VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
27/05/2026
Over 13,000 people have now signed a petition urging the UK to give back over 30 tonnes of Venezuelan gold to Venezuela, which is currently being held in the Bank of England, despite the Latin American nation requesting its return. The Gold currently has a value of £3.5bn (or US $4.74 bn.)
The surge in support for the petition, initiated by the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, comes at a time when leading figures in the Venezuelan Government and civil society have called for the gold to be returned as part of international campaigning for assets to be returned to the country and sanctions to be lifted. Currently, over 1000 economic sanctions remain on Venezuela – deeply damaging its economy, and with severe human consequences.
Leading figures from Britain’s peace, trade union and progressive movements have welcomed the campaign and added their support to the call for the gold to be returned.
Gawain Little, General Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions, said “Britain’s complicity in illegal economic warfare against Venezuela must come to an end. It is time for Britain to hand back illegally-seized Venezuelan gold.
We need an independent foreign policy based on peace and respect for international law.”
Jess Barnard, international solidarity campaigner and Labour Party NEC member (pc), added “It’s long overdue that Britain respect sovereignty in Latin America. With Trump ramping up attacks on countries across the global south, Starmer should listen to the growing global movement for international justice, give Venezuela back its gold and take a step to righting these historic wrongs.”
Lindsey German, Convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, commented that “Starmer has refused to condemn Trump’s illegal regime change by kidnapping Venezuela’s head of state, along with the brazen theft of millions of barrels of the country’s oil, and is utterly complicit in it by holding on to the tonnes of illegally seized Venezuelan gold in the coffers of the Bank of England. I absolutely welcome and support VSC’s campaign to demand the UK hand it back.”
Francisco Dominguez, Secretary of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign argued that “With the corrupt Guaido out of the picture, there’s is no legal let alone ‘moral’ (if there ever was) reason for the UK to hold on to Venezuela’s 31 tons of gold under custody in the Bank of England. Hence the growing outcry demanding PM Starmer returns them to their rightful owners: the government and people of Venezuela.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- The petition can be viewed at https://www.change.org/p/keir-starmer-give-venezuela-back-its-gold
- The petition reads in full “We condemn the decision of the Bank of England to continue to refuse to return to Venezuela billions of dollars of its gold deposited there, which has a value of at least £3.5bn (or US $4.74 bn).
This part of the tough international economic sanctions on Venezuela from the US, UK and other countries, which have caused immeasurable suffering to the people of that country.
The Venezuelan gold deposited in the Bank of England is the property of the Venezuelan people, not British banks. Preventing its return, only hurts the poorest in Venezuelan society. We call on the British government to act honourably and make clear to the Bank of England that this gold must be returned to its rightful owners – the Venezuelan people.”
- Historical background on the Bank of England holding Venezuela’s gold can be found here.
- In May 2026, Government Minister William Castillo made a major presentation on the effect of sanctions on Venezuela, arguing that the “call and demand from Venezuela as a nation, not just as a government [is] that all sanctions against the country be lifted,” and cited the example of the gold needing to be returned, arguing that “It was worth $2 billion when it was frozen. Today it is worth $4 billion due to the appreciation of gold.”