Chavez Wants Gold

(Caracas, Venezuela) President Hugo Chavez has ordered that all of Venezuela's gold bullion held in Western banks be shipped home.

Approximately 190 tons of bullion worth $11 billion will be packed and shipped.

Chavez announced the move in August as a “sovereign” step that would help protect Venezuela’s foreign reserves from economic turbulence in the United States and Europe. Most of Venezuela’s gold held abroad is in London.

It was also seen as another populist measure ahead of the election next October, when Chavez will seek another six-year term.

It will likely to be a hard fought and contentious vote, and some critics suggest Chavez is frightened by the chance of Venezuela’s foreign reserves being frozen by sanctions — as happened to his friend and ally, Libya’s late Muammar Gaddafi.

By doing this, he also reduces the risk of any seizure of assets related to ongoing arbitration cases, including those linked to the nationalization of multi-billion dollar oil projects run by major U.S. companies.

I suggest that the demise of good-buddy Gaddafi has made Chavez jumpy.