Is it about oil? Or is the US chasing Venezuela’s gigantic gold reserves

Yesterday the United States carried out a short-lived military operation in and around Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president, was taken into custody.

The rumor mill is now running at full speed. Is the US focusing on the country’s gigantic oil reserves or are there other motives at play?

Rising gold prices increase the value of gold reserves

It’s no secret that Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. But while the world focuses mainly on these oil reserves around the conflict between the US and Venezuela, Venezuela also has a significant amount of gold.

With 161 tons, Venezuela is the largest gold holder in Latin America. At a gold price of $4,300 per ounce, that stock represents a value of more than $22 billion.

Venezuela possesses 161 tons of gold, worth about 5.18 million ounces. At a gold price of $4,300 per ounce, this represents a value of more than $22 billion. Each increase of $100 per ounce means an additional $518 million on paper for Venezuela.

With this amount, Venezuela is the largest gold holder in Latin America. These reserves are crucial for the survival strategy of the country, which is suffering heavily from international sanctions and has little access to foreign currency. Gold acts as a strategic buffer in times of economic crisis.

Geopolitical game for raw materials

The international community’s focus has traditionally been on Venezuela’s oil reserves, which are among the largest in the world. Yet the gold reserves seem at least as strategic. The combination of oil and gold makes the country a geopolitical heavyweight in South America.

Control of such natural resources could represent hundreds of billions of dollars in potential revenue. Although there is no immediate indication that the US wants to take the gold reserves or oil fields, it seems unrealistic to completely rule out that option. In a world in which raw materials are increasingly used as a geopolitical weapon, Venezuela remains a key area.