Looks like we may have gotten involved in Venezuela

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pacecar02
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In reply to richardag • 2:13p, 1/6/26
lolololololol
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annie88
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3:12p, 1/6/26
AG

“Some people bring joy wherever they go, and some people bring joy whenever they go.” ~ Mark Twain
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fullback44
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In reply to Who?mikejones! • 7:30p, 1/6/26
AG
Who?mikejones! said:


Sure, sure, vlad.

This guy is a dumb ass…. To sit there and lie like they do, they are killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Ukrainian people ….. this we should send about 50 Tomahawks to Russian weapons plants just for saying stuff like this .. and a few into Moscow apartment buildings
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richardag
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In reply to SeMgCo87 • 7:48p, 1/6/26
SeMgCo87 said:
The Fall Guy said:
Owlagdad said:
Liberals hate for Trump, hate for not being in control is bigger than the belief we need to take out those who destroy our country with drugs.


100 percent agree. My Democrat wife was for what happened in Venezuela and taking Maduro. Probably because she is Gen X and knew what went down in Panama in 89. She said it is the same type of operation. These younger people dont read history or refuse to retain it.

My understanding is that US History has not been taught in school for several decades...like maybe 4...

I watch Jesse Watters, and the best part is when "Johnny" interviews college students...they cannot name a list of Presidents, or the current one, or name the 3 bodies of government, or who fought in the Civil War...if it weren't so hilarious, it would be sad and embarrassing...

And to think that these youngsters vote, and will run the country someday...

Being a military brat I was fortunate that when I went to 3 different high schools I ended up taking American History my sophomore, junior and senior years. The best American History teacher just happened to be in Montgomery Alabama, she was elderly and very direct and tolerated no nonsense.
Among the latter, under pretence of governing they have divided their nations into two classes, wolves and sheep.”
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Edward Carrington, January 16, 1787
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P.U.T.U
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8:12p, 1/6/26
AG
7 US soldiers injured, 5 already back in service and 2 more recovering. Pretty incredible
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Rossticus
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8:26p, 1/6/26
Wow.

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Rossticus
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8:34p, 1/6/26
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nortex97
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In reply to Rossticus • 8:46p, 1/6/26
AG
It's absolutely mystifying what's going on here at this point.
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Ag In Ok
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In reply to nortex97 • 9:38p, 1/6/26
AG
It's either carrying Kaiser Soze or VZ reserve gold.
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BenFiasco14
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In reply to nortex97 • 9:55p, 1/6/26
AG
Time to seize that ship!
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
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flown-the-coop
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10:03p, 1/6/26
AG
Ruuskies going to hunt her down and sink if, not escort it. We need to get Jack Ryan on board.
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boulderaggie
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10:23p, 1/6/26
AG
We should tactically EMP it to disable and set it adrift then take it.

Edit: meant to use the winkie emoji
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Esteban du Plantier
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10:58p, 1/6/26
fullback44
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11:28p, 1/6/26
AG
This is all getting very interesting…. Not sure this is just about drugs or oil any more. Too much going on both sides .. does that ship have some type of weapons Russia wanted out of their ?
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Rossticus
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In reply to fullback44 • 11:57p, 1/6/26
fullback44 said:
does that ship have some type of weapons Russia wanted out of their ?


Most likely. Or something else that they neither want the US to know about nor secure. This could end up a very interesting game of chicken.
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nortex97
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In reply to Rossticus • 5:48a, 1/7/26
AG
It's off Scotland now apparently, Brits are sending a bunch of typhoons/assets to 'monitor' the situation too. Time to stop dancing around this thing. We've flown AC-130's and a bunch of gear in just for this rust bucket.

Also:


Good indication the current Venezuelan Gov't continues to cooperate with Trump etc.
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nortex97
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6:00a, 1/7/26
AG


I just hope they/we don't sink it. I seriously want to know WTAF is in this thing now.
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nortex97
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In reply to JamesE4 • 6:28a, 1/7/26
AG
JamesE4 said:
KentK93 said:
docb said:
Exxon Mobil in Baytown can process that nasty crude oil all day long

Isn't there a Velero refinery that was purposed built for VZ heavy crude? Looks like this is a timely build: New Houston refinery

The proposed Element fuel refinery will be designed for Texas fracked shale oil crudes, not heavy oil crude. There are several refineries in the Gulf that can handle heavy crudes - some were revamped to handle lighter U.S. crudes, but could probably be switched back to heavier blends if the crudes are cheap enough.

I saw this and thought of this post. What do you think we will do with the Chevron oil that they are now going to pick up, continue to send it to China? Genuinely curious.
Quote:
Years ago China imported almost no oil from Venezuela due to a lack of heavy crude refining facilities. Since the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two nations, China invested tens of billions to strengthen cooperation. Specifically, in 2023, the China-Venezuela Petrochemical Plant was built in Jieyang, Guangdong. This 20-million-ton-per-year integrated refining and chemical project is the flagship of the China-Venezuela strategic cooperation (referred to as the "China-Venezuela Project"). It was designed specifically to refine Venezuelan Merey-16 heavy crude. By 2025, it was expected that Venezuela would provide 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the Jieyang refinery, accounting for over 90% of Venezuela's total exports.

Now that Trump has taken control of Venezuela, he has "killed two birds with one stone." The U.S. military has already secured Venezuelan shipping ports (such as the Port of Jose). Consequently, the China-Venezuela Jieyang plant has been cut off from its supply; facing a total lack of oil to refine, the facility is now at risk of becoming obsolete.

By securing this supply, the U.S. can not only feed its own refineriessatisfying their "hunger" for heavy crudebut also intercept the flow of Venezuelan oil to China. This effectively "throttles" Chinese refineries, delivering a precision strike against China's core heavy oil import strategy while simultaneously seizing control over global heavy oil pricing power.

Well, yes, President Trump has offered reassurances that he will guarantee China's heavy oil supply, but who knows how much will be supplied and under which condition? This "guaranteed supply" will become a strategic bargaining chip for America likely used to pressure China into "oil-for-debt" or "oil-for-tariffs" swaps. Furthermore, while Venezuelan oil was previously purchased using Chinese currency RMB (Yuan), it will inevitably return to USD settlement, ensuring dominance over petroleum finance.

China is a big loser, this is for sure.


The currency angle is a big deal, I hadn't really thought much about that. Trump has said he will send oil still to China, but he didn't note the currency (didn't need to really).

Oh, and for those curious, this is also a knock-on effect imho, of the Venezuelan action impacting the global trade of oil as a commodity:

Adversely impacting in very significant ways all of Cuba, Iran, Russia and China is a pretty brilliant outcome from arresting two people, I'd say. Even media types with TDS I'd expect realize that.
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Cyprian
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6:32a, 1/7/26
AG
The US has been trailing a Bella 1 tanker across the Atlantic from trying to reach VZ, reading now that Russia is moving a sub and some other assets to help escort it to Russia now... makes me wonder what might be so precious onboard?
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nortex97
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In reply to Cyprian • 6:56a, 1/7/26
AG
Yeah, maybe you've got me on ignore or whatever but apparently we are now seizing a bunch of tankers simultaneously in the Caribbean/Atlantic (there was a Venezuelan jail break of around 12-16 shadow fleet tankers a few days ago).

Little bird would not be a coast guard helo:

Might need a separate thread for this operation, I dunno.
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Tailgate88
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7:15a, 1/7/26
AG
https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-forces-attempting-board-sanctioned-russian-flagged-oil-tanker-north-atlantic-sources-say

Quote:
U.S. forces are attempting to board the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker in the North Atlantic Sea, sources told Fox News.
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Bunk Moreland
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7:31a, 1/7/26
CNBC breaking that the US will be acquiring more than 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned oil from VZ, and in turn the US will roll back sanctions and the proceeds from the sale by VZ are supposed to be used to go back into helping with VZ infrastructure/helping the people.

It effectively blocks the oil from going to China, but it's also completely different from what the trump admin previously said which was they would be given this sanctioned oil for free and the US would sell it, then turn that around to help with VZ rebuild efforts.

Also said it will be more than 50M barrels a day and be continuous.

This new update is actually cleaner than the perceived blackmail plan of taking it for free. We'll see if VZ plays ball.
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HTownAg98
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In reply to Who?mikejones! • 7:35a, 1/7/26
Who?mikejones! said:


Somebody knew. Probably some helo pilot

Turns out they might not be getting paid.

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agent-maroon
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7:37a, 1/7/26
AG
Quote:
The United States launched an operation Wednesday to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic, two U.S. officials told NBC News, following a dramatic weekslong chase on the high seas.

The ship has been secured, according to one of the U.S. officials.

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/venezuela/us-seize-russia-flagged-oil-tanker-bella1-marinera-venezuela-rcna252738
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Bunk Moreland
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In reply to Bunk Moreland • 7:40a, 1/7/26
Bunk Moreland said:
CNBC breaking that the US will be acquiring more than 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned oil from VZ, and in turn the US will roll back sanctions and the proceeds from the sale by VZ are supposed to be used to go back into helping with VZ infrastructure/helping the people.

It effectively blocks the oil from going to China, but it's also completely different from what the trump admin previously said which was they would be given this sanctioned oil for free and the US would sell it, then turn that around to help with VZ rebuild efforts.

Also said it will be more than 50M barrels a day and be continuous.

This new update is actually cleaner than the perceived blackmail plan of taking it for free. We'll see if VZ plays ball.


Update: and right after the break they come back on and re-clarify again.

Oil WILL be given to us. US will sell and hold funds in banks. Once VZ proves it will play ball they will use those funds to reinvest back into VZ. And sanctions will be reduced.

I guess they're basically just trying to find the best way to keep the oil from going to China and having a carrot to dangle VZ to get access to that money.
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SidetrackAg
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7:48a, 1/7/26
AG
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flown-the-coop
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7:54a, 1/7/26
AG
Yo no soy Marinera, yo no soy Marinera! Soy Bella 1, soy Bella 1

Bamba, Bamba
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P.U.T.U
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8:07a, 1/7/26
AG
Hegseth confirmed we seized the Bella 1 and that a blockade remains for all sanctioned and illicit oil.
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Tony Franklins Other Shoe
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In reply to nortex97 • 8:07a, 1/7/26
AG
nortex97 said:

Adversely impacting in very significant ways all of Cuba, Iran, Russia and China is a pretty brilliant outcome from arresting two people, I'd say. Even media types with TDS I'd expect realize that.

If they realize it, they sure won't say it publicly.

Person Not Capable of Pregnancy
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Cyprian
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8:12a, 1/7/26
AG
Putin looks like a paper dragon now
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A_Gang_Ag_06
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8:16a, 1/7/26
AG
Seems appropriate today.

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No Spin Ag
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In reply to Cyprian • 8:16a, 1/7/26
Cyprian said:
Putin looks like a paper dragon now


By now, you mean more than he already did with Ukraine, right? I mean, when he had to make himself Xi's little witch with a capital B, that was pretty telling of how "paper dragon" he was.
There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the later ignorance. Hippocrates
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No Spin Ag
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In reply to Bunk Moreland • 8:18a, 1/7/26
Bunk Moreland said:
Bunk Moreland said:
CNBC breaking that the US will be acquiring more than 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned oil from VZ, and in turn the US will roll back sanctions and the proceeds from the sale by VZ are supposed to be used to go back into helping with VZ infrastructure/helping the people.

It effectively blocks the oil from going to China, but it's also completely different from what the trump admin previously said which was they would be given this sanctioned oil for free and the US would sell it, then turn that around to help with VZ rebuild efforts.

Also said it will be more than 50M barrels a day and be continuous.

This new update is actually cleaner than the perceived blackmail plan of taking it for free. We'll see if VZ plays ball.


Update: and right after the break they come back on and re-clarify again.

Oil WILL be given to us. US will sell and hold funds in banks. Once VZ proves it will play ball they will use those funds to reinvest back into VZ. And sanctions will be reduced.

I guess they're basically just trying to find the best way to keep the oil from going to China and having a carrot to dangle VZ to get access to that money.


Diplomacy that actually looks sound. About time.
There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the later ignorance. Hippocrates
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TRM
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8:21a, 1/7/26
AG
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flown-the-coop
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8:24a, 1/7/26
AG
Probably time to start looking past Putin…. But not yet.

His global coalition seeming to fall apart after he pissed billions away to Iran, Venezuela and special military actions certainly undercut any further aspirations he may have had.

Who's next in Russia becomes ever more critical. And don't forget Putin still sits on top of nukes and a depleted but respectable arsenal.

He's weaker but he's not weak.

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