U.S. ‘’Oil Weapon’’ Could Change Geopolitics Forever

 

In a dynamic that shows just how far U.S. oil production has come in recent years, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Monday that in the last two months of 2018, the U.S. Gulf Coast exported more crude oil than it imported.

OPEC Threatens To Kill U.S. Shale

 

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will once again become a nemesis for U.S. shale if the U.S. Congress passes a bill dubbed NOPEC, or No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act, Bloomberg reported this week, citing sources present at a meeting between a senior OPEC official and U.S. bankers.

The oil minister of the UAE, Suhail al-Mazrouei, reportedly told lenders at the meeting that if the bill was made into law that made OPEC members liable to U.S. anti-cartel legislation, the group, which is to all intents and purposes indeed a cartel, would break up and every member would boost production to its maximum.

Report: Defecting Venezuelan Troops Planned to Re-Enter Country by Force

(Photo Credit: Venezuelan Defense Ministry)

 

Their plans were cut short only after Colombian officials intervened in the 11th hour.

A group of heavily armed former Venezuelan soldiers, led by a retired general, reportedly planned to use armed force to push back National Guard troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro who were blocking aid shipments from crossing the border from Colombia.

Europe’s “Geopolitical Identity”

 

MUNICH (Own report) – At the Munich Security Conference last weekend, the power struggle between Berlin and Washington openly escalated to an unprecedented level. US Vice President Mike Pence reiterated his ultimatum that Berlin and the EU immediately renounce their political and economic projects, which are not fully in accord with US policy, pertaining particularly to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the Iran nuclear deal. German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the US demands. In view of the dispute with Washington, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas declared at the Security Conference that “Europe” faces the “crucial question” whether it will be “the subject or the object of global policy in the future.” It must, therefore, “transform geo-economic capital into geopolitical capital” to become “a cornerstone of the international order” and “develop its own geopolitical identity.” Maas is expressing his demands, at a time, when the EU’s Iran policy is about to fall apart and the European power base needed for Berlin’s ambitions is crumbling.

Erdogan Says Venezuelan Gold Will Be Processed In Turkey

 

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday that Venezuelan gold would be processed in the Central Anatolian province of Çorum.

Speaking at a rally ahead of local elections on March 31, the president said Çorum would reach a new level in terms of gold trade amid reports that Venezuela sells most of its gold to Turkish refineries.

Leaked Wikileaks Doc reveals US Military use of IMF, World Bank as “unconventional” weapons

 

WASHINGTON – In a leaked military manual on “unconventional warfare” recently highlighted by WikiLeaks, the U.S. Army states that major global financial institutions — such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — are used as unconventional, financial “weapons in times of conflict up to and including large-scale general war,” as well as in leveraging “the policies and cooperation of state governments.”

The document, officially titled “Field Manual (FM) 3-05.130, Army Special Operations Forces Unconventional Warfare” and originally written in September 2008, was recently highlighted by WikiLeaks on Twitter in light of recent events in Venezuela as well as the years-long, U.S.-led economic siege of that country through sanctions and other means of economic warfare. Though the document has generated new interest in recent days, it had originally been released by WikiLeaks in December 2008 and has been described as the military’s “regime change handbook.”

Report: Russia Sends ‘Security Contractors’ to Venezuela to Protect Maduro

(Photo Credit: The Kremlin)

 

The Wagner Group is the same quasi-independent mercenary group that was routed by U.S. forces in Syria last year.

Russia has reportedly doubled down on its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by sending “security contractors” to Caracas to provide protection for the dictator.

Venuezuela’s socialist nightmare could be ending; Military no longer ‘faithful’

Venezuelan opposition supporters take to the streets to protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 23. / Yuri Cortex / AFP / Getty Images

 

With support from the U.S., opposition leaders in Venezuela have sparked what they hope is the beginning of the end of the socialist regime of President Nicolas Maduro.

Reports on the ground say smaller-scale demonstrations that began on Jan. 21 began to spread on Jan. 22 with protests erupting in more than 60 neighborhoods across Caracas and in interior states.

Iran To Sail Warships Into The Atlantic, Pushing Near US Waters

The new Iranian destroyer Sahand sails in Persian Gulf waters, Iranian Army via AP

 

At a moment a US aircraft carrier group led by the USS Stennis is stationed in the Persian Gulf, putting Iran’s military on edge, the Iranian navy has announced plans to deploy warships to the Atlantic starting in March, in a clear attempt to increase the operating range of its forces and extend into the United States’ backyard.

A top Iranian naval commander told the the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Friday, “The Atlantic Ocean is far and the operation of the Iranian naval flotilla might take five months,” and also identified that among the deployed vessels will be its Sahand destroyer, touted as Iran’s latest domestic built stealth destroyer.

Russia sending nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuelan island

Two Russian Tu-160 supersonic bombers at Venezuela’s Maiquetia International Airport. / AFP / Getty Images

 

In one of the largest Russian military deployments to the region since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Moscow has sent supersonic bombers to one of Venezuela’s islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Russian military Col. Eduard Rodyukov said the move by President Vladimir Putin was in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to scrap nuclear treaties.

Moscow To Set Up Military Base In Caribbean

 

“According to military envoys, Russian authorities have made a decision (and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro did not object) to deploy strategic aircraft to one of Venezuela’s islands in the Caribbean Sea, which has a naval base and a military airfield. Ten years ago, Russian experts and Armed Forces commanders had already visited the island of La Orchila, located 200 kilometers northeast of Caracas. Venezuelan laws prohibit the setup of military bases in the country, but a temporary deployment of warplanes is possible,” reported Russian state news agency TASS.

Russia Places Its ‘White Swan’ Strategic Bombers in Venezuela

(Photo Credit: Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry)

 

The tensions between Moscow and Washington continue to escalate.

Two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers, dubbed the “white swan,” was part of a fleet of aircraft that arrived at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maichetia, Venezuela, today after a flight of more than 6,200 miles.

The Biggest Threat To Dollar Dominance

 

Russian oil exporters are pressuring Western commodity traders to pay for Russian crude in euros and not dollars as Washington prepares more sanctions for the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Moscow, Reuters reported last week, citing as many as seven industry sources.

While it may have come as a surprise to the traders, who, Reuters said, were not too happy about it, the Russian companies’ move was to be expected as the Trump administration pursues a foreign policy where sanctions feature prominently. This approach, however, could undermine the dominance of the U.S. dollar as the global oil trade currency.

Russia And China Prepare To Ditch Dollar In Bilateral Trade

 

In a time when many nations have gone public with their intention to ditch the dollar in part or in whole, in bilateral trade with non-US counterparts, either to prevent the US from having “veto power” of commerce courtesy of SWIFT or simply in response to Trump’s “America First” doctrine, attention has long focused on Russia and China – the two natural adversaries to the US – to see if and when they would accelerate plans for de-dollarization.

Venezuela Ditches US Dollar, Will Use Euros For International Trade

 

Venezuela has just taken the next step in its quest to “free” itself from the tyranny of US dollar hegemony. One year after the country said it would stop accepting US dollars as payment for its (ever shrinking) oil exports (saying the country’s state-run oil company would accept payment in yuan instead), Venezuelan Vice President for Economy Tareck El Aissami said Tuesday that Venezuela will officially purge the dollar from its exchange market in favor of euros.