Despite their economy being an absolute wreck, Venezuela does still have
some assets sitting abroad. This seems to be the next site of the power
struggle between President Maduro and interim President Juan Guaido, who today announced he intends to take control of all the foreign assets.
Guaido said the move is being taken to try to prevent Maduro from taking
them with him during his “eventual exit” from power. In the near-term,
it also prevents Maduro from tapping any foreign assets to try to
bolster his own popularity, or the stability of his de facto government.
Among Venezuela’s largest overseas assets is its gold reserve, a large portion of which is held by the Bank of England. Guaido has told the bank not to let Maduro access the reserves, though the British government says it is ultimately up to the bank itself to make that determination.
The US is backing Guaido, so naturally also backed these claims on
Venezuela’s assets. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), a regime change enthusiast,
condemned the “Maduro crime family,” and said that all Venezuela’s oil
revenue legitimately belongs to Guaido.
Guaido Says He’s Taking Control of Venezuela’s Foreign Assets
Asks Bank of England to withhold gold reserves from Maduro
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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