Is Russian plane on secret Venezuela mission to load up with 20 tonnes of gold?
- Venezuelan social media alive with theories – that the plane had brought mercenaries, was there to escort President Nicolas Maduro into exile, or was loading up with gold
Venezuelan lawmaker Jose Guerra dropped a bombshell on Twitter Tuesday: the Russian Boeing 777 that had landed in Caracas the day before was there to spirit away 20 tonnes of gold from the vaults of the country’s central bank.
The claim set off a welter of social media speculation and outrage. When asked how he knew this, Guerra, a former head of research at the bank, provided no evidence, saying he had heard it from some former colleagues.
Just another outlandish comment from a lawmaker trying to draw attention to the plight of crisis-torn Venezuela? Perhaps not.
Since last month, central bankers have set aside 20 tonnes of gold for loading, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
Worth about US$840 million, the gold represents about 20 per cent of the bank’s holdings of the metal in Venezuela, the person said.
