Daniel Wolfram
The Interim government in Venezuela would not be allowed to sell the gold immediately.
Venezuela’s government is closing in on a landmark deal.
According to a report by the Financial Times, the country wants to ship $4 billion in gold reserves across the Atlantic from London to New York.
Moving the gold across the Atlantic
The plan transfers the gold from the Bank of England in London directly to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Under the proposal, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez gets legal control of the gold. But her administration cannot sell the metal immediately.
Instead, leaders plan to pledge the gold as collateral for fresh loans. They hope to rebuild after twin earthquakes devastated the nation in June.
Legal battles ahead
British judges must approve any transfer first. The Bank of England stated that it cannot move the gold without a court order.
“This requires the parties involved in the case to approach the UK Court to settle the dispute,” the Bank of England explained.
Meanwhile, British diplomats insist they are staying out of the courtroom. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office confirmed the government was “not a party in the legal case to determine who should have control of Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England”.
The spokesperson added that UK courts operate independently from politicians.
Deep diplomatic roots
The relationship between the US and Venezuela has been on the upswing since Trump ordered special forces into Venezuela in January to kidnap then-President Nicolás Maduro and jail him in New York on drug offences.
Since then, the two countries have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and begin a “new stage of constructive dialogue, based on mutual respect,” the new Venezuelan government said in a statement, according to the BBC.
Even after US forces captured Maduro in January, the gold remained frozen. Delcy Rodríguez wrote directly to King Charles, but the request failed.
Meanwhile, Trump announced in late August that the US had secured more than 65 million barrels of oil from the South American country in a landmark deal.
