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Ex-President Donald Trump has stated that the Venezuelan government will be “turning over” an estimated $2 billion worth of Venezuelan oil to the US. This key deal would reroute cargoes originally headed to China while potentially helping Venezuela avoid further oil production cuts.

“This Crude will be sold at its current market value, and that revenue will be managed by me, as President of the United States of America, to guarantee it is used to help the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump wrote in an social media post.

Officials in Caracas and the state company PDVSA offered no response on the supposed agreement.

Background: A Blockade and a Capture

Venezuela currently has vast quantities of oil aboard tankers and in storage tanks that it has been prevented from shipping due to a naval blockade ordered by the Trump administration. This campaign of pressure ended with the toppling of Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by United States troops over the recent weekend.

While senior Venezuelan officials have called Maduro’s capture a kidnapping and charged the US of attempting to seize the country’s enormous oil reserves, Tuesday’s declaration is seen as a powerful signal that the remaining government is responding to Trump’s demand to grant access to US oil companies or be threatened with additional military incursion.

Parallel Ambitions: Acquiring Greenland

Meanwhile, Trump and his aides have stated they are “examining” a “spectrum of choices” in an bid to obtain Greenland. A White House statement on Tuesday noted that using the US military to do so is “remains a possibility”.

“President Trump has made it abundantly clear that obtaining Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to counter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The president and his team are evaluating a series of options to achieve this important foreign policy goal, and of course, using the US military is one available path at the commander-in-chief’s discretion.”

Leavitt’s comments came as the heads of state of key European powers expressed opposition against Trump’s long-running desire to seize the Arctic territory.

Further Significant Events

• Aid Money Halted: The Trump administration is withholding more than $10 billion in federal childcare and family assistance funds to five major states. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cited issues regarding fraud and misuse.
• Sealed Records: The Department of Justice has released a minuscule portion of the much-discussed Epstein files, a court filing has shown. Democrats have stepped up criticism of the administration’s “lawlessness” for withholding the documents.
• Immigration Crackdown in Minnesota: The administration has dispatched more immigration agents to Minnesota, continuing escalating attacks against the state and its immigrant populations. Immigration officials called it the agency’s “largest operation to date”.
• Greenland’s Firm Rejection: Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, urged Trump to give up his “dreams of taking over” Greenland and accused the US of “completely and utterly unacceptable” rhetoric. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, previously warned that a US attack on a NATO ally would mean the “demise” of the military alliance.
• Resources Diverted from Trafficking: Democratic senators claimed in a letter that the Trump administration has abandoned efforts to combat child exploitation, human trafficking, and cartels as it diverts thousands of law enforcement personnel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Market Reaction

The aftermath of the US intervention in Venezuela sent shockwaves through global markets. The price of oil fell after Trump’s announcement, with traders expecting more supply entering the market. West Texas Intermediate fell by more than 1.5 percent, while the international benchmark, Brent crude, also dropped.

Bipartisan Opposition

The idea of an invasion against Greenland encountered swift bipartisan criticism from US legislators. Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego vowed to introduce a resolution to block such a move. GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said he did not think military action was “the right course”, and other Republican senators warned it could lead to the “demise” of NATO.

The international geopolitical situation remains fraught, with the US concurrently involved in significant confrontations in Venezuela and the North Atlantic while implementing controversial domestic policy shifts.