Venezuela to request release of gold reserves frozen in UK

Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said Wednesday that she decided to send a letter to Britain's King Charles III requesting the release of about 30 tons of the country's gold reserves that have been frozen at the Bank of England under UK sanctions.

State television reported that Rodriguez said the aim is to allocate funds to aid victims and rebuild the areas affected by the devastating earthquakes of June 24.

She said the gold "belongs to our people and should be used to address the terrible and tragic consequences caused by the twin earthquakes."

Rodriguez said her country needs the sovereign assets to accelerate the reconstruction process, increase employment, revive economic activity and restore educational services.

She expressed the need to recover the assets in order to channel them directly towards the social welfare of the affected people.

Earlier, Rodriguez held a phone conversation with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about the release of Venezuela's frozen assets.

According to the US Geological Survey, two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude struck the South American nation on June 24, just 39 seconds apart.

The earthquakes caused widespread destruction, prompting a large-scale national and international humanitarian response.