Venezuela opposition boss asks Wall Street to cut off Maduro
CARACAS, Venezuela — The leader of Venezuela’s rebellious congress has a message for the world’s capitalists: Think twice before signing another check to President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
Amid anti-Maduro protests roiling Venezuela, leading to 20 deaths and dozens of arrests the past three weeks, the opposition is trying to rally international opinion against his socialist government.
For his part, National Assembly President Julio Borges has sent more than a dozen letters to leading global banks warning them of the risk to their reputations and bottom line if they throw a lifeline to Maduro as he seeks to bolster an economy suffering widespread shortages of food and other goods while avoiding a default on foreign debt.
“The national government, through the central bank, is going to try to swap gold held as reserves for dollars to stay in power unconstitutionally,” said one letter sent Thursday to John Cryan, the CEO of Deutsche Bank. “I have the obligation to warn you that by supporting such a gold swap you would be taking actions favouring a government that’s been recognized as dictatorial by the international community.”