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The publication noted that Venezuelan gold had previously benefited US adversaries, such as Iran. President Donald Trump attempted to redirect this gold to the US for refining. However, partly due to the Trump administration's rushed approach, the gold—worth hundreds of millions of dollars—remains in storage, according to three individuals familiar with the supply situation.
Under international law, companies require assurances that the gold did not previously generate profits for criminals, cause environmental damage, or fuel corruption.
According to the NYT, the White House had previously authorized the multinational trading firm Trafigura Pte Ltd to sell Venezuelan gold. The company maintained that the US could "bring a lawless industry under control" and channel the raw material to the US and its partners; however, sources noted that some within Trafigura expressed doubts due to the difficulty of tracing the gold's origins.
The newspaper's sources added that Delcy Rodríguez—Venezuela's interim president—also expressed skepticism, though she held only nominal influence over the military commanders responsible for the mining regions. She ultimately agreed that Trafigura would partner with Minerven, Venezuela’s state-owned gold mining company; the plan was for Trafigura to purchase gold exclusively from specific mines and export it to the U.S., thereby ensuring that criminal groups or corrupt officials were not involved in the supply chain. As the newspaper notes, the links between gold mining and organized crime in Venezuela are well-documented.
An investigation by The New York Times revealed that, despite U.S. policy, the industry remains deeply intertwined with organized crime. For instance, in El Callao—a gold mining hub—some artisanal miners work at Minerven sites, with a portion of the gold going to a local criminal gang as "protection money." Payment records reviewed by the NYT indicate that Minerven declares only a fraction of the gold it sells to Trafigura.
According to the newspaper’s sources, six months after Trafigura began shipping gold to the U.S., the company has been unable to resell it. This means the gold—which was intended to be a lucrative asset for U.S. business—is instead sitting in warehouses. Any party seeking to purchase or refine the gold must certify that it has no ties to the criminal underworld.
source: nytimes.com
Under international law, companies require assurances that the gold did not previously generate profits for criminals, cause environmental damage, or fuel corruption.
According to the NYT, the White House had previously authorized the multinational trading firm Trafigura Pte Ltd to sell Venezuelan gold. The company maintained that the US could "bring a lawless industry under control" and channel the raw material to the US and its partners; however, sources noted that some within Trafigura expressed doubts due to the difficulty of tracing the gold's origins.
The newspaper's sources added that Delcy Rodríguez—Venezuela's interim president—also expressed skepticism, though she held only nominal influence over the military commanders responsible for the mining regions. She ultimately agreed that Trafigura would partner with Minerven, Venezuela’s state-owned gold mining company; the plan was for Trafigura to purchase gold exclusively from specific mines and export it to the U.S., thereby ensuring that criminal groups or corrupt officials were not involved in the supply chain. As the newspaper notes, the links between gold mining and organized crime in Venezuela are well-documented.
An investigation by The New York Times revealed that, despite U.S. policy, the industry remains deeply intertwined with organized crime. For instance, in El Callao—a gold mining hub—some artisanal miners work at Minerven sites, with a portion of the gold going to a local criminal gang as "protection money." Payment records reviewed by the NYT indicate that Minerven declares only a fraction of the gold it sells to Trafigura.
According to the newspaper’s sources, six months after Trafigura began shipping gold to the U.S., the company has been unable to resell it. This means the gold—which was intended to be a lucrative asset for U.S. business—is instead sitting in warehouses. Any party seeking to purchase or refine the gold must certify that it has no ties to the criminal underworld.
source: nytimes.com