The gold, Maduro's last resort to escape the American pressure

After the measures announced by Washington against PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company that provides a vital income to the South American country, according to the United States. He also focuses on who continue to do business with Caracas.

Washington he fears that these countries could help Maduro to dodge the great pressure to which they want to let him leave power, after opposition leader Juan Guaidó was sworn in as "president in charge" on January 23 and the Venezuelan president called the decision "an attempt" coup d'etat ".

Aware of the great setback that the fall of its oil activity will bring, the The Maduro government is turning to another sector that, in the opinion of many badysts, could be one of the last solutions to get cash and try to save the country's economy: the sale d & # 39; gold.

But the US and other Western countries, which closely monitor this strategic move, have already warned of possible consequences for the countries that buy this ore in Venezuela, as is the case of Turkey or the Emirates. United Arab Emirates.

The Turkish government is among those who are under increasing pressure to stop buying Venezuelan gold.

According to sources consulted by the BBC, Ankara is now one of the main concerns of countries that trade with Caracas with the United States. suspect that gold exported to Turkey finds itself in possession of Iran, which would violate US sanctions.

Venezuela's gold trade with Turkey is a growing business. Last year, the South American country exported to Turkey a quantity of gold of about 900 million dollars, apparently to be refined and returned to Venezuela.

Thus, as the BBC may know, the Turkish government has received warnings about a possible violation of the sanctions in which it would participate.

In fact, Western governments believe that Turkey's intense commercial activity is currently a greater threat than what other countries, such as Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have with Caracas.

Russ Dallen, Managing Partner of Caracas Capital Investment Bank, said that during the past two years, the Maduro government had exported gold worth over $ 2 billion. US $ 1 billion in the United Arab Emirates in 2017), although last year Turkey was the biggest buyer.

For this reason, Dallen qualifies "Unusual", according to official figures provided by Ankara, that Turkey did not buy Venezuelan gold last December despite the recent official displacement of officials from one country to the other. who has attested to their good agreement.

The Political relations between Turkey and Venezuela are undergoing an optimal period, especially since 2016, with four Maduro visits to Turkey and a reciprocal visit to Venezuela by his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan last December, the first in the country of a Turkish head of state.

According to Reuters, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) is expected to sell 15 tons of gold to the UAE on Friday in return for a cash euro to finance its imports, citing a government source.

This transaction, combined with another three-ton sale in late January and a third planned for February, would mean a total of 29 tons of gold sold in the UAE in just two months, which would leave Venezuela's international gold reserves at their lowest level in eight years.

Reuters also warned that the United States has forced bankers and global companies to avoid negotiating gold sales with the Maduro government.

In fact, US Senator Marco Rubio warned Thursday the US Embbady in the United States. that he had information that an employee of Abu Dhabi Investment Company Noor Capital was in Caracas to "repair the theft of more gold in Venezuela".

"I hope you have informed them that they and all the air cargo services that will do so will be punishable," Rubio said.

In recent days, the The presence of several foreign aircraft in Caracas sparked rumors as to whether their objective was to take gold bought in Venezuela.

Among them, they pointed to the presence of a private plane belonging to the Ciner group – a major Turkish mining company closely linked to President Erdogan – or another of Russian origin and belonging to the Nordwind company, arriving Wednesday in the Venezuelan capital, according to BBC Mundo. .

Venezuelan opposition MP José Guerra badured that the The Russian plane (which made a stopover in Dubai after leaving Moscow) aimed to carry at least 20 tons of gold out of the country, according to several media outlets in the United Arab Emirates.

Finally, the plane departed Caracas on Friday and, the same day, Noor Capital confirmed having bought three tons of gold from Venezuela on January 21, a few days before the United States. impose sanctions.

And although the company recalled that the purchase of bullion in the country of South America is not an "illegal or prohibited operation", it said that it was not possible to buy bullion in South America. would abstain from any transaction until the situation in Venezuela stabilizes, which seems an badignment in the face of increasing pressure. international

The blockade of this cargo took place just one week after the Bank of England rejected Maduro 's executive demand to withdraw $ 1.2 billion of gold stocked in London. which further reduced its opportunities for international financing.

Not just oil

In the In recent years, with the worsening economic crisis in Venezuela and the fall of oil, Maduro has begun to interest himself in another more forgotten mineral: gold.

At present, where the United States is also strengthening the sanctions with the headquarters of the national oil company PDVSA, gold is becoming an alternative to an emergency solution.

From where the the government's interest in the Southeast mines, a vast area that extends to the border with Guyana in the east and with that of Brazil to the south, and in which there is in addition to gold an abundance of iron , bauxite, diamonds and coltan.

This is a strategic area for the government, which seeks to exploit, with foreign companies, the so-called Orinoco Mine Arc (AMO), the mining project to compensate for the collapse of the industry. oil.

The opposition accuses the Venezuelan government of illegally extracting gold in parts of the country 's geography and in a manner detrimental to the environment.

In February 2016, President Nicolás Maduro decreed that the OMA would be a national strategic development zone, a plan that had already been advanced by the late Hugo Chávez in 2011.

Countries such as Russia and China have strengthened their presence in joint ventures with the participation of the government.

The OMA covers an area of ​​111,846 km 2, or 12% of the country's area. An estimated 7,000 tons of gold reserves.

Although the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) has received more and more tons of gold from AMO, its reserves have increased from 361 tons in 2014 to 162 today, according to the World Gold Council estimates of last year.

Without a doubt, the sale of gold by BCV was one of the ways to keep the country afloat. And it will be more in the current context.

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