Gold Reserve Limited has taken its fight over the proposed judicial sale of Citgo Petroleum’s American parent to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, filing its opening appellate brief in Washington on Friday.

The appeal comes days after Gold Reserve publicly welcomed the removal of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by the United States, praising the Trump administration and the US military for what it said were efforts to bring Mr Maduro to justice and secure the release of a company colleague it describes as a political prisoner.

The company said its lawyer, José Ignacio Moreno Suárez, has been detained without trial for more than two years, alleging he has endured torture and harsh conditions.

Paul Rivett, Gold Reserve’s vice-chairman, said the company looked forward to assisting in “a return to peace and prosperity in Venezuela”.

The Bermudian-based miner, which redomiciled to Bermuda in 2024, has a long and contentious history in Venezuela after the expropriation of its Brisas and Siembra Minera gold and copper projects under the Chávez and Maduro governments.

The company added in Friday’s release that, with Venezuela’s political and economic situation still in flux, it is updating security plans and preparing for possible negotiations on a safe return to Venezuelan operations “when conditions permit”.

Gold Reserve’s appeal challenges a November Delaware District Court order that endorsed a $5.9 billion bid by Elliott Investment Management’s affiliate, Amber Energy, to buy Petroleos de Venezuela Holding, Inc — a move that would transfer control of one of Venezuela’s most valuable overseas assets.

In a press release, the company said its appeal argues the lower court “violated the Delaware law requirement that the attached shares be sold to the highest bidder”, noting that its own offer was roughly $2 billion higher than the Elliott/Amber proposal.

Gold Reserve also renewed claims that the district court and court-appointed advisers were conflicted. The company says the judge “should have been disqualified due to conflicts of interest involving the court-appointed Special Master and his advisers that infected the proceedings”.

That contention echoes complaints already lodged by the Venezuela parties — the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, state oil company PDVSA, PDVH and Citgo Petroleum — which also filed briefs challenging the sale order and seeking a stay while appeals proceed.

Gold Reserve’s filing moves beyond its earlier December motion supporting a stay request, setting out substantive legal arguments that the Third Circuit will now weigh on the merits.

Those include whether the Delaware statute governing forced sales required acceptance of the highest bid and whether procedural defects undermine the sale process.

Replies from opposing parties in the appellate proceedings are due by February 9.