People walk outside of the Venezuela's Central Bank in Caracas, Venezuela, January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
Reuters: Exclusive: Venezuela removes eight tonnes of gold from central bank - sources
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela removed eight tonnes of gold from the central bank’s vaults last week, and the cash-strapped socialist state is expected to sell the bullion abroad as it seeks to raise hard currency in the face of U.S. sanctions, a lawmaker and one government source said.
With sanctions imposed by Washington choking off revenues from exports by state oil company PDVSA, President Nicolas Maduro’s increasingly isolated administration has turned to sales of Venezuela’s substantial gold reserves as one of the only sources of foreign currency.
The government source said the Central Bank’s reserves had fallen by 30 tonnes since the start of the year before U.S. President Donald Trump tightened sanctions, leaving the bank with around 100 tonnes in its vaults, worth more than $4 billion.
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WNU Editor: I am willing to bet that this gold is either going to Russia or China, and it is to pay off debts and the support that both countries have given to the Maduro regime.
