Procter & Gamble (PG) has been part of Venezuela’s business landscape since the early 1950s, when it opened its first plant in 1952 to make detergents and other everyday consumer products locally. However, over the years the region evolved from an important growth beachhead in South America for the Cincinnati-based company into a survival mode operation with limited earnings relevance but ongoing local production. Procter & Gamble (PG) became one of dozens of S&P 500 companies hit by devaluations and hyperinflation.
In the 2010s, P&G (PG) shifted from treating Venezuela as a regional hub to a high-risk outpost by sending senior staff to Panama, Chile, and Brazil. P&G’s former Caracas headquarters was sold and later repurposed as a tech hub rather than a corporate office. Unlike many U.S. companies, the company continues to produce a limited set of product lines in two remaining plants in Venezuela.
The U.S. arrest of Nicolás Maduro introduces more near-term political and legal uncertainty but could also lead to a modest positive for the company over the medium term if a U.S.-managed transition brings sanctions relief and economic normalization. In a best-case scenario, P&G (PG) could selectively reinvest and rebuild a more profitable business in the region.