Protest outside British High Commission’s offices

Some local groups are calling on the British Government to return just over US$1 billion worth of Venezuelan gold bullion to the government of the South American country.

The Friends of the Venezuela Solidarity Committee (Barbados), the 13th June 1980 Movement, Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, Pan African Coalition of Organisations and the Cuban Barbadian Friendship Association made the call as they staged a low keyed protest outside the British High Commissioner’s offices on Lower Collymore Rock on Thursday.

On July 29, London’s High Court ruled in favour of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó in a battle for the control of gold reserves held in the Bank of England.

After a four-day trial, the court ruled that the British government recognizes Guaidó as interim President of Venezuela, and control of the gold should fall to a board of advisers named by the Venezuelan opposition, and not to an alternative board named by Maduro.

The dispute dates back to 2019 when Guaidó, then the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, swore himself in as interim leader of the South American country following a controversial presidential election won by Maduro.

Attorney-at-law Lalu Hanuman, one of the four speakers at the protest, said that though the Venezuelan government asked the British government to hold the gold for safety purposes, the British government refused to return the bullion when requested, raising questions about the legitimacy of the regime.

“The British Government has seized some 33 tonnes of Venezuelan gold bullion that the Venezuelan government, the Maduro government, had sent to the Central Bank of England for safe keeping. They accepted it from the government that they are now saying is not a legitimate government. It’s clear looking at it from a legal point of view, a breach of trust,” he said.

Meanwhile, David Denny, General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, said that Barbadians from all walks of life should care about this injustice, because of the numerous times the Venezuelan government has assisted the island, directly or indirectly, and particularly in the area of healthcare.

“Barbados benefited from the Cuban Eye Care Programme; this programme was financed by the Chávez government, which was the government of Venezuela. The resources of Venezuela were used to benefit poor working-class people in Barbados who had problems with their eyes, who needed eye care, and who could not pay for their eye care.

“So that every time the United States of America or Britain, or any of the western European nations put any economic embargoes on Venezuela, they are putting pressure on the poor people of the Americas.”

Denny further added that all CARICOM nations had a duty to denounce the current actions carried out against Venezuela and its people. (SB)