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Hands Off Venezuela condemns UK High Court decision on Venezuelan gold Its dayli

Marxist Theory · 2026-05-13

Core Argument

The article argues that the UK High Court's decision to deny Venezuela access to its own gold reserves — 31 tonnes held at the Bank of England — constitutes an act of piracy, not a legal judgment. The central claim is that this ruling is a direct instrument of US-led regime change, dressed in judicial language. The court's reasoning — that the UK government "unequivocally recognised" Juan Guaidó as president — is exposed as a pretext for what is, in substance, the theft of a sovereign state's assets to finance a political blockade. The article insists that the decision endangers lives, since the Venezuelan government had pledged the gold's proceeds to fight COVID-19 under UN supervision.

Theoretical Grounding

The analysis is grounded in the Marxist theory of imperialism, specifically Lenin's conception of finance capital as a weapon of inter-state coercion. The article does not deploy abstract categories like overaccumulation or the tendency of the rate of profit to fall; instead, it focuses on the concrete mechanisms by which imperialist states use control over financial circuits — central bank reserves, recognition of governments, legal sovereignty — to enforce subordination. The argument draws on the tradition of anti-imperialist solidarity work (Hands Off Venezuela) that understands the state as an instrument of class rule, not a neutral arbiter. The reference to John Bolton's memoir is significant: it confirms the openly coordinated, bipartisan nature of the operation, stripping away any illusion that the UK courts act independently of US geopolitical strategy.

Conjunctural Relevance

The article is published in July 2020, at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Venezuela was already suffering from a severe economic crisis, compounded by US sanctions that had been dramatically escalated under the Trump administration. The specific conjuncture is one in which the pandemic had exposed the lethality of sanctions regimes: by blocking access to hard currency for medical supplies, the US and its allies were actively worsening the humanitarian situation. The UK High Court ruling is not an isolated legal event but part of a broader pattern — the freezing of Venezuelan state assets in Portugal, the seizure of a Venezuelan plane in Argentina, and the ongoing blockade of the country's oil exports. The article names Jeremy Hunt and John Bolton as key actors, linking the decision to the 2018-2020 period of maximum pressure on the Maduro government, including the failed coup attempt of April 2019 and the Trump administration's recognition of Guaidó.

Where the Argument Continues

This article is a solidarity statement, not a theoretical treatise. It leaves several questions open: the precise legal mechanisms by which the UK courts justified overriding the principle of sovereign immunity; the role of the Bank of England as a custodian of foreign reserves and its vulnerability to political pressure; and the broader strategy of the Venezuelan government in responding to asset freezes. The argument continues in In Defence of Marxism's ongoing coverage of Venezuela, particularly articles analysing the 2020 parliamentary elections, the collapse of the Guaidó faction, and the shifting balance of forces in Latin America. Against the Stream episodes from this period (mid-2020) discuss the intersection of sanctions, debt, and pandemic in Venezuela. For the deeper theoretical framework, readers should turn to Lenin's Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism and, for the specific question of state recognition and international law, to the Marxist tradition's critique of bourgeois legal formalism.

Connections

  • John Bolton's memoir (referenced in the article) provides first-hand confirmation of the coordinated nature of the asset freeze.
  • Hands Off Venezuela is the practical solidarity organisation; its broader campaign materials connect this case to similar seizures of Venezuelan assets in Portugal and the US.
  • In Defence of Marxism's Venezuela series (2017-2020) traces the political economy of the crisis, including the role of oil rent, the collapse of the bolívar, and the impact of sanctions.
  • Lenin, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism — for the theory of finance capital and inter-imperialist rivalry.
  • Rosa Luxemburg, The Accumulation of Capital — for the analysis of how capitalist states use non-economic coercion to maintain access to resources.
  • Against the Stream, episodes from July 2020 — for discussion of the pandemic and sanctions in real time.

Key Quotes

  1. "This decision can only be described as daylight robbery and an act of piracy."

  2. "The Bank of England originally took the decision to block access to the gold reserve, worth over US$1bn, which had been deposited in London for safekeeping, in 2018. That decision was taken at the request of the US government as part of its efforts to undermine the Venezuelan government."

  3. "In his recently published book, John Bolton explains how the then British Foreign Minister, Jeremy Hunt, was 'delighted to cooperate' with Washington's 'regime change' efforts against Venezuela, specifically mentioning the freezing of Venezuela's gold reserves at the Bank of England."

  4. "The UK government has formally recognised Guaidó as 'interim president', but maintains full consular and diplomatic relations with Venezuela and its legitimate government."

  5. "The Venezuelan government had pledged that proceeds from the repatriation of the gold reserves would only be used, under supervision of the UN Human Development Program, in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela."

  6. "By continuing to illegally withhold the Venezuelan gold, the UK is endangering lives in Venezuela."