A HIGH COURT decision to withhold much needed financial support from Venezuela amounts to “slavishly following [US President] Trump’s illegal regime change agenda and nothing else,” campaigners said today.

The British government has “unequivocally recognised” opposition figure Juan Guaido as president of Venezuela, the High Court ruled today during a battle over the nation’s gold reserves, currently held by the Bank of England (BoE).

In order to help tackle the country’s coronavirus crisis, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) was taking legal action to release £800 million of gold bullion held on its behalf.

The funds would have been transferred to the UN Development Programme to buy “healthcare equipment, medicines and basic foodstuffs.”

But the BoE said it is “caught in the middle” of rival claims to the gold, from the BCV board appointed by President Nicolas Maduro and an “ad hoc” board appointed by Mr Guaido.

Mr Justice Teare ruled today that the British government had “unequivocally recognised” Mr Guaido as interim president of Venezuela, rather than the elected Mr Maduro, “whatever the basis for the recognition” may be.

President Maduro was sworn in for his second term last year but the US-backed opposition refused to recognise the results.

Mr Guaido declared himself acting president in January 2019. He has since been linked to drug traffickers, corruption and armed insurrection.

Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (VSC) president and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone said: “Today’s decision on Venezuela’s gold is about slavishly following Trump’s illegal ‘regime change’ agenda and nothing else.

“And the decision not to let Venezuela use its gold resources to fight the Covid-19 pandemic lacks any sense of humanitarianism at this time of global crisis.”

VSC secretary Francisco Dominguez called the decision “absolutely outrageous” and a favour to a “thoroughly fictional and rogue” interim government that has been “explicitly set up by the Trump administration” to pillage Venezuela’s assets.

He said: “When the secretive FCO Unit for the Reconstruction of Venezuela is thrown into the picture, we can see the logic of the ongoing colonial pillage by British imperialism. 

“The government of President Maduro holds the UN seat for Venezuela and it is the one quite successfully combatting the pandemic with a performance substantially better than the UK and US administrations.”

At a four-day preliminary hearing last week, BCV “Maduro board” representative Nicholas Vineall said the British government “does not approve of the Maduro government” but “continues to recognise the Maduro government,” sending an ambassador to Venezuela and receiving Mr Maduro’s representative.

BCV’s “Maduro board” lead solicitor Sarosh Zaiwalla said they will appeal against the judgement as it “entirely ignores the reality of the situation on the ground” in Venezuela.

He said: “None of the board members of the so-called ‘ad hoc administrative board’ of BCV appointed by Guaido have been resident in Venezuela for some years now.

“Mr Maduro’s government is in complete control of Venezuela and its administrative institutions, and only it can ensure the distribution of the humanitarian relief and medical supplies needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

“This outcome will now delay matters further, to the detriment of the Venezuelan people whose lives are at risk.”

The judgement could mean that Mr Guaido has the authority to represent BCV in another case to decide control over the gold itself.