by Kurt Nimmo, Global Research:
The US president lied when he said the illicit proceeds would benefit the Venezuelan people.
On August 29, President Trump went on social media and boasted about stealing Venezuelan oil. The theft, according to Trump, “more than doubles American oil reserves.” He said there was “no cost” to American taxpayers, although there will obviously be a huge cost to the people of Venezuela who will see little if any benefit from Trump’s plunder.
Trump went so far as to claim the brazen theft will benefit the Venezuelan people. The profits are expected to enrich oil company executives and elites rather than ordinary citizens.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
The average monthly net salary in Venezuela is $218. Poverty is extremely severe, with over 80% of households affected and more than half living in extreme poverty. A significant portion of the population faces food shortages, with many unable to afford basic food items.
The United States sold much of the pilfered oil to Vitol, a Geneva-based energy and commodity trading firm, and also Trafigura, a Singaporean‑based multinational commodities company. The theft and sale of oil have raised concerns about transparency and accountability, especially regarding the management and distribution of its proceeds.
Eight months after Trump snatched “millions of barrels” of oil, the administration floated a lie to cover its audacious theft. The State Department proclaimed that it would use profits from the sales for “the benefit of the American people and the Venezuelan people.” It later said that “billions of dollars have been disbursed to the Venezuelan economy” and that “financial monitoring is under way to ensure funds benefit the Venezuelan people.”
The Financial Times reported there is no evidence of oil money returning to Venezuela, as claimed by Trump, and that Venezuela’s GDP in the first quarter was its lowest in five years. Oil makes up virtually a quarter of the country’s GDP.
“Trump’s invasion of Venezuela has been about oil, power, and graft from the very beginning, with billions of dollars in Venezuelan oil revenue being controlled by the Trump administration without transparency or safeguards,” Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro told the FT.
Swiss company Vitol is involved in shipping Venezuelan oil to Israel, which is used in part to fuel its apartheid and ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and attacks on Shia communities in southern Lebanon. Vitol’s Saras refinery in Sarroch, Sardinia, Italy provided 17% of Israel’s imports of oil and refined products.
“At a time when Palestinians are being slaughtered, ethnically cleansed, and deprived of the most basic necessities,” declared Maren Mantovani with the Palestinian-led BDS movement, “any company fueling Israel’s genocide, apartheid and military occupation is deeply complicit and must be held accountable—as should its executives and board members, according to international law.”
In February, it was reported the first shipment of heisted oil went to Israel. The shipment was not the result of a decision made by Venezuela or its Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), but rather as “an indirect consequence of the reconfiguration of the global energy market orchestrated by Washington,” writes Misión Verdad for the Orinoco Tribune.
On February 10, Bloomberg Línea, a Spanish and Portuguese language news website, reported the oil cargo was transported to the Bazan Group, an oil refining and petrochemicals company located in Haifa Bay, Israel. It is the largest refinery in Israel.
The Zionist government does not announce where it obtains crude oil and, according to Bloomberg Línea, tankers heading to the port often disappear from tracking systems as they approach Israel. The Israel Ministry of Energy declined to reveal where the country gets its oil.
Delcy Rodríguez, who became the president of Venezuela after Trump abducted Nicolás Maduro on bogus drug charges, restored relations with Israel in August. In 2009, Venezuela, along with Bolivia, severed ties with Israel in response to its occupation in Gaza and its ongoing violence against the Palestinian people. As I noted in August, the Trump administration is busy at work promoting and helping install right-wing leaders in Latin America.
