US and Venezuela Explore Unfreezing Billions in Assets for Post-Earthquake Reconstruction

Washington (ANTARA) - The United States government, together with the Venezuelan government, is considering various options to unfreeze frozen financial assets worth billions of dollars, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday.

The move is intended to help post-earthquake reconstruction in Venezuela and ease the financial burden borne by American taxpayers, the report said.

The US has pledged more than $380 million (around Rp6.8 trillion) in post-earthquake assistance to Venezuela.

On 24 June, two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck Venezuela. Following the disaster, Venezuelan authorities declared a state of emergency, and the international community dispatched rescue teams and humanitarian missions to the country.

In early July, Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said she would contact the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to request the release of funds to help earthquake victims and rebuild damaged infrastructure.

On 17 July, Rodriguez announced that the country had withdrawn $346 million (around Rp6.2 trillion) from its IMF reserve funds.

Rodriguez also stated her intention to send a letter to the British government and King Charles III requesting the return of 31 tonnes of Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England’s vaults since 2018 as a result of sanctions against Venezuela.

On Thursday (23/7), the World Bank estimated that the direct physical damage caused by the powerful earthquakes amounted to $19.6 billion (around Rp351.5 trillion).