Venezuela Nears a Deal to Move Its London Gold to New York
Key Facts
Venezuela’s gold has been the most visible measure of its political deadlock for seven years. A reported agreement to move it would be the most concrete marker yet of the arrangement now taking shape between Caracas and Washington.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that the government and the opposition are close to a deal on 31 tonnes of gold. It is valued at about US$4 billion and would move from the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
What Would Actually Move
The reserve has sat in London through a legal dispute that began in 2019. Competing claims over who legitimately represented Venezuela left the Bank of England unable to release it to either side.
The reported arrangement resolves the question by moving custody rather than settling the argument. The interim government would gain legal control of the metal.
It could not sell the gold immediately. The stated purpose is collateral for borrowing, including reconstruction after the earthquakes that struck the country in June.
One account differs on the destination. Venezuelanalysis describes the gold routed into a specialised United States Treasury account, audited externally, rather than to the New York Fed.
Who Is Actually Governing
This matters for how any such deal should be read. Nicolás Maduro was captured by American forces in Venezuela on 3 January 2026 and taken to the United States to face narcotics charges.
The same day, Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Delcy Rodríguez, then executive vice-president, to serve as acting president. She was sworn in on 5 January with military backing.
Her title is acting president rather than head of state. There has been no election, no transfer of sovereignty and no signed transition agreement.
Her own government still maintains that Maduro is the legitimate president. She told NBC News that she is in charge of the presidency as the constitution states, while insisting that Maduro remains its rightful holder.
The 1999 constitution caps an acting presidency at 180 days. That period expired in early July, and legal scholars in Venezuela contest the legality of her continuing.
A Week of Diplomatic Normalisation
Rodríguez received the British chargé d’affaires, Colin Dick, in Caracas on Friday. She thanked him for his support in restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries.
That followed a separate meeting three days earlier at which Venezuela and the United Kingdom agreed to upgrade relations to ambassador level. The National Assembly president and the foreign minister handled that one.
She also met a Human Rights Watch delegation led by its executive deputy director, Federico Borrello. It was the organisation’s first presence in the country in eighteen years.
The stated subject was fundamental guarantees. Neither side has published an outcome.
What the Oil Numbers Show
Venezuelan shipments to the United States reached 786,000 barrels a day in July, a seven-year high. That figure is often quoted without its context, which cuts the other way.
Total Venezuelan exports were falling over the same period, from about 1.2 million barrels a day in June to 1.16 million in July. August was roughly flat at 1.17 million.
So the American share is rising while the overall volume is not. That is a redirection of trade rather than an expansion of it.
Three American senators wrote to the Treasury Secretary and the Secretary of State on Thursday. Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse asked for an account of revenue exceeding US$13 billion now held in a Treasury-controlled account.
What Has Not Changed
The United Nations fact-finding mission on Venezuela published its report on Tuesday. It found the reduction in the harshest repression notable, but not a transformation of the system that produced it.
Between 379 and 500 people remain in detention. The mission recorded 214 arbitrary political detentions between September 2025 and July 2026.
Repressive laws remain in force and the security structures are unchanged. The mission describes the opening as fragile and reversible.
The telecommunications regulator did lift blocks on at least ten news websites this week. But 194 domains remain blocked, 84 of them news media, according to the monitoring group VE Sin Filtro.
Why the Gold Is the Marker to Watch
Diplomatic meetings can be read many ways, and often are. A custody transfer of four billion dollars in bullion is harder to read as anything other than recognition.
It would require the Bank of England to accept that the interim government has authority to direct the asset. That is precisely the question the 2019 dispute left open.
Nothing in this confirms that a formal transition has occurred, and the specifics still point the other way. There is no election date, no agreement text and no change in who the government itself calls legitimate.
What has changed is the price of the question. It is now denominated in tonnes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much gold is involved?
Thirty-one tonnes, valued at about US$4 billion at current prices. The Financial Times reported the near-agreement on 18 September.
Where would the gold go?
From the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to the Financial Times. One outlet instead describes a specialised United States Treasury account with external audits.
Can Venezuela sell the gold?
Not immediately. The interim government would gain legal control, with the metal serving as collateral for borrowing, including earthquake reconstruction.
Who is Venezuela’s president?
Delcy Rodríguez has been acting president since 5 January 2026, under an order from Venezuela’s Supreme Court after Nicolás Maduro was captured by American forces. Her government still calls Maduro the legitimate president.
Has a transition been agreed?
No. There has been no election, no transfer of sovereignty and no signed transition agreement.
Are political prisoners being released?
The United Nations fact-finding mission reported on 16 September that between 379 and 500 people remain detained, and that the reduction in repression does not amount to a change of system.
Sources: Investing.com on the Financial Times gold report, Venezuelanalysis on the diplomatic upgrade and the gold route, Infobae on the meeting with Human Rights Watch, OHCHR on the fact-finding mission report, OilPrice on export volumes to the United States, CNN en Español on the lifting of website blocks, Congressional Research Service on the governing arrangement
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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