Hugo Chávez nationalizes the gold industry.
The President of Venezuela wants to end illegal mining. Another measure announced was to retrieve gold and monetary reserves in Europe to deposit in BRIC banks.
247 – Another sector of Venezuela has been nationalized by President Hugo Chávez. By decree, the gold industry is now under government control. According to Chávez, the measure aims to prevent illegal mining and increase the country's gold reserves. Officially, Venezuela's gold production is 11 tons per year, but the president believes that another 11 tons fall into the hands of the "mafia and smugglers."
"We don't just have oil wealth, we have one of the largest gold reserves in the world. We are going to transform them into our international reserves because gold is appreciating in value," said the president. Furthermore, Chávez made another decision. He announced the repatriation of gold reserves – totaling 365 tons – and monetary reserves, amounting to approximately US$6 billion, deposited in European countries. They will be divided among banks in Russia, India, China, and Brazil. This is for security reasons, Chávez said.