Published: · Region: Latin America · Category: markets

UK-Held Venezuelan Gold Shifted to US Control Exposes New Front in Sanctions Pressure

Roughly 31 tons of Venezuelan gold frozen in the Bank of England are set to move under US Treasury management after talks involving Venezuela’s government and opposition-aligned parliament. The shift hands Washington new leverage over a key reserve asset, with implications for Caracas’s solvency, sanctions policy, and the precedent it sets for contested regimes.

Venezuela’s 31 tons of gold reserves held in the United Kingdom are poised to move under the control of US authorities, opening a new phase in how Western powers use financial assets to pressure sanctioned governments. The shift effectively reroutes a major piece of Caracas’s external wealth from British custody to US Treasury management at a time when Venezuela is struggling to stabilize its economy and negotiate political guarantees. Reports on 18 August said the gold, worth about $4.3 billion and long stored at the Bank of England, will be released from UK control and placed under the management of the US Treasury Department. The move follows talks backed by…

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