Alan Zweibel

US oil groups warn they will need guarantees to invest in Venezuela US oil companies want “serious guarantees” from Washington before they make splashy investments in Venezuela as President Donald Trump urges them to back his bid to reshape energy markets... Major players in the energy sector and investors said the US would need to backstop big projects... “No one wants to go in there when a random f***ing tweet can change the entire foreign policy of the country,” said one private equity investor who specialises in energy. https://archive.ph/iuTCj#selection-1985.0-1985.170 In other words, in case of failure, the American taxpayer will be on the hook.

It's good that the new Asst. A.G.will be working out of the White House thus continuing to honor the current White House tradition of not keeping an arms length distance from investigations by the Justice Dept.

A state-by-state health report card, out today from the United Health Foundation, finds an array of encouraging signs for America: Rates for premature death, drug deaths, firearm deaths and homicides all fell. Rates of cancer screenings, physical activity and volunteerism all increased. But rates of e-cigarette use and multiple chronic conditions increased. Homelessness and unemployment — socioeconomic factors that help determine the nation's health — rose. https://www.axios.com/2026/01/08/state-health-rankings-2026-healthiest-places-to-live Here's a link to the full report: https://assets.americashealthrankings.org/ahr_2025annual_comprehensivereport_final-web.pdf

Here's a functioning link to the article: https://archive.ph/2JNUm

The giant energy companies most capable of rebuilding Venezuela’s shattered oil fields are also the most skeptical about heeding President Donald Trump’s call to pour money into the country... “One of the things that has been incorrectly reported is that the oil companies are not interested in Venezuela,” Bessent told an audience at the Economic Club of Minnesota, according to a transcript supplied by the department. “The big oil companies who move slowly, who have corporate boards are not interested. I can tell you that independent oil companies and individuals, wildcatters, [our] phones are ringing off the hook. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/08/companies-spend-venezuela-oil-trump-00716501 However, there is big meeting coming up where participants are reckoned to make noises pleasing to Trump's ears.. According to this article, that there's now another Mexican culinary term that's become an acronym associated with the Trump regime: EMPANADA... Everybody Makes Promises And Never Actually Does Anything

Venezuela’s Self-Reported Oil Reserves Venezuela’s self-reported crude oil reserves tripled from around 100 billion barrels in the early 2000s to 300 billion barrels in the late 2000s due to the reclassification of Orinoco Belt heavy oil as “proved,” see the first chart below. Much of the oil is extra-heavy, which has low recovery and a high cost to produce. There was no large new discovery or production increase to justify a tripling of reserves through exploration alone, see the second chart. https://www.apolloacademy.com/the-daily-spark/#:~:text=Venezuela%27s%20self%2Dreported%20crude%20oil,alone%2C%20see%20the%20second%20chart.

One way to make sense of President Donald Trump’s Venezuela actions is to remember one of the most important questions guiding his administration: Is there an opportunity to profit? When the answer is yes, little else seems to matter. By his own telling, Trump’s promise to “run” Venezuela is driven by what he sees as a business opportunity, and what his critics see as plain-and-simple plunder. https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/07/business/trump-oil-venezuela-nightcap And it's not surprising that his American MAGA supporters don't care that he lied to them about the non-existent drug Cartel de los Soles being the grounds for targeting Venezuela. But I wonder how the Venezuelans who cheered the abduction of Maduro are going to feel then they see that it was all about getting the oil and not about getting rid of the corrupt and cruel regime.

But not everyone chose to represent they're sordid history as God's will. And your comment is doubly clueless because you made it personal to boot.

No it doesn't. Making it about the OP rather than the subject is just raising an irrelevancy.

It took me a while to get there but now I understand. Thanks!!!

Trump demands Venezuela kick out China and Russia, partner only with US on oil: EXCLUSIVE The Trump administration has told Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez that the regime must meet the White House's demands before being allowed to pump more oil, according to three people familiar with the administration's plan. First, the country must kick out China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba and sever economic ties, the sources said. Second, Venezuela must agree to partner exclusively with the U.S. on oil production and favor America when selling heavy crude oil, they added. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-demands-venezuela-kick-china-russia-partner-us/story?id=128963238 So, to make up for whatever beneficial effects might accrue to Venezuela by the full resumption of oil exports, Trump wants to compensate for that by curtailing their economic freedom and damaging their economy.

But what has that got to do with the fact that Trump has said that the US could subsidize the oil companies rebuilding in Venezuela?

So, American taxpayers should be on the hook for that?

Trump says oil companies could be 'reimbursed' for Venezuela spending President Donald Trump said in a new interview that the U.S. could help finance improvements to Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, telling NBC that oil companies could be “reimbursed” for their investments. The president also said in the Jan. 5 interview that the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela and there won't be a quick election. And he dismissed reporting in the Washington Post that the reason he declined to back opposition leader María Corina Machado to take over the country is that she won thttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/05/donald-trump-venezuela-election-oil-war/88038359007/he Nobel Peace Prize, which he has sought. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/05/donald-trump-venezuela-election-oil-war/88038359007/ The US is already on the hook for a $40 billion loan to Argentina. Now this. America First!!!

Apparently, for you, the evidence isn't damning enough so you need lies to sustain the campaign.

The thread is about Nick Shirley's video. It's dishonest. That's what you don't want to admit. There are other threads that address the general topic of fraud in Minnesota. Just not this one.

And ACORN was destroyed by Shirley's predecessor, James O'Keefe. Afterwards, it turns out O'Keefe edited videos to lie about what was said. Sometimes the sociopaths win.

Still no explanation.

Rather the usual suspects falling for another fraudulent video. "Dave" who Nick Shirley credited as the source of this info, turns out to be something of a loon and an anti-muslim bigot.

Why are you making this about me? It's about your comment. Either you can back it up with reasoning or you can't.

And if those attractive terms include include the Federal Govt indemnifying the oil companies against any losses? Really? So they removed Maduro but had no actual plan in place about what to do next? I remember when the Bush administration was criticized for its unrealistic plan about what to do after Saddam was deposed. But at least they had a plan in place. This is so amateurish, it's material for a farce.

To get petroleum production back to the level it once is projected to cost at least $100 billion and not be completed until 2040. And even if oil companies could be persuaded to invest in Venezuela, which is a big "if", why do you believe that this will redound to the benefit of the Venezuelan people? Do you know why Hugo Chavez gained popularity in the first place? That's because the previous government was extremely corrupt and kept pretty much all the benefits of that oil money for itself. The current rulers are, if anything worse. Haven't you ever heard of the "Resource Curse" or "The Paradox of Plenty'? What makes you think that the Trump administration will engage to protect Venezuelan citizens from these predators? Even when natural disasters strike American citizens, Trump has often displayed a profound indifference to their plight.

Exactly what terroristics attacks has Venezuela launched against the USA? The phrase narco-terrorist was coined to condone actions that otherwise would be transparently illegitimate. Narco-trafficantes overwhelmingly don't engage in the drugs trade because they have a political agenda. They do it for the money.

The point is that's been going on for a while and there's no evidence that Trump has taken this consideration into account.

And what percentage of oil inthe world oil market is the price of oil settled in currencies other than the dollar?