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Ex-President Donald Trump has declared that Venezuela will be “handing over” around $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States. This major agreement would divert supplies originally destined for China while potentially helping Venezuela avoid deeper oil production cuts.

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

Authorities in Venezuela and the state company PDVSA offered no response on the supposed agreement.

The Situation: A Blockade and a Capture

Venezuela currently has huge volumes of oil aboard tankers and in onshore tanks that it has been unable to ship due to a embargo imposed by the Trump administration. This campaign of pressure reached its peak with the toppling of Nicolás Maduro, who was apprehended by American military forces over the past weekend.

While senior Venezuelan officials have labeled Maduro’s capture a abduction and accused the US of attempting to seize the country’s immense oil reserves, Tuesday’s declaration is seen as a strong sign that the interim government is bowing to Trump’s ultimatum to provide entry to US oil companies or face the risk of additional military incursion.

A Separate Agenda: The Quest for Greenland

At the same time, Trump and his aides have stated they are “exploring” a “range of options” in an bid to obtain Greenland. A presidential statement on Tuesday noted that using the US military to do so is “remains a possibility”.

“President Trump has made it well known that obtaining Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s essential to thwart our adversaries in the Arctic region,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The president and his team are considering a series of options to achieve this significant foreign policy goal, and of course, employing the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal.”

Leavitt’s comments came as the top officials of leading European powers pushed back against Trump’s persistent desire to take over the Arctic territory.

Additional Major Updates

• Family Assistance Blocked: The Trump administration is blocking more than $10 billion in federal child and family aid funds to five major states. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cited issues regarding fraud and misuse.
• Limited Document Release: The Department of Justice has released a tiny fraction of the so-called Epstein files, a court filing has disclosed. Democrats have increased criticism of the administration’s “lawlessness” for keeping records under seal.
• Agents Deployed to Minnesota: The administration has deployed more immigration agents to Minnesota, continuing growing pressure against the state and its immigrant populations. Immigration officials called it the agency’s “most significant crackdown so far”.
• PM’s Strong Rebuke: Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, urged Trump to relinquish his “fantasies about annexation” 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.
• Law Enforcement Priorities Shifted: Democratic senators claimed in a letter that the Trump administration has ceased work to combat trafficking and cartel activity as it reassigns thousands of law enforcement personnel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Oil Price Movement

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

Political Backlash

The idea of an invasion against Greenland met with immediate bipartisan pushback 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 “end” of NATO.

The international geopolitical situation remains tense, with the US simultaneously involved in significant disputes in South America and the Arctic while carrying out divisive domestic policy shifts.