By Tim Young, Venezuela Solidarity Campaign

Did you know that the Bank of England is still withholding 31 tonnes of gold bars currently worth about $4.6 billion which Venezuela, through its Central Bank of Venezuela, had deposited there, despite repeated calls for the gold to be returned to the country?

Venezuelan governments of different shades politically had long stored gold reserves with the Bank of England before its battle to reclaim its deposit of 31 tonnes of gold from the Bank’s vaults began back in 2018. At the time, the first Trump administration was using all means at its disposal to cut Venezuela off from its overseas assets, assembling an astonishing number of sanctions – over 1,000 – against the country.

Since then, the Bank has consistently refused to transfer the gold back to Venezuela, claiming this would infringe the US government’s sanctions against Venezuela, which have impacted heavily on the poorest and most vulnerable Venezuelan citizens.

The Bank’s stance hardened after January 2019 when Juan Guaidó, the then-President of the National Assembly, declared himself “interim president” of the country in an attempt to grab power. The United States, followed by a number of other countries, rushed to offer support.

On the basis of that recognition and a further supporting statement from the Foreign Office, a UK Supreme Court judgement accepted that Guaidó was the head of the Venezuelan state and therefore legally entitled to appoint the board of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV).

Venezuela’s state meanwhile argued in the courts in response that it was the only “validly appointed authority” to oversee the BCV’s foreign assets.

This particular pretence for not returning Venezuela’s gold is now impossible to maintain.  Guaidó is not an important part of the Venezuelan or international political scene, and hasn’t been for some time. To give one example, following 2020’s elections to the Venezuelan National Assembly, the EU’s 27 states said in January 2021 that they could no longer legally recognise him after he lost his position as president of the outgoing assembly.

Furthermore, the British government acknowledged in January 2023 that it no longer recognised Guaidó.

Of additional significance more recently is that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced in April 2026 that formal relations with Venezuela had been re-established. This move reverses the decision the IMF took in 2019 when it followed US orders by stripping the country of its Special Drawing Rights, a system created by the IMF to “provide liquidity to global economies and offer additional reserves to member countries in times of crisis.” In doing so, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IMF stopped Venezuela from accessing $5 billion to which it was entitled, amidst the severe hardship caused by the virus. Venezuela is currently seeking for these assets to be sent to the country.

The IMF – of which Britain is a voting member – taking this course is yet another reason why the British government should enable the gold being quickly returned to Venezuela, and gives a clear precedent that could be followed.

However, even if the gold is returned to Venezuela, illegal US sanctions on the country are still in place, restricting its economic activity and impacting severely on its people. At the time of writing, over 1,000 of these damaging sanctions are in place – and are widely opposed across the political spectrum in Venezuela itself, including by both pro- and anti-government forces.

Pressure must be maintained to demand that the gold is returned to Venezuela and that all the US’s illegal sanctions – supported by Britain – are lifted.

• EVENT: The 25 Year US War on Venezuela – end all sanctions, give back the gold! Marx Memorial Library London, Thursday, June 25th, 6:30 pm, London EC1R 0DU. With Venezuelan speakers, Francisco Dominguez (Venezuela Solidarity Campaign) and Kate Hudson (CND.) Register here.

• PETITION: Keir Starmer – give Venezuela Back It’s Gold! Sign here.

Image: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2778/the-brinks-mat-robbery/ Creator: Andrzej Barabasz | Credit: Andrzej Barabasz / World History Encyclopedia Copyright: Andrzej Barabasz Licence: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed