Does the moron realizes that this is going to cause higher gas prices?
Who benefits?
Venezuela’s competitors in the OPEC group are pushing the country out of the oil market
Not saying Venezuela isn’t bad. But aren’t some of the OPEC guys Jared’s pals?
And our fair-haired POTUS is giving Elliott Abrams
a second shot at a coup.
So we remove Russian companies from sanctions to pay off Trump Tower Moscow bribes, then impose sanctions on Venezuelan companies to pull off a coup…
If someone had tried to pitch this stuff to Hollywood, they’d have been laughed out of the room for the sheer implausibility of the plot.
I understand the geopolitical issues with this but the Texas Gulf coast refines over 25% of oil used in the US through Valero and Venezuelan owned co-owned Citgo refineries located in Houston and Corpus Christi, TX.
Much of the East coast refined product is shipped from Texas via Colonial Pipeline.
Prices will go up nationwide whether you receive product from these refineries or not.
Just be aware.
More gasoline on the fire. Can we hope he self-immolates?
I’m still waiting on the April 1 swearing in of President Pelosi.
Come on Bob!
I’m waiting for the Venezuelan government to acclaim Hillary as the rightful President of the US, sanction the Trump regime & family (same thing) and mull military action to restore democracy to the American people.
The reason so much of Venezuela’s oil is refined in the U.S. is because it’s heavy crude. Until fairly recently, only U.S. refineries (in particular, Valero) had the technical sophistication to convert quickly to being able to refine this stuff. Over the past several years, China’s “tea-cup” refineries have challenged U.S. superiority in this area.
This is a complex situation and it’s not clear what the right thing to do is. Maduro’s regime is part of the global Mafia/oligarchy that includes (their ally) Putin’s Russia, but is sanctioning the nation’s primary source of revenue a strike against that global mafia or does it just play into their hands…while harming the already starving populace of Venezuela?
No sanctions against PDVSA can hurt the company as much as the Chavez gov’t hurt it in the early 2000’s. It was his primary source of national income as well as a source of opposition against him, with its well-paid and educated workforce. PDVSA is a shell of its former self, much like Venezuela.
The target is squeezing their military to get them to switch sides. Maduro has been sure to keep his Generals well-payed to keep them on his side, without a source of revenue for that, the idea would be that they see the grass is greener if they switch.
Trumps bully mindset MO… attack the weak and cower before the strong.
Russia… must lift sanctions!
Venezuela… crush the evil country!
Maduro should learn from the Russians, Philippines, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia how to react. Just funnel bribes to Trump through his businesses and he’ll back off. Is Maduro stupid or something?
I believe you mean “attack those who don’t offer me a lucrative Trump branding opportunity”
Trump Tower, Caracas?
It’s all about the oil. It’s always about the oil.
(h/t Greg Palast)
So, three things. First, putting sanctions on Venezuela’s oil will raise gas prices in the US. It’s like getting into a fight with your next door neighbor and then burning down your own house to punish him. “Burning down my own economy to own the Libs!” Brilliant! Also, according to Trump, Canada, France, Germany, the OAS, Brazil, Colombia, et. al., Maduro isn’t president anymore, so whatever happens to the economy going forward is technically the other guy’s fault. Mind boggling.
Second, these guys using “the oil belongs to the people of Venezuela” as their excuse for sanctions is un-fucking-believable, considering it was Chavez who seized the oil from foreign corporations and nationalized it, which is the whole reason the US, the corporations and the Reactionary Right have been trying to foment a coup ever since!
Third, where is the Democratic Party “leadership”? Are they busy writing their press releases praising Trump’s presidential-ness? Or are they going to finally come out in opposition to the CIA-backed coup in Venezuela?
Yes, that’s the thing. If a wise, thoughtful, capable leader like Obama suggested this, I would be inclined to agree. If it comes from Bolton/Cheetolini, I have to question the wisdom. Purely based on the source, not my understanding of the delicate situation.
Looking forward to our new President!
Yes, I totally understand the reflexive tendency to suspect this is a bad move, but the situation is truly a difficult one and I’m not willing to condemn this move out the gate. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Obama doing exactly this, so I want to reserve judgement until we see where it leads.