VENEZUELA · GOLD
Key Facts
- The country Venezuela is an oil and gold producer on South America’s north coast, led since January 2026 by acting president Delcy Rodríguez.
- What happened A businessman told a Madrid judge in July that a Venezuelan state bank gave him a gold-recovery contract; it became public on 20 October.
- The contract The contract with the state development bank Bandes, dated 18 December 2020, promised him 8.75% of any gold money recovered.
- The gold The gold, about 27 tonnes worth over US$1 billion at the time, was handed to a fund in the United Arab Emirates in 2017.
- The US link Washington sanctioned Bandes in March 2019 and Rodríguez in 2018, and lifted her sanctions on 1 April 2026.
- Prediction markets Polymarket gives 3.8% odds that Spain’s former prime minister Zapatero is sentenced to prison (21 October 2026, 3:37 p.m. ET).
- Power Index Venezuela ranks 13th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 27.0 points (October 2026 edition).
A Spanish businessman told a Madrid judge that his Venezuela gold deal came through Delcy Rodríguez, now Venezuela’s acting president. The US stopped sanctioning her on 1 April 2026, and the Madrid daily El Mundo reported the testimony on 20 October 2026.
The businessman, Julio Martínez Martínez, is described by Spanish media as the paymaster of former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. His account of the Venezuela gold deal is an allegation, and no one has been charged over the contract.
Venezuela Gold Deal: What the Businessman Said
Martínez testified on 21 July 2026 before judge José Luis Calama of Spain’s National Court, the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid. According to El Mundo, which read the transcript, he confirmed signing a contract with Bandes, the Venezuelan state development bank.
Asked how he reached the bank’s then president, Héctor Obregón, he said the great relationship was with the vice president. That was Delcy Rodríguez, whom he met through Zapatero and who has led Venezuela since the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026.
How the Bandes Gold Contract Worked
The Venezuela gold deal was signed on 18 December 2020 by Xavier León, then a vice president of Bandes, at Obregón’s request. It promised Martínez’s company in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven, 8.75% of funds recovered in negotiations after costs.
The target was gold that Maduro’s government reportedly handed in 2017 to Nur Capital, a fund in the United Arab Emirates. An OECD report cited by El Mundo suggests about 27 tonnes, worth over US$1 billion at the time.
Martínez told the judge he received nothing, because the gold was never recovered. He tied the plan to a Dubai subsidiary that began after a lunch with Zapatero, who denies any involvement.
Who Zapatero and Rodríguez Are
Zapatero led Spain’s Socialist government from 2004 to 2011 and has long acted as a go-between with Caracas. Judge Calama put him under formal investigation in May 2026 in the Plus Ultra airline case, and he denies wrongdoing.
Rodríguez took over as acting president of Venezuela after United States forces captured Maduro on 3 January 2026. Obregón, whom El Mundo calls her trusted associate, later rose to head PDVSA, the state oil company.
The Plus Ultra Link
In the same testimony, Martínez said Zapatero knew Spain would approve a €53 million (about US$59.5 million) state rescue of Plus Ultra. When the judge said that meant Zapatero knew, Martínez replied that it should be understood that way.
He confirmed a 1% success fee on the rescue, or about €530,000 (about US$595,000), which Plus Ultra paid him. He described himself as an intermediary and said he knew no one at SEPI, the state holding company that handled the aid.
The Venezuela Gold Deal and US Sanctions
The US Treasury sanctioned Bandes on 22 March 2019, blocking its property under US jurisdiction. Rodríguez and her brother Jorge had been on the same sanctions list since 2018.
Both sanctions were therefore in force when the Venezuela gold deal was signed in December 2020. The Treasury lifted the sanctions on Rodríguez on 1 April 2026, and she called it a step toward normal relations.
What It Means for US Readers
Washington now deals with Rodríguez as Venezuela’s acting leader, so a claim touching her can affect oil licences, investor access and the remaining sanctions. Companies trading with Venezuela should watch whether the Venezuela gold deal testimony draws scrutiny from US authorities.
Travellers and investors need not change plans because of one man’s statement in a Spanish court. For background, see our August 2023 report on Venezuela’s fight to recover its gold in Portugal.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket bettors put the chance that Zapatero is sentenced to prison at 3.8% on 21 October, with about US$74,700 traded. A separate market gives 6.5% odds that he is arrested by 31 December 2026.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
No court has ruled on Martínez’s account, and the public reports do not show whether prosecutors will act on the Venezuelan part of it. Neither Rodríguez nor Obregón has publicly answered the claims in the reports available so far.
It is not known whether any US agency has looked at the contract or whether any money moved. Martínez says nothing was paid, and the El Mundo account gives no sign of a payment to Rodríguez.
More: Venezuela news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Julio Martínez Martínez?
He is a Spanish businessman whom Spanish media call the paymaster of former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. He is himself part of the Plus Ultra investigation at the National Court in Madrid.
Did Delcy Rodríguez sign the Bandes contract?
No, the reports say a Bandes vice president, Xavier León, signed it for the bank’s then president. Martínez told the judge that his access to the bank came through his contact with Rodríguez.
Was any gold or money recovered?
Martínez told the judge he received nothing because the gold was never recovered. The Venezuela gold deal promised him 8.75% of any funds brought back.
Is Delcy Rodríguez under US sanctions now?
No. The US Treasury lifted its sanctions on her on 1 April 2026, after Washington began working with her as acting president. Other US measures on Venezuela remain.
Has anyone been charged over the gold contract?
No charge over the Venezuela gold deal has been reported. Zapatero is under investigation in the separate Plus Ultra case and denies wrongdoing.
Sources: El Mundo (transcript report), 20 October 2026; La Bandera Diario (citing El Mundo), 21 October 2026; Diario Versión Final (citing El Mundo), 21 October 2026; Shango Media (El Mundo report), 21 October 2026; Monitoreamos, 21 October 2026; El Español, 21 July 2026; Euronews, 19 May 2026; NPR, 2 April 2026; US Treasury press release on Bandes, 22 March 2019.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error