Guaido Says He’s Taking Control of Venezuela’s Foreign Assets

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.