WorlPosted at: Jul 19 2021 10:59PM UK reaffirms recognition of Guaido as Venezuela's President in battle over gold reserves
London, Jul 19 (UNI/Sputnik) The British government reaffirmed on Monday, at a Supreme Court hearing over access to Venezuelan gold reserves held in the Bank of England, that it recognizes self-proclaimed Venezuelan president Juan Guaido as the president of the South American nation.
“The UK government is clear that Juan Guaido has been recognised by HMG (Her Majesty Government) since February 2019 as the only legitimate President of Venezuela,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The legal battle for the gold began after Venezuelan opposition figure Guaido declared himself an interim president in the wake of public protests in Venezuela in January 2019. After that, the Bank of England refused to fulfill a request made by the Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) to have access to the gold bullion to buy medicines and equipment to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bank of England claimed that there was a lack of clarity as to who was ruling Venezuela, so the BCV took it to trial before the London Commercial Court, which, in turn, ruled in July, 2020 against the board appointed by constitutional president Nicolas Maduro.
The judge presiding over the case then said that since Guaido had been "unequivocally" recognized by the United Kingdom as the president of Venezuela, following a statement made by former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in 2019, that Guaido's ad hoc administrative board had a right over the gold.
On October 5, the Court of Appeals overturned that ruling and directed the high court to conduct a detailed factual inquiry to determine whether the British government recognizes that Maduro does indeed continue to exercise ‘de facto’ powers of head of state and government in Venezuela.
After agreeing to hear the case, the UK Supreme Court granted permission to legal representatives of UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab to intervene in the hearing and explain why London maintains diplomatic relations with the Maduro government while claiming that Guaido is the legitimate president of the South American nation.
Raab’s representatives claimed that it has been necessary for “practical reasons” for the government to engage with elements of the Maduro regime in relation to certain essential functions, and that “does not undermine its position on recognition.”
For Timothy Otty, one of the lawyers representing Guaido at the Supreme Court hearing, the statement by the UK Foreign Office has made explicit that there is no recognition of Maduro as the ‘de facto’ or ‘de jure’ president.
The legal team representing the BCV’s board denied, however, that the new statement reaffirming the UK’s recognition of Guaido was “fatal” to the BCV board case.
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