Venezuelan gold lawsuit in UK: Guaidó was optimistic and expects final conviction in months

The press team of Venezuelan Juan Guaidó assured this Thursday that it nourished a “reasonable optimism” about the judgment followed in the United Kingdom on the country’s gold deposited with the Bank of England, over which the dictator Nicolás Maduro and the opponent claim authority.

“As we pointed out earlier, final judgment in the present case could be delivered by the UK Supreme Court of Justice in the coming months. As long as this act is not published, no statement on its content can be made with justification, ”said a statement from the Guaidó team.

However, in view of the precedents of the case “and in particular the documents emanating from the team of lawyers for the applicants and from the United Kingdom Government”, they have “reasonable optimism”.

The United Kingdom maintains its support for the opposition Juan Guaidó, whom it recognizes as interim president of Venezuela, Although the pressure has increased to define his next steps with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

After recognizing Guaidó, then head of the National Assembly (AN, Parliament), as president in charge of Venezuela in January 2019, The United Kingdom, in line with the United States, has created a controversial “Venezuela Reconstruction Unit” with the purported mission of promoting its interests in the face of a possible change of administration in Caracas.

In the case of the trial, This is an important element that the British government recognizes as president in Venezuela so that the English justice decides which of the two parties can access the gold.

These reserves are estimated at nearly $ 2 billion, deposited with the Bank of England, as well as $ 120 million of a swap executed by Deutsche Bank.

James Eadie, legal adviser to the British Foreign Office, confirmed last July the “clear and unambiguous” position that Boris Johnson’s executive only recognizes Guaidó as Venezuela’s head of state and his powers to act as such.

Peace talks

Meanwhile, representatives of the Venezuelan regime and opposition will return to Mexico on Friday to hold a second round of a dialogue process which seeks to overcome the acute crisis that the South American country is going through, which has forced millions of people into exile in recent years.

In mid-August, under the auspices of Norway, The two sides met in the Mexican capital for intense conversations where they unveiled the roadmap that will guide the dialogue, which they described as “complex”.

Although they did not publicly disclose the agreements reached in those talks, two sources with knowledge of the negotiations told the agency Reuters What the release of opposition leader Freddy Guevara and opposition participation in regional elections November was the fruit of the dialogue.

Talks will resume Friday at 3:00 p.m. local time (2000 GMT), Jorge Rodríguez, president of the Venezuelan Congress and head of the negotiating team of Nicolas maduro.

Unlike previous failed attempts, this time the dialogue has the participation of a large group of guarantors, including, in addition to Norway, the Netherlands, Russia, Bolivia and Turkey.

Nicolás Maduro’s regime demands the lifting of sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe on officials and institutions in their countries – such as the state oil company PDVSA – designating them as responsible for the economic crisis raging in the oil nation.

The administration of the American president Joe Biden said he wanted to review the sanctions he inherited, but conditioned him to “make significant progress in the negotiations.”

The Venezuelan crisis has affected the region, generated a massive exodus that the Organization of American States (OAS) recently estimated will reach seven million people by 2022.

(With information from EFE and Reuters)

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