Acting President of Venezuela asks Bank of England to return gold reserves Xinhua News Agency, Caracas, October 28 (Reporter Tian Rui) Acting President of Venezuela Delsea Rodriguez asked the Bank of England, the central bank of England, to return Venezuela's gold reserves in its possession on the 28th. Rodriguez gave a speech on Venezuelan state television when he met with cabinet members that day. She said Britain's freezing of Venezuela's gold was a "farce" aimed at illegally taking control of Venezuela's national gold reserves. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Venezuela and the Attorney General's Office will activate relevant mechanisms to ensure the return of the gold. The Venezuelan government and several opposition representatives concluded the third round of political dialogue on the 21st. The two sides agreed to establish a joint committee to negotiate with relevant British institutions to try to unfreeze the gold stored in the Bank of England. The Financial Times reported on September 18, citing people familiar with the matter, that the Venezuelan government and the opposition are close to reaching an agreement to transfer the country's gold reserves worth about $4 billion from the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the United States. The gold may be used as collateral for government loans to pay for various expenses including the reconstruction works of the "6 24" series of strong earthquakes. Venezuela has 31 tons of gold stored in the Bank of England. After the elections in Venezuela in 2018, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries refused to recognize Nicolás Maduro as president-elect. The Bank of England used this as an excuse to freeze Venezuela's gold. The Maduro government has repeatedly sought to lift the freeze but has failed.

Acting President of Venezuela asks Bank of England to return gold reserves Xinhua News Agency, Caracas, October 28 (Reporter Tian Rui) Acting President of Venezuela Delsea Rodriguez asked the Bank of England, the central bank of England, to return Venezuela's gold reserves in its possession on the 28th. Rodriguez gave a speech on Venezuelan state television when he met with cabinet members that day. She said Britain's freezing of Venezuela's gold was a "farce" aimed at illegally taking control of Venezuela's national gold reserves. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Venezuela and the Attorney General's Office will activate relevant mechanisms to ensure the return of the gold. The Venezuelan government and several opposition representatives concluded the third round of political dialogue on the 21st. The two sides agreed to establish a joint committee to negotiate with relevant British institutions to try to unfreeze the gold stored in the Bank of England. The Financial Times reported on September 18, citing people familiar with the matter, that the Venezuelan government and the opposition are close to reaching an agreement to transfer the country's gold reserves worth about $4 billion from the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the United States. The gold may be used as collateral for government loans to pay for various expenses including the reconstruction works of the "6 24" series of strong earthquakes. Venezuela has 31 tons of gold stored in the Bank of England. After the elections in Venezuela in 2018, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries refused to recognize Nicolás Maduro as president-elect. The Bank of England used this as an excuse to freeze Venezuela's gold. The Maduro government has repeatedly sought to lift the freeze but has failed.