TRM said:

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Diosdado Cabello represents a threat to US’ ability to keep interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez under Washington’s control (which is already fragile,) sources tell me. https://t.co/5lLi8mGodN

— Caitlin Doornbos (@CaitlinDoornbos) January 7, 2026

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P.U.T.U said:

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Hegseth confirmed we seized the Bella 1 and that a blockade remains for all sanctioned and illicit oil.

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Bunk Moreland said:

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TRM said:

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Diosdado Cabello represents a threat to US’ ability to keep interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez under Washington’s control (which is already fragile,) sources tell me. https://t.co/5lLi8mGodN

— Caitlin Doornbos (@CaitlinDoornbos) January 7, 2026

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Accurate. My wife said last night everyone back in VZ is saying nothing, being very cautious. They're now stuck between the current regime playing ball with the US (maybe), Diosdado looking to use his might and his Colectivos to create fear and harass, injure and kill anyone in the country who shows any support for anything other than Maduro, and the ever-wanting fight for free elections and possible democracy.

I think reality is setting in over there that this is a year out at least, and there is no clear path to a good outcome. There are some paths though that are definitely better than Maduro remaining in charge.

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Bunk Moreland said:

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Yes, both are trying to present control/authority. the VZ people couldn't care less for Delcy, but they are mortified of Diosdado.

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SENIOR RUSSIAN LAWMAKER SAYS U.S. SEIZURE OF RUSSIAN-FLAGGED OIL TANKER IS OUTRIGHT PIRACY - TASS

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) January 7, 2026

JUST IN: The United States has seized two “ghost fleet” tanker ships including a Russian-flagged tanker linked to Venezuela following a multi-week long pursuit.

“In two predawn operations today, the Coast Guard conducted back-to-back meticulously coordinated boarding of two… pic.twitter.com/e0vSMXrYPZ

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 7, 2026

aggiehawg said:

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Fun fact: Venezuela's Constitution is not like ours. The VP does not automatically ascend to the Presidency Can be Acting President until elections can be held.

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caleblyn said:

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Quick question, and it truly is a question.

First, I am excited for Venezuela and their citizens. Removing Maduro is huge for their country. Yes, we were working under a warrant and executed that warrant. I do not believe we are invading or trying to take over land.

However, and here is the question, if someone were to challenge my belief of the situation by asking why are we taking all of this oil, how do you respond? Please provide a summary of what I am missing. What is the deal with the oil and why is Trump stating that the US will receive 40-50 Million Barrels of oil from V?

tia

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Logos Stick said:

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LOL, note he didn't say "act of war".

If Putin wants to ramp this up, then we heavily weaponize Ukraine with offensive weapons, including nukes!

SENIOR RUSSIAN LAWMAKER SAYS U.S. SEIZURE OF RUSSIAN-FLAGGED OIL TANKER IS OUTRIGHT PIRACY - TASS

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) January 7, 2026

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boulderaggie said:

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I think part of it has to do with the fact that Chevron (and others?) purchased oil rights, built infrastructure and Venezuela stole it and kicked them out. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the US proceeds from this oil isn't used in some other US endeavor, e.g., Greenland, to basically buy it for free or using house money. Seems like a Trump move.

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Tailgate88 said:

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Someone needs to Photoshop a Come & Take It flag with an oil tanker replacing the cannon.

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caleblyn said:

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Quick question, and it truly is a question.

First, I am excited for Venezuela and their citizens. Removing Maduro is huge for their country. Yes, we were working under a warrant and executed that warrant. I do not believe we are invading or trying to take over land.

However, and here is the question, if someone were to challenge my belief of the situation by asking why are we taking all of this oil, how do you respond? Please provide a summary of what I am missing. What is the deal with the oil and why is Trump stating that the US will receive 40-50 Million Barrels of oil from V?

tia

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Really good point. The United Kingdom had withdrawn some intelligence sharing due to legal concerns of US operations in the Caribbean. The fact that they changed their policy here does indicate that something important is on this vessel and the intelligence that the United… https://t.co/1kNOMGScRz

— Intelschizo (@Schizointel) January 7, 2026

🚨🇺🇸🇻🇪🇨🇳 CHINA ACCUSES U.S. OF STEALING ITS OIL AFTER TRUMP DIVERTS VENEZUELAN CRUDE TO AMERICA

China is livid, and they’re not hiding it.

After Trump announced the U.S. will refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil previously frozen under sanctions, Beijing… pic.twitter.com/8bwMIpcHNe

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 7, 2026

nortex97 said:

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JamesE4 said:

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KentK93 said:

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docb said:

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Exxon Mobil in Baytown can process that nasty crude oil all day long

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

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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.

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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:

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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.

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One thing to add - China has been attempting to de-dollarize, purchasing oil using Yuan. Trump will sell them the oil, but only in dollars. China needs dollars again.

— Matthew Aaron (@theAlphaAddict) January 7, 2026

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:

Russia’s oil export income continues to collapse, now down 35% since October, falling to just $959 million per week — the lowest level since the war began.

According to Bloomberg calculations, weekly oil revenues are now roughly $500 million lower than in early October and… pic.twitter.com/0v2HQF6Sbq

— SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre (@StratcomCentre) January 7, 2026

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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Alexei Zhuravlev, Russian nationalist politician and member of the State Duma, has called for Russia to sink ships with the U.S. Coast Guard in response to today’s boarding and seizure of the Russian-flagged Iranian-linked oil tanker, Marinera, in the Northern Atlantic, stating,… pic.twitter.com/4jjM67LleP

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 7, 2026

aggiehawg said:

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Rossticus said:

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If you REALLY want to find out in a hurry, this is how you do it, Russia. Think veeeeery carefully. I have to think that this guy must be the Duma's "village idiot" but it's hard to tell with the extreme rhetoric those guys like to toss around.

Alexei Zhuravlev, Russian nationalist politician and member of the State Duma, has called for Russia to sink ships with the U.S. Coast Guard in response to today’s boarding and seizure of the Russian-flagged Iranian-linked oil tanker, Marinera, in the Northern Atlantic, stating,… pic.twitter.com/4jjM67LleP

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 7, 2026

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American military can only fire under one of two circumstances: Direction of the President OR they are fired upon.

A torpedo strike upon one of our military ships? Yeah, then we go "proportional" on their ass.

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Martels Hammer said:

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Rossticus said:

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🚨🇺🇸🇻🇪🇨🇳 CHINA ACCUSES U.S. OF STEALING ITS OIL AFTER TRUMP DIVERTS VENEZUELAN CRUDE TO AMERICA

China is livid, and they’re not hiding it.

After Trump announced the U.S. will refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil previously frozen under sanctions, Beijing… pic.twitter.com/8bwMIpcHNe

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 7, 2026

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Hey China,

Let's talk about patents and intellectual property.

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USA*** said:

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Martels Hammer said:

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Rossticus said:

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🚨🇺🇸🇻🇪🇨🇳 CHINA ACCUSES U.S. OF STEALING ITS OIL AFTER TRUMP DIVERTS VENEZUELAN CRUDE TO AMERICA

China is livid, and they’re not hiding it.

After Trump announced the U.S. will refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil previously frozen under sanctions, Beijing… pic.twitter.com/8bwMIpcHNe

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 7, 2026

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Hey China,

Let's talk about patents and intellectual property.

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And theft of territory and resource access in the South China Sea

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nortex97 said:

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JamesE4 said:

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KentK93 said:

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docb said:

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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.

---

One thing to add - China has been attempting to de-dollarize, purchasing oil using Yuan. Trump will sell them the oil, but only in dollars. China needs dollars again.

— Matthew Aaron (@theAlphaAddict) January 7, 2026

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:

Russia’s oil export income continues to collapse, now down 35% since October, falling to just $959 million per week — the lowest level since the war began.

According to Bloomberg calculations, weekly oil revenues are now roughly $500 million lower than in early October and… pic.twitter.com/0v2HQF6Sbq

— SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre (@StratcomCentre) January 7, 2026

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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Quote:

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Our definition of "proportional" is a little more harsh than everyone else's…

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