Oil Wars: Trump Announces New Sanctions And Tariffs On Venezuela Causing Oil Prices To Rise, As Trump Eyes New Proxy War
This report provides an overview of U.S. meddling with Venezuela dating back to the Bush administration, and how Veneuzela’s neighboring oil-rich Guyana could become the next notable war.
President Donald Trump, in his latest round of threats and sanctions, is now going after Venezuela and its oil supply, picking up where he left off from his first tenure and continuing to apply aggression towards the oil-centric nation, something the previous Biden administration ramped up in late-2023 as it signaled it was ready to fund yet another military occupation to defend its ‘national interests’ by defending oil-rich neighboring Guyana.
(WAC) noted in a report that the Trump administration has slapped 25% secondary tariffs on anyone who purchases Venezuelan oil, even though the United States buys oil from Venezuela. WAC notes that China imports the most oil from Venezuela, so it can be assumed that Trump’s latest threat is another attempt to disrupt Chinese trade and dominance.
OEC reports: “In 2023, Venezuela exported $739M to China. The main products that Venezuela exported to China were Petroleum Coke ($366M), Acyclic alcohol derivatives (halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated) ($107M), and Iron Ore ($89.6M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Venezuela to China have decreased at an annualized rate of 37%, from $7.43B in 2018 to $739M in 2023.”
Moreover, approximately 200 cargo ships carrying Venezuelan crude traveled to Europe within the last year. So, if Trump maintains his posture with this - something he has shown to be quite loquacious about - he would also be tariffing Europe, a continent and bloc that is already struggling with sky-high energy costs and inflation.
Trump’s actions, if they hold, specifically affect China, India, Spain, Italy and Cuba.
Trump said in a statement on Truth Social that these sanctions are implemented “for numerous reasons.”
Oilprice.com noted in a report this week:
Earlier this month, Chevron Corp. received a 30-day notice from the Trump administration to wrap up its operations in Venezuela. The deadline, set for April 3, provides the company only 30 days instead of the normal six-month wind-down period. Since 2022, Chevron has been allowed to operate in Venezuela as an exception to U.S. sanctions, exporting crude to the United States.
According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other foreign-policy hawks, Chevron has been providing a financial lifeline for Maduro’s regime to enrich itself and suppress civil rights. Venezuela produced about 20% of Venezuela’s oil in 2024, close to Maduro’s goal of 1 million barrels per day. Chevron is the only major oil producer with a waiver to operate in Venezuela despite Washington’s sanctions against President Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
WAC likened this “blockade” to similar sanctions levied against embattled Syria for many years - something the United Nations, along with the European Union and U.S. have hypocritically attempted to whitewash and coverup for a long time as they too occupy Syria’s oil, while claiming the new Syrian government run by Al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorists are now pro-women and “moderate.”
Since his announcement, Oilprice.com noted on Tuesday the move “has sparked some bullishness in oil markets this week.”
As of yesterday, according to Oilprice.com,
Brent crude for May delivery gained 1.2% to trade at $73.89 per barrel at 11.30 am ET while the comparable WTI crude contract climbed 1.2% to $69.84.
The tariffs could disrupt global oil supply chains, with U.S. oil companies likely to emerge as key beneficiaries of Venezuela’s customers looking for alternative supplies.
Trader sentiment remains negative largely due to concerns over the potential demand effects of U.S. tariff policies and the potential supply effects of a U.S. switch to policies that are more accommodative of Russian targets.
However, more context is required to get a fuller picture surrounding Trump’s latest actions to understand why the U.S. continues to go after Venezuela.
Trump And U.S. Coup Attempts
During his first tenure, President Donald Trump attempted a coup d'état in 2019 to overthrow the communist Maduro with a relatively unknown right-wing opposition politician Juan Guaidó.
Ultimately, it failed and the Maduro government is still in power.
In June 2023, Trump spilled the beans on the real reason why the U.S. wanted Guaidó to win: to seize control of Venezuelan oil, which is considered to have the largest reserves in the world.
“When I left, Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken it over; we would have gotten to all that oil; it would have been right next door.
“But now we’re buying oil from Venezuela. So we’re making a dictator very rich. Can you believe this? Nobody can believe it.”
Officials in Venezuela blasted Trump’s remarks. Foreign minister, Yvan Gil, responded:
“Trump confesses that his intention was to take over Venezuela’s oil. All the damage that the United States has done to our people, with the support of its lackeys, here has had one objective: to steal our resources! They were not able to, and they will not be able to. We will always overcome!”
Venezuela’s vice minister for North America, Carlos Ron, declared,
“What further evidence do we need? Here’s Trump confessing that his aim, all along, was to take over Venezuela’s oil. The Biden [administration] keeps his illegal sanctions policy still in place. Venezuela has and will continue to prevail!”
Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, also stated,
“Trump took the mask off of 60 satellite countries, the international propaganda, and all of those politicians and intellectuals who supported a puppet [Juan Guaidó] to govern Venezuela. The only aim has been to pillage the oil of the Venezuelan people. How shameful! This is the confession of a criminal.”
In 2019, Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton outright said in a Fox News interview:
“We’re looking at the oil assets. That’s the single most important income stream to the government of Venezuela. We’re looking at what to do to that.
“We want everybody to know. We’re looking at all this very seriously. We don’t want any American businesses or investors caught by surprise. They can see what President Trump did yesterday. We’re following through on it.
“We’re in conversation with major American companies now, that are either in Venezuela or in the case of Citgo here in the United States. I think we’re trying to get to the same end result here.
“You know, Venezuela is one of the three countries I called the “Troyka of Tyranny.”
“It’ll make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil companies really invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela.
“It would be good for the people of Venezuela. It would be good for the people of the United States.
“We both have a lot at stake here making this come out the right way.”
It has even been reported Trump proposed to Guaidó to kill Maduro in 2020.
Geopolitical Economic Report (GER) detailed in a report that neocons in the Trump administration were openly discussing direct military action and assassination attempts to overthrow the Venezuelan government.
Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton revealed in his 2020 memoir, “The Room Where It Happened”, references Venezuela and Venezuelans over 300 times, and has a chapter recounting the coup attempt titled “Venezuela Libre” (Free Venezuela). Bolton wrote that President Trump had repeatedly asked for a military attack on Venezuela.
Moreover, Trump’s former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, wrote in his 2022 memoir, “A Sacred Oath,” that “Trump had been fixated on Venezuela since the early days of his administration.”
“Again and again, Trump would ask for military options” to overthrow Venezuela’s democratically elected Maduro, Esper noted, adding that Trump’s National Security Council meetings on Venezuela “always began with the consideration of military options, rather than on the other end of the spectrum—diplomacy”, Esper wrote.
The U.S. has been meddling with Venezuela for over two decades at least. GER reported:
In April 2002, there was a briefly successful military coup which overthrew democratically elected President Chávez. But the leader was so popular that the people of Venezuela stormed the streets, overthrew the coup regime, and demanded that Chávez be reinstated as president.
The George Bush administration was deeply involved in supporting this 2002 coup in Venezuela.
Since then, Washington has sponsored several more coup attempts, including violent riots in 2014 and 2017, culminating in the 2019 designation of Juan Guaidó as supposed “interim president.”
There in fact was an attempted invasion of Venezuela in May 2020, known as Operation Gideon.
The U.S. And Guyana, And ‘Protecting’ Its Oil
The United States’ aggression towards Venezuela has been ongoing for years. The WinePress detailed some of this in 2023 when there was speculation Venezuela was preparing to invade its tiny neighbor Guyana, resulting in the Biden administration announcing they would be sending some military forces to help train the Guyanese to defend themselves.
The South American nation of Venezuela postured in December 2023 that they plan to invade neighboring Guyana, a nation that is rich in oil and other commodities such as rice and sugar.
Venezuela has roughly 29 million people versus Guyana’s small 816,370.
Venezuela has been dealing with hyperinflation for many years now, but officially climbed out of it in early-2022, though no one really feels any difference. Since then, communist Nicolás Maduro has been seen by Western leaders as a “dictator.” The country has seen a massive emigration crisis of nearly 8 million residents being displaced, with citations “gross violations of human rights,” many other cruel tortures and indignities.
In December 2023, the country held a referendum asking voters if they approved of the idea of annexing the Guyanese territory of Essequibo into Venezuela; which equates to roughly two-thirds of Guyana. 95% of respondents approved of the referendum. The two countries have been bickering over who controls this territory for many decades. However, it is reported that actual turnout was super low, and the country’s current government is not known to favor or listen to the voice of the people.
Like all things, large pockets of oil were discovered in 2010 by Exxon Mobil off the coast of Essquibo, reigniting the debate over whose territory is whose. It is estimated that Guyana now holds over 11 billion oil barrel reserves per capita, the fourth largest in the world. The country is forecast to be producing around 1.3 million barrels per day by 2027, making it a notable contender in the global oil trade. Guyana, unlike most nation’s economies that sunk since 2020, saw their GDP bloom by 180% in 2022.
In a new detailed report published this week by Oilprice.com, Guyana is now primed to become the continent’s second-largest oil producer. “Guyana is now a major contributor to the world petroleum supply and will become the largest per capita oil producer, with production anticipated to exceed one million barrels per day by the end of 2027,” the outlet wrote.
Additionally, “there is a swathe of hydrocarbon discoveries in the Guyana-Suriname Basin outside of the Stabroek Block,” emphasizing just how crucial the area is, among other things.
Before the referendum was put to a vote in December 2023, in late-October Caribbean Loop News reported: CARICOM and the Organisation of American States (OAS) have also rejected the referendum stating that international law strictly prohibits the Government of one State from unilaterally seizing, annexing or incorporating the territory of another state and noted that the referendum will open the door to the possible violation of this fundamental tenet of international law.
Moreover, around that same time, Real Clear Wire reported that “the Biden administration lifted sanctions on Venezuela, allowing them to export hundreds of thousands of barrels a day of vital heavy oil to the United States.” Rather than working with Canada, Biden had instead canceled the completion of the Keystone XXL pipeline as one of his first acts as President.
So, with most Venezuelan respondents supporting the referendum, Guyana of course was angered by this and accused Venezuela of preparing to annex the territory, which then saw a deployment of Venezuelan troops near the border.
On December 1st, prior to the referendum vote, the United Nations voted to order Venezuela not to take any action against Guyana. ABC News reported: The court order falls short of any explicit mention of the referendum, but says that Venezuela must “refrain from taking any action which would modify that situation that currently prevails” in Essequibo. The legally binding ruling remains in place until a case brought by Guyana against Venezuela on the region’s future is considered by the court, which could take years.
On Tuesday, the 5th (that same year), Maduro announced the creation of a new military zone that would be in charge of defending part of this territory. ‘Maduro announced the creation of the Guyana Integral Defense Zone, or ZODI, to be called Zodi Guayana Esequiba, with headquarters in Tumeremo, a town in Venezuela near the Essequibo region,’ the Miami Herald explained.
Additionally, “The Venezuelan leader has also ordered the publication of a new map of Venezuela to include the new state and ordered the creation of new state-run oil and mining companies to be called PDVSA Essequibo and CVG Essequibo, respectively, for the exploration of oil and minerals inside the region,” the Miami Herald noted.
Maduro also ordered regime officials to begin the process of giving Venezuelan nationality to the estimated 125,000 people who currently live in Essequibo.
“I announce the immediate activation of a human and social care plan for the entire population of Guayana Esequiba, the carrying out of a census, the beginning of the process to deliver identity cards.”
In an interview with the Miami Herald, Guyana President Irfaan Ali called the move by Maduro “reckless” and said his country plans to alert both regional and world leaders of Maduro’s attempt to disrupt the peace in the hemisphere.
“It is unfortunate that President Maduro would choose the road of defying an international court order. This speaks volumes about the way in which President Maduro prefers to operate and also points to the fact that he’s unconcerned about the peace and security of this region.
“The order of the [U.N. court] made it very clear that Venezuela cannot act or take any action that would disrupt the status quo and the status quo is that Guyana exercises governance and control of Essequibo.
“We once again call on Venezuela to retract from this reckless, adventurous move and to allow international law and the ruling of the [U.N. court] to guide our action.”
He added that he is seeking the support of the United Nations Security Council, the United States, the Caribbean Community, the Organization of American States and other countries to ensure Guyana’s territory is “not violated.”
The U.S., in response to Venezuela’s posturing, is now conducting military drills in the region, along with Brazil supplying troops to Guyana, too, as a deterrent to Venezuela.
In a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown: “In collaboration with the Guyana Defense Force, the U.S. Southern Command will conduct flight operations within Guyana on Dec. 7th.” It added that these military flights are part of “routine engagement and operations to enhance security partnership” with Guyana, ADN America reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Ali on Wednesday and told him that Washington stands with Guyana, offering “unwavering support for Guyana’s sovereignty.” Pentagon and White House spokesperson John Kirby reiterated the same line.
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also said in a statement, “If there’s one thing we don’t want here in South America, it’s war.”
The publication added: The Brazilian army on Wednesday said that it was fortifying troop positions in the northern cities of Boa Vista and Pacaraima as part of efforts “to guarantee the inviolability of the territory.”
In response to increased tensions (at the time), the United Kingdom dispatched naval ship HMS Trent to Guyana as a show of force. The ship has a cannon and machine guns, with a crew of 65 and a contingent of Royal Marines, and can deploy Merlin helicopters, the Financial Times reports.
U.K.’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, said in a statement the U.K. will “continue to work with partners in the region to ensure the territorial integrity of Guyana is upheld and prevent escalation.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson added: “HMS Trent will visit regional ally and Commonwealth partner Guyana later this month as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic patrol task deployment.”
Yván Gil, Venezuela’s foreign minister, was not at all happy and blasted on the move on X, writing:
“The former invading and enslaving empire, which illegally occupied the territory of [Essequibo] and acted in an skillful and sneaky manner against the interests of Venezuela, insists on intervening in a territorial controversy that they themselves generated.
“This controversy will be resolved directly between the parties … We will stop the new filibustering that seeks to destabilise the region.”
However, Western forces are playing a bit of a chess match it seems to get the most out of this conflict. Though the U.S. has signaled that it will stand with Guyana, the country has relaxed restrictions against Venezuela, allowing for freer trade of oil to Europe.
Cyril Widdershoven for OilPrice.com wrote (in part) in December 2023:
The recent easing of sanctions between the United States and Venezuela, marked by pivotal legal settlements and new commercial arrangements, represents a significant turning point for the global energy industry.
These developments, particularly the resolution of disputes involving Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), signal the reinvigoration of Venezuela’s oil and gas sector and hold substantial promise for energy-hungry Europe.
The settlement between PDVSA and Refineria di Kòrsou (RdK), navigated by Dentons Europe LLP – led by David Syed, head of their Sovereign Advisory practice – brings to an end a longstanding impasse that had stifled the operational potential of RdK’s refinery and oil terminal in Curaçao since 2020.
Under this settlement, PDVSA will resume the supply of crude oil to RdK and initiate discussions on long-term gas supply, enabling RdK to recommence its operations. This development is a win for PDVSA and RdK and a strategic move that reopens crucial pathways in the Caribbean energy landscape.
Furthermore, the collaboration between PDVSA and Repsol Exploración, S.A. to bolster investment in their joint venture, Petroquiriquire, S.A., heralds a new era of increased production in the Venezuelan oil and gas industry. A similar deal with ENI of Italy is imminently expected.
[…] For Europe, these developments couldn’t be timelier. The continent benefits greatly, grappling with energy supply concerns exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and a push for diversification away from reliance on Russian energy sources.
Venezuela’s re-entry into the global oil and gas market as a significant player provides Europe with an alternative and potentially stable energy source. This could be instrumental in mitigating the current energy crisis and contributing to Europe’s energy security.
Venezuela’s strategic geographic location and colossal oil reserves make it an ideal candidate for European nations striving to diversify their energy sources. Venezuela boasts the world’s largest proven oil reserves, exceeding even those of Saudi Arabia.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
So far, for as much as Maduro saber-rattled about going to seize territory in Guyana, nothing major has happened as of yet; but with Trump’s latest tariff threats (we’ll see if he is just bluffing and making more garrulous statements again) this could really upset things. And let’s not forget how BlackRock purchased a number of ports in the Suez Canal becoming the monopoly there.
Clearly there is a very strategic and deliberate goal to collapse global supply lines. That’s what the Ukraine-Russia accomplished. Why? Well, in part, to force multipolarity. Western dominance, the American empire and hegemony is collapsing and coming to an end, and so all of these protectionist measures are purposefully designed to fracture trade and supply lines.
Talks of multipolarity have gone on well before 2020 but have greatly exacerbated since that year, and especially in 2022 with the Russia-Ukraine war as a focal point. In 2017, for example, Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, wrote a piece titled “We need a new narrative for globalization.” He stated that “globalization has lifted over a billion people out of poverty. But in its present form it is no longer fit for purpose.” Schwab highlighted the “transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world, and consequently, to a world with competing societal concepts which challenge “Western” thinking.” Another article written by the WEF in 2019 explained how “today’s multipolar world mirrors the vast development of emerging markets, fueled by supportive demographics and the benefits that economic globalization brings. At the same time, it also reflects the relative decline of the middle class in developed markets.” In July, Schwab introduced the WEF’s 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in China, where he said that in order “to drive future economic growth, we must embrace innovation and force collaboration across sectors, regions, nations and cultures to create a more peaceful, inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.”
Pay attention: this move towards multipolarity is not as ‘organic’ as some would have you believe, or perhaps they are just ignorant and not privy to the full plan. This is why Western policy for decades now has made zero sense and is totally self-deprecating.
Having said that,
Proverbs 26:17 He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
For crying out loud, can we PLEASE stop meddling in other countries by toppling their governments, waging war and genocide, stripping foreign lands of their natural resources and creating banana republics, murdering, raping and trafficking their women and children, and on and on!! It’s just so gross, the madness doesn’t end.
And, once again, it’s about oil. What else is new?
Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. [7] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. [8] All these are the beginning of sorrows.
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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“can we PLEASE stop meddling in other countries”?
That will never change. The war horns are blaring for an attack on Iran. There will be no peace. Oil is blood money. Doesn’t change whether it be Venezuela or Iran. Man is greedy. It will never,e change.
Sometimes you wonder whose side Trump is on. So we get to pay more for gas cause he has a bone to pick with them. Ugh.