Russian plane fuels intrigue in Venezuela
Some speculate it’s taking gold out of country
CARACAS, VENEZUELA • In a nation awash with rumours amid a government crisis in which two men have claimed Venezuela’s presidency, even the unexpected arrival of a Russian passenger jet can set off a social media frenzy.
The Boeing 777 belonging to Russia’s Nordwind Airlines arrived Monday night and could still be seen Wednesday on the tarmac at Maiquetia airport outside the capital, its presence sparking unproven claims that President Nicolas Maduro’s administration is looking to whisk what’s left of the nation’s depleted gold reserves out of the country.
Opposition lawmaker Jose Guerra, a former central bank director, set off the wave of speculation with his claim Wednesday that unnamed sources inside the monetary authority informed him the plane was hired to transport 20 metric tons of gold comprising about 15 per cent of the reserves held in Caracas.
“This needs to be taken with utmost seriousness,” Guerra said in a speech to lawmakers.
“These reserves don’t belong to Calixto Ortega, they belong to Venezuela,” he added, referring to the central bank’s president, a close ally of Maduro.
The Associated Press was unable to verify the authenticity of Guerra’s claim. There was no immediate response from Maduro’s government.
Meanwhile, doctors in scrubs, businessmen in suits and construction workers in jeans gathered on the streets of Venezuela’s capital Wednesday, waving their nation’s flag and demanding Maduro step down from power in a walkout organized by the nation’s reinvigorated opposition to ratchet up pressure on the embattled president.
Protesters said they were heeding the opposition’s call for another mass demonstration despite the heavy-handed response by security forces over the last week to quell anti-government protests.
The latest walkout comes one week exactly after opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself the nation’s rightful president amid a sea of supporters, hurling the nation into a new chapter of political tumult as the anti-Maduro movement tries to establish a transitional government and the socialist leader clings to power.
“We are staying in the streets,” Guaido told students at a surprise appearance at the Central University of Venezuela. “Not just in protest of the crisis we are living in all of Venezuela, not just because of how bad things are, but also for the future.”
The 35-year-lawmaker has transformed from a littleknown opposition figure into a commanding force in the nation’s politics with the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump and two dozen other nations — including Canada — recognizing him as Venezuela’s interim president