STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We've heard a lot in recent days about Venezuela's oil. The country has another resource - gold. Years ago, CNN reported that the country was increasingly relying on gold to prop up its economy. CNN international correspondent Isa Soares was part of that investigation, and she's on the line. Good morning.
ISA SOARES: Very good morning to you, Steve.
INSKEEP: I got to admit this is a really cool story. It makes me think of, like, the earliest times of Venezuela, Spanish colonialism, the Spanish Main.
SOARES: Yeah.
INSKEEP: Is this like a big, old, historic industry?
SOARES: It is, indeed. I mean, especially where I went to. We went to El Callao, and this is in the Orinoco Belt. And traditionally, that is the height of where a lot of the gold has been sourced for many, many years. So that area is not new. But it's, you know, an El Dorado. It has been an El Dorado for Nicolás Maduro for many, many years. I went to El Callao. I think it's been ongoing, you know, the mining industry there, since kind of the early - kind of mid-19th century.
INSKEEP: OK.
SOARES: And that area, Steve, it has substantial gold deposits, in part, of course, due to geology.
INSKEEP: And how important has that gold become to the Venezuelan economy as it has otherwise fallen apart?
SOARES: Look, what we have seen - and you will no doubt would've reported on this, right? Venezuela has, as your listeners will know, 300 billion barrels in proven oil reserves. But they actually only produce less than - what? - less than 1 million a day.
INSKEEP: Yeah.
SOARES: And so over the years, with the infrastructure and under poor management of Chavez and Maduro, they've relied heavily on gold. And back in 2018, Maduro basically announced a gold plan, Steve, that would allow Venezuela to profit. Something like - I think the plan was like $5 billion annually to try and reset its gold in such a way as to strengthen our reserves, bring foreign investors. But what we have seen - and that's why we were there on the ground, to try and follow the money.
How is it? It's what we keep asking ourselves. How is it that Nicolás Maduro has been able to stay in power for so long? And this speaks to that. It is a question of the military around him. You'd mentioned, just before the break, the defense minister as well as the interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, Vladimir Padrino. They are really the tumor behind this whole enterprise. You removed the head, but the tumor is still there. They run this operation via planning (ph). These are military gangs. And we've seen the impact these have had on the ground. And they command the entire structure that goes all the way to the top.
INSKEEP: Let me make sure I understand this. You have a country with an almost worthless currency. It has a lot of oil, but not very much really being pumped. Are you saying that it is gold that the government is using to pay troops, pay security forces, keep the government together and maybe collect a little bit for themselves?
SOARES: Oh, without a doubt. For many, many years, that's exactly what they've been doing. This is not just me. This is military sources. This is many people in the government I've been speaking to. They have been using gold to funnel. The U.S. itself has said this. You know, they've actually put sanctions on Venezuelan gold as well. And we have tracked the money. You know, I was speaking when I was there to a source at the Venezuelan central bank. And he was saying to me that at the end of April that year, they had 26 tons of gold, Steve, taken out of the bank.
INSKEEP: Wow.
SOARES: And that was packed into private planes. And destination, by the way, Middle East and Africa.
INSKEEP: Oh.
SOARES: That's roughly, just for listeners, it's $1.6 billion. All of it skirting U.S. sanctions. And these shipments, by the way, they were going by the UAE - we tracked this - but via Uganda on a Russian plane in exchange for euros. This is a criminal enterprise that has pretty much hijacked all of the state's institutions to work for their service. And this is why when we ask ourselves, in 2019, why didn't Guaido manage? Of course, following the protests, following the support between Juan Guaido, why is it that he's still - Maduro has been able to stay in power? It's because its military. This enterprise has been funneling and keeping them going for so long, obviously enriching the pockets of the military and goes to the very top of the food chain.
INSKEEP: Amazing reporting. And I suppose that'll be one question to ask in the days ahead, whether that trade can continue. Isa Soares, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
SOARES: You're very welcome.
INSKEEP: She's with CNN International. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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