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Venezuela orders the arrest of 11 collaborators of Juan Guaidó after the ruling on the gold deposited in England

2020-07-03T23:11:44.988Z


Nicolás Maduro's government accused officials named by the opposition leader of "treason to the homeland". A British judge gave Guaidó control of those reserves.


07/03/2020 - 15:19

  • Clarín.com
  • World

The Venezuelan Attorney General's Office on Friday ordered the arrest and freezing of assets of eleven members of the team of opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who are outside the country, accused of "treason to the homeland" for "depriving" the country of gold reserves stored in the Bank of England. It was due to the decision of the British High Court that grants control over bullion to the Venezuelan opposition leader.

"All these criminals who have acted to favor the interests of foreign powers (...) are charged with the crimes of treason, the usurpation of functions and association to commit crimes," announced the Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, in statements broadcast on state television.

Vanessa Neumann and Carlos Vecchio, Guaidó delegates in the United Kingdom and the United States; as well as the deputy Julio Borges, exiled in Colombia, in charge of the foreign relations of the parliamentary leader, recognized as "interim president of Venezuela" by more than 50 countries since the beginning of 2019. 

Among those eleven accused are also the five members of the "ad hoc" board appointed by Guaidó for the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV).

The opposition leader of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, is recognized as interim leader by the government of Great Britain, as of 50 other countries.

This is the chairman of that board, Ricardo Adolfo Villasmil, as well as Giacoma Cuius Cortesia, Manuel Rodríguez Armesta, Nelson Andrés Lugo and Carlos Antonio Suares, Saab detailed.

For Saab, the decision taken by the British judge Nigel Teare "is not judicial, but political", since the magistrate "submitted to the British government's political position" that recognized "the alleged interim president", referring to Guaidó, which the United Kingdom recognizes as authority in Venezuela , after considering the 2018 election in which Maduro was proclaimed winner for a new mandate he assumed in January 2019 to be illegitimate.

The British judge made that decision on Thursday and also decided that "it is not justiciable" -that is, that the Court cannot submit to examination- the legality based on the Venezuelan law of the appointments to the BCV board made by Guaidó, which they were declared null by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela.

The 31 tons of gold from Venezuela, kept at the Bank of England, are valued at about $ 1.45 billion,

The ruling, which sets a precedent , means that the Bank of England, which declared itself "in the midst of the parties" in dispute in this process, may receive instructions from the board appointed by Guaidó, headed by Villasmil, and not by the one appointed by Maduro, chaired by Calixto Ortega.

Saab explained that the Prosecutor's Office has also requested the detention and freezing of assets "from the false officials of the so-called special prosecutor's office" appointed by Guaidó, since he considers that the workers of that department "authorized the action of a US law firm in this litigation".

"All these criminals who have acted to favor the interests of foreign powers and have conspired to make the Venezuelan people suffer due to shortages of food, medicine and gasoline, and who have also enriched themselves by attacking the country, are accused of treason crimes to the homeland, usurpation of functions and association to commit a crime, "concluded the Venezuelan attorney general.

The Public Ministry requested "arrest warrants and freezing of assets" against the accused, Saab said. He did not speak, however, of extradition request processes.

Following the decision of the British court, Guaidó, who does not control any aspect of the bureaucracy within Venezuela, celebrated the decision and assured that it has thereby protected these riches from "looting".

"We protected the gold reserves from the clutches of the dictatorship. Our reserves will remain as such and in England for their protection, the judicial process and their integrity. Gold protected from the looting of the regime!" He wrote on Twitter.

For its part, the government of Nicolás Maduro described as a "crime of extermination" that Judge Nigel Teare denied them access to gold.

The Maduro government's lawyer in this matter, Sarosh Zaiwalla, announced the same Thursday, the day the ruling was known, that "the Central Bank of Venezuela will request the court's permission to appeal this verdict, considering that it completely ignores the reality of the situation on the ground. "

Maduro says he wants to use that gold to buy the necessary supplies to combat the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, although Guaidó warns that "it will only further promote corruption."

"To deny gold to Venezuela to deal with the pandemic is to commit the crime of extermination," Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said on public television.

"The gold belongs to Venezuelans, it is not from this gang of scoundrels, who seek to pay political favors with the territory and resources of Venezuela to the United Kingdom, in order to satisfy their personal interests and that of the United States," Rodríguez emphasized, according to he cited the VTV network.

Against Guaidó they carry out several criminal investigations in the Venezuelan justice, although his arrest was never requested.

Source: EFE and AFP

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2020-07-03

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