Venezuela's interim President Delsi Rodríguez has intensified diplomatic efforts to release her country's assets blocked abroad. In this context, she sent a letter to King Charles III requesting the return of approximately $2 billion in gold reserves held at the Bank of England.
In a statement to state television VTV, Rodríguez highlighted the devastation caused by two major earthquakes in Venezuela. "This gold belongs to our people and must be used to combat the terrible and tragic consequences of the double earthquake," she said.
Rodríguez stated that Venezuela urgently needs these resources to accelerate the recovery process, increase employment, revitalize working life, and rebuild the education system. She also announced that she held a phone call with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva regarding the release of Venezuela's frozen funds.
Although the US has recently eased some sanctions, financial restrictions on Venezuela remain in effect. The country's assets abroad are blocked due to these restrictions. These include the gold reserves at the Bank of England, as well as the assets of Citgo, the US subsidiary of state oil company PDVSA.
Rodríguez called on local and foreign companies to build new homes 'actively and quickly' to replace those destroyed in the earthquake, and announced that the timeline for the relevant projects would be made public soon.
On the matter, 113 people, including economists and scientists, called on the US to lift sanctions on Venezuela. The same group also urged the IMF to facilitate the country's access to international financial resources to cope with the emergency.