Venezuela Sells Gold Overseas

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been selling gold to raise government revenue (Wikimedia Commons)

A Venezuelan opposition official claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sent gold to Mali in order to maintain economic stability amid sanctions placed by the United States. After a year of tracking the Venezuelan gold trade, the political opposition released a comprehensive report on March 3.

Venezuelan government officials authorized multiple shipments of gold beginning in early 2020, which Russian-owned planes transported to Mali. The Venezuelan government received both euros and U.S. dollars for shipments. After it was refined in Mali, the United Arab Emirates purchased the gold, producing more than 1 billion euros worth of revenue for the Venezuelan government. Various Emirati companies took part in these gold purchases, including Noor Capital, which bought more than three tons of gold from Venezuela in early 2019. Despite Noor Capital’s original declaration that it would stop further transactions that year, it resumed purchases in 2020.

The United States originally placed sanctions on Venezuela’s national oil company in early 2019, following the re-election of Nicolas Maduro rather than Juan Guiadó amid claims of fraud and voter suppression. While more than 50 countries recognize Guiadó, the leader of the opposition party, as the legitimate president of Venezuela, Maduro nonetheless maintains power over both the Venezuelan economy and military. Hehas support from countries such as Russia, Cuba, China, and Turkey. Despite placing additional sanctions against Venezuela’s gold exports, the United States expressed its concerns over Maduro’s insistence on selling gold to other countries after his contested re-election.

The gold industry has devastated both the Venezuelan people and the environment. While Venezuela sold its gold to other countries such as Russia and Turkey, illegal syndicates took control of many gold mines and forced Indigenous peoples to work in them with few rights and unsafe working conditions. The Venezuelan government turns a blind eye to these illegal organizations, leaving Venezuelans no choice but to work in the mines during the economic crisis, despite great health risks and poor sanitation.

Juan Guiadó’s chief overseas envoy Julio Borges disclosed this information to international reporters, and a source connected to Maduro’s government supported these claims. Venezuelan banking and government officials have refused to comment on the declarations