Where's The Oil - IFLA

Where's the oil indeed... here is what our friend in Australia has to say about the issue.

"So let me get this straight, because this whole thing reads like some third-rate heist flick with a moron in charge of the script.

Trump rolls into Venezuela, captures Maduro, suddenly America’s in control of the oil taps because apparently Venezuela had “stolen U.S. oil” or some shit. And now they’ve sold the first batch for half a billion dollars. Half a billion dollars! That’s what Fox Business is cheerleading about today.

Where’s the oil? It’s fucking Venezuelan oil, dude! They’ve got the largest proven oil reserves on the planet three hundred billion barrels, more than a tenth of the world’s total. And who sold it? Not some private company, the U.S. government says it’s selling Venezuela’s oil under this “historic energy deal” right after a U.S. military operation. They got 30 to 50 million barrels turning over to them worth billions at current prices.

So let’s ask the obvious: where the fuck do you think that oil came from? It didn’t magically appear in the Gulf of Mexico. It came from Venezuela’s hydrocarbon wealth! Wealth that country has owned since forever and has been trying to manage for its people for decades. Instead, the U.S. swoops in, seizes control after removing the political leadership, and now they’re sitting here going, “Look how clever we are, we sold half a billion worth of oil.”

Who was it sold to? They haven’t exactly said, but this first sale is part of a $2 billion deal where America’s holding proceeds in government-controlled bank accounts. You read that right: U.S. Treasury-controlled accounts in Qatar are like a fucking offshore piggy bank. So the oil that was Venezuela’s is now being monetised to  benefit who? The U.S. government? American oil companies lining up for licenses Treasury Department coffers sitting in a safe-third-country account? And where’s the fucking money gone? According to the reports, it’s in accounts controlled by Washington, not flowing back to Venezuelans.

Oh and let’s sprinkle some geopolitical salt on this wound: while U.S. forces are blocking exports to China and trying to redirect supply, Venezuela’s economy is on the brink of collapse because of sanctions and the blockade. So let me summarise this absolute circus in human language: You pay for your oil. Your government gets toppled by foreign intervention. Your oil gets sold off and the money sits in someone else’s bank account.

And the headline is about how clever the folks who did it are. Where’s the oil Rightfully Venezuelan. Who sold it? The U.S. government seizing control. Who’s getting the cut? Not the Venezuelan people that's for sure. Apparently Washington’s holding it in trust, with unclear plans on distribution. Where’s the goddamn money gone? Into U.S.-controlled accounts like some weird colonial trust fund.

This is like a 19th-century resource grab but with modern press releases and bloated egos on Twitter. It’s not economic genius whatsoever, it’s resource imperialism set to autopilot, wrapped up in patriotic rhetoric and Fox Business fanfare. And that’s the part that should piss everyone off most, it’s not slick or clever, it’s just old-fashioned grabbing of wealth under the guise of “strategic necessity.” That’s not leadership. That’s theft with paperwork. And that’s the real story behind the half-billion dollar headline. But why would anyone expect anything less from a grifting guy who's never played by the rules while wearing his convicted felon title like his badge of fucking honor?"