Three months following the U.S. raid that captured socialist President Nicolas Maduro on 3 January, the Venezuelan National Assembly approved a new law on Thursday loosening the state’s grip on mining investments to open the sector for private and foreign companies.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has been bullish on the law, with U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum saying, during a March visit, that it will create opportunities for companies and that Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez has promised to ensure mining companies' security.
The law repeals mining regulations from 1999 and 2015 and allows domestic, foreign, state-owned and private companies or consortiums to exploit gold and "strategic minerals". Concessions will be for a maximum of 30 years, but can be extended by up to two 10-year periods.
Mineral deposits remain the property of the state and disputes can be resolved through arbitration, according to the law, which also creates a royalty tax of up to 13% of the gross production value of the mineral and up to a 6% tax on companies carrying out primary mining activities. The central bank will take charge of gold sales.
The National Assembly passed the law unanimously.
Rodriguez has repeatedly said the same message, saying last month that 120 potential energy investors, largely from the United States, have visited Venezuela since she took up her post and that investors will have legal and security guarantees.
Trump has supported a series of moves by Rodriguez to attract investors and stabilise the country since the January capture of Maduro, with the U.S. president repeatedly praising Rodriguez for cooperating with Washington.
The law is long overdue, said a mining businessman applying for licenses to export equipment to Venezuela and mine Venezuela's deposits, especially rare earths, which remain largely unexplored in the country.
"The incentives for the industry are not quite there yet, and it's also necessary that the U.S. speed up licenses and authorisations. If they want to take advantage of the momentum the Middle East conflict is creating, agility is needed," he added.
The U.S. has issued a license authorising certain transactions involving Venezuelan-origin gold and with state-owned mining company Minerven and its subsidiaries, as long as U.S. law governs contracts.
Venezuela owes billions of dollars to industrial conglomerates, oil and mining companies after waves of nationalisations two decades ago, including to Crystallex, Gold Reserve and Rusoro Mining. Improved inflation rates
The law comes amid overtures to spur outside capital in the struggling Venezuelan economy.
Venezuela's inflation in March stood at 13.1% month-on-month, down from February's slump to 14.6%, the central bank said on Thursday.
Adding March's data, annualized inflation was 649.4%, according to Reuters calculations based on the central bank's figures. In February, inflation slumped to 14.6% from 32.6% in January, the South American nation's central bank said.
The acceleration of prices has been driven by exchange rate depreciation since the start of last year, and coincides with a lower supply of foreign currency in the exchange market.
This has prompted several small and medium-sized Venezuelan companies to turn to alternative foreign exchange markets.
Cumulative inflation in the first three months of this year was 71.8%, the central bank said.
Post-Maduro transitionVenezuela has been witnessing a sweeping change in policies since Maduro's capture, including the National Assembly's confirmation on Thursday of Larry Devoe, a close ally of Rodriguez, as the country's new Attorney General, following the February resignation of long-standing Attorney General Tarek Saab.
Devoe, 46, had been serving as the South American nation's interim attorney general since Saab's resignation, and was previously the head of the National Council of Human Rights.
A legislative commission recommended Devoe after examining a list of more than 70 candidates and his designation was approved with 275 votes, assembly head Jorge Rodriguez, brother of the acting president, said during the session.
Opposition lawmaker Henrique Capriles nominated long-time legal academic Magaly Vasquez and she received 10 votes.
Iran and Israel said on Monday (8 June) they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump, as Axios reported...
A Sudanese man has been arrested over a knife attack in Belfast that left a man seriously injured and prompted calls online for a protest after footag...
The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan's relative stability may not be sustainable unless the country's current authorities change policies af...
Iran's FIFA World Cup 2026 squad arrived in Mexico wearing badges bearing the hashtag "168" in memory of victims of the deadly Minab school missile st...
Chinese President Xi Jinping is wrapping up a two-day state visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang. It was his first trip to the cou...
U.S. passenger air services to Venezuela resumed on Thursday (30 April), as an American Airlines flight landed in Caracas, restoring a commercial link between the two countries after seven years.
A United States Army soldier has been charged with making more than $400,000 by betting on the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, according to the Department of Justice.
In a major policy reversal, the U.S. Treasury has removed Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, from its sanctions list, signalling a sharp shift in Washington’s approach to Caracas.
A U.S. federal judge raised concerns on Thursday about whether sanctions preventing Venezuela from funding the legal defense of Nicolás Maduro could violate his constitutional rights, though he did not dismiss the drug-trafficking charges against the former leader.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party has won the Armenian elections, picking up nearly half the vote. With a majority in parliament, Pashinyan is set for a third term as Prime Minister. But an opposition politican has said he will challenge the election results.
The results of Armenia’s parliamentary elections will determine the makeup of the National Assembly and shape the country's political direction for the foreseeable future. But in Armenia, the final result is not decided by vote percentages alone. Here's how it works.
A Sudanese man has been arrested over a knife attack in Belfast that left a man seriously injured and prompted calls online for a protest after footage of the incident circulated widely on social media.
Barcelona is preparing to mark a historic milestone in the legacy of architect Antoni Gaudí as Pope Leo XIV visits the city this week to inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Família basilica, almost exactly 100 years after the visionary architect’s death.
Iran and Israel have halted strikes on each other, but Tehran has warned it will recommence attacks if Israel continues military action in Lebanon. U.S. President Donald Trump and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun have meanwhile made pleas for peace.
Iran's FIFA World Cup 2026 squad arrived in Mexico wearing badges bearing the hashtag "168" in memory of victims of the deadly Minab school missile strike, which occurred during the U.S. and Israeli raids on Iran on 28 February, according to the Iran Football Federation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is wrapping up a two-day state visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang. It was his first trip to the country since 2019, and a visit that carries more strategic weight than its carefully choreographed ceremonies might suggest.
A Sudanese man has been arrested over a knife attack in Belfast that left a man seriously injured and prompted calls online for a protest after footage of the incident circulated widely on social media.
A Paris court has dismissed criminal charges against New Caledonian pro-independence leader Christian Téin, ending a high-profile case that drew international attention and renewed scrutiny of France’s handling of independence movements in its overseas territories.
Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine's north-eastern Kharkiv region killed a pregnant woman and two other people, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday, as renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war continued.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment