(Yicai) Jan. 7 -- Some Venezuelan buyers are putting off taking deliveries of Chinese goods or rerouting shipments, according to exporters, even as broader trade flows across Latin America remain largely steady.

A number of clients have canceled plans to load cargo at Venezuela’s Port of La Guaira or have applied to cancel customs clearance, said the head of routing at YQN, China’s leading online international freight shipping platform. Some are seeking to divert containers already at sea to the Port of Colon in Panama or are requesting goods to remain at the transit port, the person added.

Customers with future shipping plans are mostly taking a wait-and-see approach, the YQN manager pointed out, adding that some are willing to proceed as long as full insurance coverage is secured for all cargo.

The United States launched a surprise military attack on Venezuela on Jan. 3 and captured President Nicolás Maduro Moros and his wife.

The US is using its de facto control of the Venezuelan economy as leverage to force the South American country’s new leadership to act according to the Trump administration's demands, with Venezuela needing US permission to conduct trade and keep its economy running, China Central Television reported on Jan. 5. 

“We’ve not seen any impact on sea freight throughout Latin America,” an employee at a Chinese container shipping company said yesterday. “It’s possible that customers at some ports will choose to temporarily delay shipments and take a wait-and-see approach.”

The current impact is limited, a manager at Swiss transport and logistics giant Kuehne+Nagel International told Yicai. Venezuela has been under US sanctions for many years, and due to trade compliance concerns, direct trade and business were already quite limited, the person said.

“Direct flights from China to Caracas have been canceled, but there wasn't much air trade to begin with,” the manager noted, adding that business in the rest of South America, which accounts for the vast majority, remains normal.

Mercado Libre's cross-border business does not have a site in Venezuela, so there is no impact on Chinese sellers, according to a manager at the leading Latin American e-commerce site. While solidifying its five major established sites in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Argentina, Mercado Libre plans to push forward with direct cross-border delivery services for Peru and Uruguay this year, the person added.

Since entering the Chinese market in 2019, Mercado Libre has served tens of thousands of Chinese brands and sellers. Chinese vendors saw sales jump 38 percent last year.

The head of an overseas warehousing services provider told Yicai that the company has always had a relatively conservative and cautious attitude towards expanding into Latin America. Because the firm holds substantial customer inventory, it prioritises countries and regions with more mature and stable political, economic, and legal environments, as major disruptions in local operations could affect thousands of companies, he pointed out.

The executive revealed that the company has no plans for Mexico, while Brazil is under evaluation. “But it’s a very cautious evaluation,” he said, adding that for its broader South America strategy, the firm intends to remain cautious and pragmatic.

China's trade with Latin America rose 5.6 percent in the first 11 months of 2025 from a year earlier, with exports jumping 7.9 percent and imports 2.9 percent, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. Brazil, which accounted for more than a third, saw exports fall 0.9 percent and imports drop 1.9 percent, for an overall decline of 1.5 percent.

In comparison, China's exports to the European Union climbed 8.8 percent, to Southeast Asia 14.6 percent, and to Africa 27 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev