Out of cash, Venezuela used 9 tons of gold to pay Iran

According to Bloomberg, Venezuelan government officials have loaded 9 tons of gold, equivalent to $ 500 million, on planes to pay Iran because Tehran helped it repair and refine the crippled refineries

This led to a sudden drop in the internal treasury, leaving Venezuela, the country struggling in crisis, with only about $ 6.3 billion of hard currency, the lowest level in 3 decades.

Iran and Venezuela have been allies for a long time and are becoming increasingly closely related to U.S. sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic as oil prices, their main source of income, plummeted. down to the negative level

Iran is considered the last destination of the gold mines in the Venezuelan treasury after the United States had its eyes set and tried to crack down on the nation under the Nicolás Maduro regime when conducting similar transactions with Russia, Turkey and the UAE. United

Tehran-based Mahan Air has operated six flights between Iran and the South American nation in the past week alone. On the flight were mainly gasoline accessories, repair parts, and personnel to repair and repair a major refinery along the northwest coast of Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Mahan Air also sent other planes to the international airport on the outskirts of the city of Caracas to transport “wages” of gold bars to take them back to Tehran.

Since oil prices began to “plummet”, gold reserves in the capital Caracas have been considered Venezuela’s most important assets. The country has been pushed into extreme poverty due to the precarious difficulties of oil prices.

Although there are still around 70 tons of gold in foreign exchange reserves, the Venezuelan government faces many obstacles to sell these final assets.

In the days of Maduro’s predecessor, former President Hugo Chávez, he and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad closed deals on many energy, agricultural and financial projects. They even opened a joint automobile assembly plant from two countries in the western capital, Caracas.

In connection with the gold transport incident, a source said that Venezuelan central bankers had to be quarantined due to the disease, so armored vehicles carrying gold were carried out sporadically and slowly. All trips are accompanied by strict armed security personnel.

According to Bloomberg indexAfter a brief recovery, the Venezuelan currency continued to fall in free fall and inflation exploded, with an annual rate that rose to around 3,500%. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic Rapid spread threatens the risk of food and fuel shortages in the country, causing social unrest that is always waiting for an outbreak.

For a country that is in poverty and financially depleted, gold is considered the most valuable accumulated asset that remains when oil prices collapse. This is also considered part of the battle for financial control between Prime Minister Maduro and Juan Guaido, the leader of the National Assembly close to the United States.

Huong Vu

According to Bloomberg