Full panel convenes to talk Venezuela, though we digress throughout the show.

A major point of clarification is necessary. In the second half of the show we talk about whether or not this was merely an oil grab, as so many midwits on either side like to claim. It was not. Stormy’s points about Guyana are mutli-faceted but it’s way too detailed to go into in depth at the moment. Long story short: the cost of extracting and refining Venezuelan oil is very high, and the profits from doing so are far down the road. Conversely, Guyanese oil is already being pumped and turning a profit. Venezuela has been trying to claim the oil in Guyana and threatening it in very real ways, with a military build-up around it. This has implications for China and Russia and Iran, who are already buying oil from Venezuela, in violations of US sanctions (China being the worst offender). Ergo: we aren’t doing regime change in Venezuela as much to get their oil as we are to protect our oil in Guyana (among other things).

I want to do a deep dive on Paul Singer and his purchase of/being gifted Citgo (by the regime), but Im not sure I will be able to do so in a timely fashion. In Lieu of that, I highly recommend this comprehensive article by Christopher Brunet:

The Biggest Winner in Venezuela: Paul “The Vulture” Singer

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