Venezuela Gold Smuggling Trail Leads to Turkey

2026-03-16 - 14:03

Key Points — Venezuela’s central bank gold reserves fell from 105 tons in 2019 to 53 tons in 2025, despite ongoing extraction from the Orinoco Mining Arc — with investigations tracing the missing gold to Turkey, the UAE, Iran, and other intermediaries — Alex Saab, Maduro’s former fixer turned minister, allegedly controlled the operation through