Venezuela’s opposition congress names ad-hoc central bank board

A man walks outside of the Venezuela’s Central Bank in Caracas, Venezuela, January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday appointed an ad-hoc board for the country’s central bank with the aim of “protecting its international reserves” from President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

The assembly head, Juan Guaido, named five people to the ad-hoc board. Most western nations recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate president, though Maduro retains control of the state, including the central bank.

Guaido did not explain how the ad-hoc board would function, but the opposition has previously sought to prevent Maduro’s government from accessing central bank gold kept at the Bank of England.