continent off-limits to European colonization, essentially declaring the US the dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. In December, Washington updated its national security strategy, stating that the US would continue to implement this doctrine.
After Following the January 3 operation in which US troops captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Trump announced that the US would rule Venezuela. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez became acting president. The US administration intends to sell Venezuelan oil, with Trump himself controlling the proceeds. The US leader also wants big business to invest in rebuilding Venezuela's oil sector.
According to the newspaper, Venezuela has been a "no-go zone" for investors due to numerous US sanctions, political repression and economic mismanagement, which has led to bond prices at their lowest levels. However, after the operation to capture Maduro, investors are hoping for a restructuring of Venezuela's sovereign debt, the restoration of the country's oil sector and the emergence of investment opportunities in various industries that have declined under Maduro.
Consulting firm Signum Global Advisors is planning a trip to Venezuela to assess investment prospects, and its clients are “inundating” the firm with requests to participate, said Chairman Charles Myers. Other firms are conducting their own research: For example, Tribeca Investment Partners partner Ben Cleary said his firm is interested in Venezuela’s “vast untapped mineral resources” and plans to send a team to assess the transition within months.
Some hedge funds and investment firms have expressed interest in corporate arbitration claims against Venezuela. For example, Carronade Capital Management began considering such investments in late 2025, when the United States increased its military presence in the Caribbean, said partner Andy Taylor.
Hedge fund Canaima Capital Management began betting on Venezuelan debt more than five years ago and, according to co-founder Celestino Amore, recently increased its holdings in its Global Opportunities Fund by 150% year-on-year thanks to these investments. “For us, this is just the beginning of much greater trade,“ Amore said.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump “is entering an era of historic economic cooperation in the Western Hemisphere that will benefit both Americans and Venezuelans“.
Investors are also watching the debt of Colombia and Cuba amid Trump's comments about the countries' problems after the operation in Venezuela. “People are looking to Cuba and waiting for the next domino to fall,“ said Lee Robinson, founder of London-based hedge fund Altana Wealth.
In addition, Greenlandic bond prices are rising amid Trump's statements about the need for US control of the island. Bank of Greenland shares have risen 42% this year, suggesting that investment boom, according to the WSJ.
Bruno Scheller, a partner at Swiss asset management firm Erlen Capital Management, stressed that many hedge funds see the current situation “not so much as a one-off deal but as the beginning of new opportunities: new regime changes, new political upheavals, more forced sellers and more capital controls“.