UK Imperialism Tightens its Grasp on Venezuela's Gold

The case of the Venezuelan gold seized by the United Kingdom continues to develop as the UK Supreme Court ruled earlier today that the case should now be referred to the Commercial Court. The UK Supreme Court stated that it could not contradict the decision of the country’s Executive, which alarmingly—and in a contradictory fashion—continues to recognize former deputy Juan Guaidó as “interim president.”

The UK Supreme Court explained in its ruling that the UK courts cannot contradict the government, which claims to recognize the self-proclaimed president and not the Constitutional President, Nicolás Maduro, as leader of Venezuela. The recognition of Guaidó’s discredited shadow government is part of an illegal strategy engaged in by the UK, in partnership with Washington, to dispossess Venezuelans from their assets abroad, such as the gold seized by the UK, and Venezuelan companies such as CITGO, Monómeros and many others.

Similarly, the supreme court stated that it could not question either the legality or validity of the decrees issued by Guaidó, nor by his “special attorney,” nor by the fake ad hoc administrative board of the Central Bank of Venezuela appointed by the former deputy.

“The courts below have not made any findings of fact about (1) the status of the STJ [Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela] judgments or (2) the issue of who actually exercises effective control within
Venezuela,” stated the UK Supreme Court.

It is contradictory that the United Kingdom claims to recognize Juan Guaidó as an authority, yet maintains diplomatic relations with the government of Nicolás Maduro. It even maintains a diplomatic presence through its active embassy and responds to requests of Maduro’s administration.

“Mr. Guaidó‘s recognition flies in the face of the reality on the ground,’’ said a lawyer defending Venezuela, Sarosh Zaiwalla. “His appointees have no ability to act on behalf of the (bank) in any effective way, or to represent it in any international legal proceedings.”

Breaking — After a three-day hearing to decide the fate of the Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England, the UK Supreme Court has ruled that the UK gov legally recognises Juan Guaidó as President of Venezuela.
The case has now been bounced back to the UK Commercial Court. pic.twitter.com/X5mH7SfLOS
— John McEvoy (@jmcevoy_2) December 20, 2021

Now, the Commercial Division of the UK Supreme Court will be in charge of determining who is authorized to deliver the 31 tons of Venezuelan gold and in turn decide whether the decisions of the Supreme Court of Venezuela on Guaidó are null or void. This appears to be a delay tactic aimed at appropriating the gold via legal fees and processing costs, that one way or the other will consume the value of the gold that belongs to the Venezuelan people.

If the Court rules in favor of the opposition leader, it would mean an open window for the former deputy to aspire to seize other Venezuelan assets in other European banks. However, such a ruling would inevitably reflect poorly on the UK for stripping a legitimate government of its assets. In addition, it would open a debate as to whether it would do the same with another state after a change of recognition, thus jeopardizing the Bank of England’s (BoE) precarious international reputation.

After hearing the ruling on the gold, former deputy Juan Guaidó celebrated the decision, and expressed his opinion that the gold will continue to be “protected” in the Bank of England.

Con esta decisión de la corte suprema del Reino Unido le informo a los venezolanos que el oro de las reservas internacionales continuará protegido en el Banco de Inglaterra
La dictadura no podrá saquearlo como hizo con los fondos públicos que generó esta emergencia humanitaria. pic.twitter.com/h004TLsXuD
— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) December 20, 2021