CARACAS: Venezuela on Friday was to receive the first shipment of gold reserves it used to store overseas, now being repatriated in full, President Hugo Chavez said.
"Today the first flight with returning gold reserves is arriving," Chavez said, noting that it would be held in the Central Bank in Caracas.
"It never should have left the country," Chavez said without specifying where the reserves were coming from, the amount or additional details.
Chavez in August announced plans to repatriate the 211.35 tons of gold the country has abroad. It is worth an estimated $11 billion.
About 80 percent of the reserves are held in Britain, principally in the coffers of the Bank of England.
Chavez has also declared his intention to recover some $6.2 billion in liquid assets or tradeable bonds held by Swiss, British, French and US banks and to transfer them to institutions in "friendly" countries, like China, Russia and Brazil.
The president, who has battled cancer this year, is seeking a third six-year term in 2012.
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