UK court denies gold handover to socialist leader of Venezuela
The UK government has “unequivocally recognised” opposition leader Juan Guaido as president of Venezuela, the High Court has ruled in a battle over $1 billion (£800 million) of gold bullion held in the vaults of the Bank of England.
A British judge ruled that it was unlawful to give it to socialist leader Nicolas Maduro since Britain does not recognise him as president of the Latin American nation.
Mr Maduro has demanded the gold to help his cashstarved nation fight the coronavirus pandemic.
But the central bank for the UK, whose government recognises Mr Guaido as his country’s legitimate leader, had refused to hand it over to Mr Maduro’s socialist administration.
The ruling clarifies the question of who is Venezuela’s legitimate leader – at least in the eyes of one world power. Mr Guaido has sought to preserve the gold stash at the Bank of England to keep it out of the hands of the Maduro government, which it contends is illegitimate and corrupt. His lawyers reiterated during a recent four-day hearing their stance the National Assembly leader became Venezuela’s rightful leader under provisions of the country’s constitution.
The dispute hinged on the British stance toward Venezuela, a country in economic and political crisis where both Mr Maduro and Mr Guaido have been claiming presidential powers for more than a year. Venezuela’s Central Bank sought to release the gold, which it says now that it wants to sell for food and medical equipment that is desperately needed to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. But it had also sought the gold before the pandemic began.
A lawyer representing Mr Maduro’s side promised to appeal. Sarosh Zaiwalla said in a statement the judgment “entirely ignores the reality of the situation on the ground” in Venezuela.
“Mr Maduro’s government is in complete control of Venezuela and its administrative institutions, and only it can ensure the distribution of the humanitarian relief and medical supplies needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. “This outcome will now delay matters further to the detriment of the Venezuelan people whose lives are at risk.”
The UK recognises the claim of Mr Guaido, who heads Venezuela’s congress, as does the United States and about five dozen other governments. Mr Guaido proclaimed himself the interim president early last year, months after Mr Maduro declared victory in an election his critics say was rigged in his favour.