The Daily Journal.— The release of Venezuela’s international reserve assets in gold held at the Bank of England will depend on the implementation of international audits and the transfer of the proceeds to a U.S. Department of the Treasury account, Ramón López, a delegate from the 2015 National Assembly, said in an interview with a television channel.
López, a member of the opposition delegation at the dialogue table with the Delcy Rodríguez administration, explained the technical terms for managing the financial resources.
“We will secure the release of that gold only after completing all the necessary planning and establishing oversight mechanisms because, ultimately, we will deposit the proceeds into a U.S. Treasury account,” he explained.
The opposition representative said the plan directly addresses the crisis caused by the June earthquakes and would include “reviewing the types and quality of housing, healthcare centers in the affected areas, and the schools sheltering displaced residents.”
López stressed that the process will include “a permanent expenditure audit plan.”
Oversight mechanisms
The opposition representative said the financial framework seeks to ensure that authorities allocate resources exclusively to assisting communities struck by the two earthquakes in the country’s north-central region.
“We have created a mechanism to prevent anyone from diverting funds from the reconstruction effort in Vargas state and across the entire northern region of the country. Caracas suffered extensive damage, not only to infrastructure but also to buildings. We cannot offer the people political solutions alone; we intend to alleviate their problems,” López said during the television broadcast.
No link to the judicial agreement
When asked about reports linking the release of the funds to agreements on reforming the Supreme Court and appointing new justices, the spokesperson dismissed any transactional relationship between the two working groups.
“This is not an exchange of the gold for the Supreme Court. That is not true. We need to take the necessary steps to ensure proper use of the gold, allow international firms to audit the process and guarantee complete transparency in all expenditures. The Supreme Court constitutes a separate issue; the two matters have no connection,” López asserted.
López made the remarks after the delegations led by Dinorah Figuera and Jorge Rodríguez issued a joint statement on August 12.
The parties agreed to “focus their efforts on recovering Venezuela’s international reserve assets at the Bank of England and establish transparency, traceability and auditing mechanisms to ensure their efficient use and guarantee the well-being of everyone affected.”
