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Ex-President Donald Trump has stated that Venezuela will be “handing over” around $2 billion worth of crude oil from Venezuela to the United States. This major agreement would reroute cargoes originally headed to China while allowing Venezuela avoid further oil production cuts.

“This Oil will be sold at its current market value, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to help the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump proclaimed in an online post.

Authorities in Venezuela and the state-owned firm PDVSA did not provide comment on the supposed agreement.

Context: A Blockade and a Capture

Venezuela currently has millions of barrels of oil loaded on tankers and in onshore tanks that it has been unable to ship due to a naval blockade ordered by the Trump administration. This coercive strategy ended with the ouster of Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by American military forces over the recent weekend.

While senior Venezuelan officials have labeled Maduro’s capture a illegal seizure and charged the US of attempting to seize the country’s immense oil reserves, Tuesday’s announcement is seen as a strong sign that the current government is responding to Trump’s ultimatum to provide entry to US oil companies or face the risk of more military intervention.

Parallel Ambitions: Acquiring Greenland

At the same time, Trump and his advisers have stated they are “examining” a “spectrum of choices” in an bid to acquire Greenland. A White House statement on Tuesday noted that using the US military to do so is “on the table”.

“President Trump has made it perfectly clear that securing Greenland is a key national security objective of the United States, and it’s vital to counter our opponents in the Arctic region,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The president and his team are considering a set of options to pursue this significant foreign policy goal, and of course, using the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal.”

Leavitt’s comments came as the leaders of key European powers voiced resistance against Trump’s longstanding desire to take over the Arctic territory.

Other Key Developments

• Aid Money Halted: The Trump administration is freezing more than $10 billion in federal childcare and family support funds to California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cited issues regarding fraud and misuse.
• Epstein Files Withheld: The Department of Justice has released a minuscule portion of the so-called Epstein files, a court filing has revealed. Democrats have increased criticism of the administration’s “unlawful actions” for withholding the documents.
• Immigration Crackdown in Minnesota: The administration has dispatched more immigration agents to Minnesota, in an extension of increasing rhetoric against the state and its immigrant populations. Immigration officials called it the agency’s “biggest-ever operation”.
• Clear Opposition from Greenland: Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, urged Trump to give up his “notions of seizing” 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 “collapse” of the military alliance.
• Focus Changed: Democratic senators claimed in a letter that the Trump administration has ceased work to combat exploitation and trafficking as it reassigns thousands of law enforcement personnel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Market Reaction

The implications of the US intervention in Venezuela sent tremors through the markets. The price of oil declined after Trump’s announcement, with traders anticipating more supply hitting the market. West Texas Intermediate fell by more than 1.5 percent, while the international benchmark, Brent crude, also slipped.

Political Backlash

The idea of using the military against Greenland met with swift bipartisan criticism from US legislators. Democratic 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 “appropriate”, and other Republican senators warned it could lead to the “demise” of NATO.

The wider geopolitical situation remains fraught, with the US at once engaging in major standoffs in Venezuela and the North Atlantic while carrying out controversial domestic policy shifts.