CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared president Juan Guaido has asked British authorities to stop President Nicolas Maduro gaining access to gold reserves held in the Bank of England, according to letters released by his party on Sunday.

Maduro has been disavowed by a broad group of Western nations and Latin American neighbours that accuse him of undermining democracy, and a growing number of countries have recognised Guaido as legitimate interim leader of the troubled OPEC nation.