It's not about grabbing oil. Venezuela is a hub for all manner of international crime.

[DennisPTate]

But Democrats are all for Maduro and everything he stands for. Who would have thought that?

Things have gone seriously down hill since I was a teenager during the seventies!

 

[Anarchy666]

The problem is OPEC. Venezuela is just a cog in the machine

 

[DennisPTate]

The problem is OPEC. Venezuela is just a cog in the machine

Good post Anarchy666 ....
and have you ever listened to this documentary?

"How Big Oil Conquered The World?"

 

[DennisPTate]

The problem is OPEC. Venezuela is just a cog in the machine
View attachment 1197215

Here is some more relevant information related to all of this.

Mr. Al Gore's professor had been part of a group of people who wanted to link the price and supply of oil to the fiat currencies of the USA and the other biggest economies.

A Carbon Tax accomplishes exactly that.... but APPEARS to go against Big Oil, [which is BRILLIANT MARKETING]!

Why Big Oil Conquered the World - Top Documentary Films

Environmental advocates have long protested the role that oil companies play in exacerbating the climate change crisis. Their voices have rattled some of the

topdocumentaryfilms.com

"Why Big Oil Conquered the World."

 

[sparky]

Trump Isn’t “Pirating Ships” — He Must Seize and Sell 300 Venezuelan Oil Tankers to Satisfy an International Court Judgment Owed to U.S. Companies

A lot of people are reacting emotionally to the idea of oil tankers being seized, but most of the outrage comes from not understanding what is actually being discussed.
So let’s slow this down and explain it clearly, legally, and step by step.

This is not war.
This is not piracy.
This is judgment enforcement — the same principle used every day when courts seize bank accounts, property, aircraft, or cargo from someone who lost in court and refuses to pay.

1. What Venezuela did (the part that always gets skipped)

In the 2000s, under Hugo Chávez, Venezuela seized oil projects owned by foreign companies, including major U.S. firms such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

This wasn’t a policy disagreement.
It was expropriation:
• Contracts were broken
• Assets were taken
• Compensation that had been agreed to was not paid

That is not controversial. It is historical fact.

2. What the courts decided

Those U.S. companies didn’t complain on social media.
They went to international arbitration and U.S. courts — the proper legal venues.

They won.

The rulings were:
• Final
• Binding
• Enforceable

Venezuela lost and was ordered to pay tens of billions of dollars in damages.

3. The real problem: Venezuela refused to pay

Here is the key point most critics ignore:

Venezuela refused to comply with the court judgments.

In any legal system — domestic or international — when a party:
• Loses in court
• Owes a judgment
• Refuses to pay

…the law allows creditors to seize commercial assets belonging to the debtor outside its borders to satisfy the judgment.

This is called judgment enforcement.

Countries do not get a free pass simply because they are countries.

4. Why oil tankers even enter the conversation

Venezuela’s primary commercial asset is oil.

Oil moves on oil tankers.

Those tankers:
• Carry state-owned Venezuelan oil
• Are commercial property, not military or diplomatic assets
• Can be lawfully seized by court order in cooperating jurisdictions

This is no different in principle from seizing:
• A bank account
• A plane
• A shipment of goods

Calling this “piracy” is legally incorrect.
Piracy is theft without lawful authority.
This is court-ordered seizure to collect a debt already ruled on.

5. The math everyone avoids

Let’s use conservative, realistic numbers so no one can claim exaggeration.
• Estimated unpaid court judgments: ~$35 billion
• Oil price used: $62 per barrel
• Typical large oil tanker (VLCC): ~2 million barrels

Value of one full tanker:
• Gross value: ~$124 million
• Net value after realistic court-sale discounts: ~$115 million

Now do the math:

$35,000,000,000 ÷ $115,000,000 ≈ 300 tankers

That’s where the number comes from.

Not one tanker.
Not ten.
About three hundred.

One tanker only covers about one-third of one percent of what Venezuela owes.

6. What this means — and what it does NOT mean

This does not mean:
• Tankers are being randomly grabbed
• This is a military action
• The goal is punishment

It does mean:
• Courts already ruled
• A debt legally exists
• Enforcement is the only option left when payment is refused

When Donald Trump talks about seizing oil shipments, he is not inventing a new power.
He is talking about using existing legal authority to enforce judgments Venezuela already lost.

In plain English:

You took property, you lost in court, you refused to pay — so your commercial assets are seized and sold until the debt is satisfied.

That is how the rule of law works.

7. Why you don’t see hundreds of tankers seized

Because enforcement is:
• Legally narrow
• Jurisdiction-dependent
• Deliberately targeted

Venezuela also structured its exports to:
• Avoid enforceable ports
• Use intermediaries
• Break shipments into smaller pieces

So tanker seizures are rare, careful, and strategic, not mass roundups.

Tankers are leverage, not a magic wand.

The bottom line
• Venezuela seized U.S. assets
• Venezuela lost in international court
• Venezuela refuses to pay
• The debt is ~$35 billion
• A tanker is worth ~$115 million net
• It would take ~300 Venezuelan oil tankers to make the judgment whole

This is lawful enforcement, not piracy.
This is accounting, not aggression.
This is what happens when court rulings are ignored.

Final thought

People arguing “this sounds extreme” are missing the most important fact:

The court already decided.

Once that happens, enforcement isn’t optional — it’s inevitable.

Everything else flows from that reality.


~S~

 

[Anarchy666]

View attachment 1198023
Trump Isn’t “Pirating Ships” — He Must Seize and Sell 300 Venezuelan Oil Tankers to Satisfy an International Court Judgment Owed to U.S. Companies

A lot of people are reacting emotionally to the idea of oil tankers being seized, but most of the outrage comes from not understanding what is actually being discussed.
So let’s slow this down and explain it clearly, legally, and step by step.

This is not war.
This is not piracy.
This is judgment enforcement — the same principle used every day when courts seize bank accounts, property, aircraft, or cargo from someone who lost in court and refuses to pay.

1. What Venezuela did (the part that always gets skipped)

In the 2000s, under Hugo Chávez, Venezuela seized oil projects owned by foreign companies, including major U.S. firms such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

This wasn’t a policy disagreement.
It was expropriation:
• Contracts were broken
• Assets were taken
• Compensation that had been agreed to was not paid

That is not controversial. It is historical fact.

2. What the courts decided

Those U.S. companies didn’t complain on social media.
They went to international arbitration and U.S. courts — the proper legal venues.

They won.

The rulings were:
• Final
• Binding
• Enforceable

Venezuela lost and was ordered to pay tens of billions of dollars in damages.

3. The real problem: Venezuela refused to pay

Here is the key point most critics ignore:

Venezuela refused to comply with the court judgments.

In any legal system — domestic or international — when a party:
• Loses in court
• Owes a judgment
• Refuses to pay

…the law allows creditors to seize commercial assets belonging to the debtor outside its borders to satisfy the judgment.

This is called judgment enforcement.

Countries do not get a free pass simply because they are countries.

4. Why oil tankers even enter the conversation

Venezuela’s primary commercial asset is oil.

Oil moves on oil tankers.

Those tankers:
• Carry state-owned Venezuelan oil
• Are commercial property, not military or diplomatic assets
• Can be lawfully seized by court order in cooperating jurisdictions

This is no different in principle from seizing:
• A bank account
• A plane
• A shipment of goods

Calling this “piracy” is legally incorrect.
Piracy is theft without lawful authority.
This is court-ordered seizure to collect a debt already ruled on.

5. The math everyone avoids

Let’s use conservative, realistic numbers so no one can claim exaggeration.
• Estimated unpaid court judgments: ~$35 billion
• Oil price used: $62 per barrel
• Typical large oil tanker (VLCC): ~2 million barrels

Value of one full tanker:
• Gross value: ~$124 million
• Net value after realistic court-sale discounts: ~$115 million

Now do the math:

$35,000,000,000 ÷ $115,000,000 ≈ 300 tankers

That’s where the number comes from.

Not one tanker.
Not ten.
About three hundred.

One tanker only covers about one-third of one percent of what Venezuela owes.

6. What this means — and what it does NOT mean

This does not mean:
• Tankers are being randomly grabbed
• This is a military action
• The goal is punishment

It does mean:
• Courts already ruled
• A debt legally exists
• Enforcement is the only option left when payment is refused

When Donald Trump talks about seizing oil shipments, he is not inventing a new power.
He is talking about using existing legal authority to enforce judgments Venezuela already lost.

In plain English:

You took property, you lost in court, you refused to pay — so your commercial assets are seized and sold until the debt is satisfied.

That is how the rule of law works.

7. Why you don’t see hundreds of tankers seized

Because enforcement is:
• Legally narrow
• Jurisdiction-dependent
• Deliberately targeted

Venezuela also structured its exports to:
• Avoid enforceable ports
• Use intermediaries
• Break shipments into smaller pieces

So tanker seizures are rare, careful, and strategic, not mass roundups.

Tankers are leverage, not a magic wand.

The bottom line
• Venezuela seized U.S. assets
• Venezuela lost in international court
• Venezuela refuses to pay
• The debt is ~$35 billion
• A tanker is worth ~$115 million net
• It would take ~300 Venezuelan oil tankers to make the judgment whole

This is lawful enforcement, not piracy.
This is accounting, not aggression.
This is what happens when court rulings are ignored.

Final thought

People arguing “this sounds extreme” are missing the most important fact:

The court already decided.

Once that happens, enforcement isn’t optional — it’s inevitable.

Everything else flows from that reality.


~S~

Dude if you honestly believe this you're just a useful idiot for OPEC. They are literally the successors to Standard Oil and the Rockefellers, the British Royal Family and British Petroleum, the Rothschilds and Royal Dutch Shell. You're literally simping for the most evil motherfuckers on the planet, dude.

 

[cnm]

~S~

Looks like you're as smart as him.

I'm somewhat bemused by your enthusiasm for using US forces to enforce private commercial arrangements.

Ol' Smedley had it figured, eh?

 

[cnm]

But being the World's Policeman

Policemen answer to a court. Being the world's capo is more profitable.

 

[sparky]

Looks like you're as smart as him.

doubtful, but thx for he nod cnm

I'm somewhat bemused by your enthusiasm for using US forces to enforce private commercial arrangements.

well it did go through the ICC

Ol' Smedley had it figured, eh?

well that's a whole different trip cnm.....and you wll could have a grand debate re> just what and who we are....go you....i'm in......... S~~

 

[sparky]

Dude if you honestly believe this you're just a useful idiot for OPEC.

Looks like you're as smart as him.

Has this or has this not been brought to international court?

~S~

 

[sparky]

just because you disagree doesn't mean it's not real......~S~

 

[TNHarley]

You um...... would not term yourself a "History Buff" would you?

Ok, so russia sucks so lets police the whole ******* world, ignoring our own, and building up debt for it.
Seems to have worked great the last 100 years, hasnt it, Mr. History?

 

[sparky]

Venezuela Never Paid Back Debt Owed to ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips

Energy News Beat - Venezuela Never Paid Back Debt Owed to ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips Exploration and Production

energynewsbeat.co

~S~

 

[dudmuck]

View attachment 1197194

~S~

 

[Muhammed]

We fuel crime throughout the world. Running guns to cartels,

Operation Fast and Furious happened because the US presidency got usurped by Obama, who was not eligible to be president because his father was not an American citizen. So that's an anomaly, not a pattern.

bringing in cocaine from columbia to illegally fund other countries wars, lie about WMDs to justify invasion

That never happened. You were duped into believing that by fake news.

The fact of the matter is that the civilian small plane owners were paid by the CIA to fly in weapons. They brought the coke back on their own. CIA wasn't involved with that.

The fake news also duped you into believing that there were no WMD in Iraq. The fact of the matter is that WMD were found in Iraq. Including weapons produced post-1998. Not only did Saddam have them, Al Qaeda had a WMD production facility near Sargat in the region they controlled in Northern Iraq.

Saying that Bush lied about WMD to justify invasion is a lie

 

[Old Rocks]

But Democrats are all for Maduro and everything he stands for. Who would have thought that?

Is that why the orange ass you kiss pardoned a Honduran drug kingpin?

 

[Old Rocks]

It's what the Monroe Doctrine was written for.

Speaking softly didn't work, time for the Big Stick.

The big stick for oil. Never had anything to do with drugs. Otherwise the malodorous mango would not have pardoned the Honduran drug kingpin.

 

[sparky]

98K views · 5.1K reactions | FINALLY—someone who can explain the Venezuelan crisis intelligently. Thank you! 👏 | Red Queendom

FINALLY—someone who can explain the Venezuelan crisis intelligently. Thank you! 👏

www.facebook.com

~S~

 

[1srelluc]

The big stick for oil.

Wouldn't that be called a dip-stick.

 

[Mashmont]

Is that why the orange ass you kiss pardoned a Honduran drug kingpin?

Aw, you fell for another Biden witch hunt?