12-18-25 spal
No, the escorted vessels have not yet passed through any actively enforced blockaded area resulting in confrontation or interception.Current Status and DetailsThe vessels in question (several commercial ships carrying urea, petroleum coke, and other oil byproducts) departed from the Port of José on Venezuela's eastern Caribbean coast between the evening of December 16, 2025, and the morning of December 17, 2025, under Venezuelan Navy escort.
They are en route to Asian markets, sailing through the Caribbean Sea (international waters).
As of the latest reports on December 17, 2025 (up to evening updates), these ships have sailed out from Venezuelan ports and are proceeding without reported US interference.
Importantly, none of these specific escorted vessels are on the US list of sanctioned tankers targeted by the blockade order (announced December 16). The blockade explicitly focuses on "sanctioned oil tankers," and these carry byproducts rather than crude oil directly implicated in the primary sanctions.
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12-18-25 victor
pana, i seriously doubt that ruspan would agree with you.
too bad he's not around any longer. |
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12-18-25 spal
Abt. Poland, maybe in Putin's plan, but Xi would need to think very carefully if that is what he wants.
===
Again agree. |
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12-18-25 panasonic
victor
"pana, didnt you say that putin belongs to xi?"
What have been saying for months is the only one that can stop Putin is Xi, EU leaders should know by now. |
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12-18-25 spal
Abt. Poland, maybe in Putin's plan, but Xi would need to think very carefully if that is what he wants.
===
Again agree. |
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12-18-25 savo
that will weaken the dollar
good for precious metals... |
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12-18-25 spal
By taking out Veni's cartel USA secures that no North Korea exists in this side of the pond
===
100% correct - US has just claimed the entirety of the Americas. If you notice the new visa controls that are rolling out are putting up a hard data wall around the US center. The world is being carved up as we speak.
.........
Military #1 on nuclear powers is same as #2 or #3 there is no possible winner, only those who make a colony in mars.
Yes again - we agree, so the issue turns on geographic advantages coupled with how you can mobilize robots and related to enhance or police your borders.
=====
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12-18-25 spal
pana, well.. the usa and china are fighting to be military power #1.
===
No they are not.
#1 "military" power is a bit of a moot point in a nuclear age.
It is more clear that the US is retreating to the Western Hemisphere (an old term that has come around once more). Via the Vene blockade it has clearly signalled that the Americas are folded under its command.
5 eyes also.
And then Western Europe, but as a vassal under the defense arrangements and energy dependence that they just signed up for.
In what will seem like an entirely contrary stratement the US is encouraging a South/South zone to fall in place under China. This is ideal for the new plaza accord that will weaken the dollar. |
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12-18-25 victor
El presidente electo de Chile, José Antonio Kast, apoya una intervención militar en Venezuela contra Maduro: “Si alguien lo va a hacer, nos soluciona a nosotros y a todo latinoamérica un problema gigantesco. El que lo haga va a contar con nuestro apoyo”
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12-17-25 victor
pana, china would probably lose in that scenario.
but dt has burned bridges between the usa and its allies, so not going to happen. |
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12-17-25 victor
| pana, didnt you say that putin belongs to xi? :-) |
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12-17-25 panasonic
| Abt. Poland, maybe in Putin's plan, but Xi would need to think very carefully if that is what he wants. |
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12-17-25 panasonic
Vic, I beg to disagree.
By taking out Veni's cartel USA secures that no North Korea exists in this side of the pond
Military #1 on nuclear powers is same as #2 or #3 there is no possible winner, only those who make a colony in mars.
Now, let's talk a commercial war, USA, EU and Asian developed countries join to boicot China, who wins? |
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12-17-25 victor
pana, another question for you:
can the usa afford to have russia's army take over poland?
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12-17-25 victor
pana, i think it was spal who posted the video of the chinese guy, i think he was a professor, explaining that it may appear that dt has the upper hand, in reality china is the one playing the smarter game.
goes back to that. |
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12-17-25 victor
pana, nato will likely break down before that. it's not even an issue.
all china and russia have to do is offer a security deal to a country like spain, plus investments, in exchange for getting out of nato.
spain out of nato, but not of the eu.
and who is the big loser in this scenario? certainly not spain.
if china becomes the #1 military power, the big loser is the usa.. not the eu.
what would happen to the us dollar if china becomes the #1 military power?
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12-17-25 panasonic
Vic, wrong question, is EU prepared to pull the fight? If so, support from China to Putin will pause.
The right question, can China stay strong if their principal markets in the world get pissed off? |
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12-17-25 victor
pana, and you still didn't answer my question :-))
can the usa afford to decouple from the eu, and leave these rare earths under the control of russia & china ?? |
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12-17-25 victor
pana, spain is already buying tech from china, in spite of the usa's threats.
that's an example.
November 27, 2025
China Just Took Over Europe's EV Battery Dreams--In Spain's Backyard
Spain just fired a shot across Europe's industrial landscape, and the echo could be loud. Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) and China's CATL have broken ground on a 4.1 billion battery plant in northern Spain, a project that could be seen as Europe leaning on Beijing even as policymakers try to counter China's reach.
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12-17-25 victor
| pana, maybe because china prefers to deal with the EU than the USA? |
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12-17-25 panasonic
Vic, me don't see anyone wining wars without the most advanced AI equipment... Putin and EU are out of the race, so that is now EU problem, and they'll need tech from USA.
China will be glad to provide it to OPutin, the big question is why is EU in denial of that simple fact? |
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12-17-25 victor
pana, well.. the usa and china are fighting to be military power #1.
the eu decided not to. instead, focusing on trade.
in terms of screwing each other, china has more reasons to screw the usa than the eu.
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12-17-25 victor
pana, for ex: AI isnt the only industry that requires rare earths..
advanced military equipment also requires rare earths, etc
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12-17-25 panasonic
victor: the eu has less to lose than the usa, as it is not fighting to be #1 military power.
....
Can you elaborate bit more?
I don't see how can EU sleep soundly if any Nato nation is attacked? DT will do money selling more defense systems, or you have a different playbook?
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12-17-25 panasonic
| Merlino, enough reasons to kick regime out, probably oil is not the principal motive. |
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12-17-25 savo
tech selling off... btc and eth selling off...
gold and gold miners fighting the fight...
silver ... miraculously .... shinning tall over the firmament +4.5%..for now. |
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12-17-25 victor
merlino, yes, but the idea is to screw china as much as possible.
to prevent china from competing with the usa on AI, you need to limit china's access to rare earths.
the AI war, usa-china, that pana mentions. |
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12-17-25 Merlino
can the usa afford to decouple from the eu, and leave these rare earths under the control of russia & china ??
.........................
Are not a lot of these rare earths also in Latam, including Veni and Argy?
It looks everybody can have its fair part |
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12-17-25 victor
pana, the eu has less to lose than the usa, as it is not fighting to be #1 military power.
again... :-))
can the usa afford to decouple from the eu, and leave these rare earths under the control of russia & china ?? |
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12-17-25 panasonic
| Savo, no worries you will find plenty stress free, but we have to understand marketing strategies are not based on senior citizens. |
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12-17-25 panasonic
| Vic, EU should be the one knocking the door in China, unacceptable that this AI war brings death and a revival of USSR days only bcz China wants it...and meanwhile EU buying all sort of stuff from them, no? |
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12-17-25 savo
| pana... the world is perfectly fine with petrol cars... if somebody wants electric fine... but those of us that prefer combustion... please let us live in peace. |
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12-17-25 victor
| pana, can the usa afford to have russia or china control these ukr regions with rare earths? |
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12-17-25 panasonic
Savo, we are not the car companies target for years to come.
Self driving is going to be of huge impact, with time even old chaps like us will value stress free riding. |
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12-17-25 savo
this is horrible...
https://x.com/clippve/status/2001249691728556202
Meanwhile MCM having fun in Oslo...Guaido having a stroll in Miami beach... Lopez and Ledesma shopping at al Corte Ingles. |
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12-17-25 savo
pana... i understand the attraction of electric cars.. less noise.. no combustion..etc... like scalextric cars... but I have an electric bike that I use daily for long rides and have to recharge every two days... if I forget I can't ride... and it is one of the good ones... my son has an electric audi or may be hybrid... it is always charging...
A nuisance... i stick to petrol cars
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12-17-25 victor
pana, btw, elections in extremadura on sunday.
in former times (2 elections ago) the psoe would win without problems in this region. this used to be psoe turf.
since last election (2023) the pp won, and is expected to win some more on sunday, and the psoe to sink even more. |
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12-17-25 panasonic
| Vic, the real war is AI dominance and China having control of rare minerals is their most valuable piece, besides w/o China, Putin weakens a lot, search no more. |
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12-17-25 spal
We all knew Trump was a terrible person and certifiably mad, but this actually shocked me. He’s basically implying that, one way or another, Reiner died for his opposition to Trump. “Due to the anger he caused others.” Trump seems to have believed—or fantasized—that a supporter killed Reiner, and he was gleeful about it. Now, he may not be as evil as the monstrous dictators of the 20th century, but he routinely sounds more insane in public than they ever did. Hitler and Stalin were sure to associate their persons with something greater than themselves: the Volk or the march of history. To find an analogy for bloody-minded blather on this level, one has to look to petty tyrants like Idi Amin, who really may be the historical figure who most resembles Trump. It’s a campy sort of villainy: it sounds like the Penguin addressing Gotham, or it’s as if Andrew Lloyd Weber did Richard III.
Anybody who pretends there's something else going on here is willingly participating in a delusion, which is harder to defend than support for the totalitarianisms of the past, because it is all so obviously hollow and idiotic. You cannot plead ignorance: the cards are right on the table.
The word for all this is “horror.” It combines a sense of both fear and revulsion, like lifting a rock to find loathsome creatures all crawling on top of each other, except here we see the swarming hatefulness of Trump’s mind. It’s disgusting. And I can’t help but also think of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and the mad Kurtz. While his intellectual defenders still drone on about “Western civilization,” here is its champion. This post reveals the heart of darkness at the core of the whole thing: utter madness and murderous rancor.
The Horror
MAGA's Heart of Darkness
John Ganz
Dec 17
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12-17-25 panasonic
| Savo, not sure, it was comment on cnbc, but that is "new" cars sold of course, meaning that is not a quick transition, but say 10 years shift will be more significant imho. |
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12-17-25 savo
| strong opening in silver +3% |
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12-17-25 victor
pana, these rare earths are on russia controlled ukr, or very near, as i understood.
so the big winner is russia. |
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12-17-25 savo
victor..Putin wants the former soviet union republics to either be independent but Russian ally or returned to Russia.
that is the same Trump wants with Latam.
The difference is that Russia and China are a pair... and the US is bankrupt and accompanied by bankrupt EU. |
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12-17-25 savo
pana.. that stat includes india, china, thailand, philipines, Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil..etc...?
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12-17-25 panasonic
Vic, China needs to control rare minerals from Ukraine, that is the real story, is the only leverage to balance power on AI war with USA.
EU will have to deal with Russia, and shortcut would be to put China in EU's not-friendly list. |
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12-17-25 panasonic
Stats showing that 1 of each 5 cars sold in '25 were EV, and projection is 1 of each 4 for '26.
Years of strong oil demand also are numbered.
8 million veni migrants and counting, region is turning to the right, Veni Cartel sinked the left in the region, time to say goodbye. |
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12-17-25 victor
merlino, if they don't stop putin, there could be a russia war vs europe and/or the usa in the near future.
today he told the russian army to get ready to expand the war.
//
Putin insiste en quedarse con los “territorios históricos” de Rusia en Ucrania
Rusia volvió a dar motivos este miércoles para pensar que las negociaciones de paz en Ucrania no van a ser ni rápidas ni fáciles. El jefe del Kremlin, Vladímir Putin, insistió en quedarse con los “territorios históricos rusos” en el país vecino y su ministro de Defensa, Andréi Beloúsov, aseguró que ahora mismo se dan las condiciones para que la guerra entre los dos países eslavos continúe en 2026.
En un encuentro con la plana mayor del Ejército y del Ministerio de Defensa rusos, Putin dijo que si fracasan los actuales esfuerzos diplomáticos sus tropas conquistarán militarmente lo que llamó “territorios históricos rusos” en Ucrania.
Luhansk, Donetsk, Jersón y Zaporiyia
El líder ruso se estaría refiriendo a las cuatro provincias ucranianas que Moscú dijo anexionarse en septiembre de 2022, aunque ni entonces ni ahora las controla al cien por cien. Se trataría de Luhansk, que sí está casi completamente en manos rusas; y Donetsk, que forman la región minera del Donbass; además de Jersón y Zaporiyia.
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12-17-25 Merlino
if the usa can control vz, the usa can significantly increase global oil output, and considerably lower the price of oil and maybe also of natural gas.
(vz also has lots of natural gas reserves)
......................................
May be but this means US will have to sacrifice its whole shale activity |
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12-17-25 victor
savo, the booty is not only the oil... it is also veni's underground gold
//
right, but there is also another angle re energy.
if the usa can control vz, the usa can significantly increase global oil output, and considerably lower the price of oil and maybe also of natural gas.
(vz also has lots of natural gas reserves)
which would in turn help the usa gain leverage over russia (and iran).
similarly to how reagan won the cold war against the ussr.
so many years have passed since the ussr, and russia's economy is still highly dependent on energy, just like the ussr's.
that's russia's achilles' heel. |
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12-17-25 Merlino
Savo, right. There are also plenty of other valuable things in Veni
I wonder if this was all planed time ago, long term strategy, chavismo included, bcz such a destruction of a country in peacetime is unprecedented, to my knowledge |
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12-17-25 victor
merlino, ok, no problem
especially important since in 2019 she was still a democrat
she switched to the gop in 2024 |
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12-17-25 savo
do not disregard veni's gold... Bolivia managed to stay current and continue importing goods thanks to gold production that the government buys in bolivares and adds to reserves in dollars.. bonds in the meantime went up from 57 to 90 today.
Veni is in a similar situation... I think this may explain increased US hostility.. the booty is not only the oil... it is also veni's underground gold:
JP
International reserves are at a multi-year high of $13.4bn or $8.8bn excluding IMF SDRs. However, much of the increase appears to be driven by valuation changes in the stock of gold reserves, which have otherwise stayed stable. BCV data also shows some uptick in available liquid reserves to about $1.7bn through October, the highest level since end-2019. |
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12-17-25 Merlino
| Vic, you are right, sorry...it was a yesterday´s repost of an old X ... things have changed...I was surprised by this X |
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12-17-25 Merlino
| I wonder if us foreign individual investors/creditors are in anybody´s mind in this sad saga. |
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12-17-25 victor
merlino, next time, please post the date.
thanks.
//
Tulsi Gabbard 🌺
The United States needs to stay out of Venezuela. Let the Venezuelan people determine their future. We don't want other countries to choose our leaders--so we have to stop trying to choose theirs.
2:19 PM · Jan 24, 2019 from Washington, DC
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12-17-25 Merlino
Erik Del Bufalo @ekbufalo 12h
Todo apunta a que Trump quiere el monopolio de la producción petrolera venezolana. Eso explicaría por qué no quiso negociar con Maduro, quien le ofreció una participación generosa en la explotación petrolera.
Hay dos razones básicas: en primer lugar EEUU podría usar las reservas petroleras (no necesita explotarlas) como colateral financiero. Por otra parte, piensa que con ello corta camino a los chinos, mientras amortigua el impacto de una futura guerra contra Irán
Trump va a castigar duramente al pueblo venezolano, por no haber podido, en su ineptitud megalómana, salir del régimen chavista.
De prolongarse en el tiempo el bloqueo, los años más horribles del periodo chavista nos parecerán de ensueño. |
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12-17-25 Merlino
Tulsi Gabbard 🌺@TulsiGabbard
The United States needs to stay out of Venezuela. Let the Venezuelan people determine their future. We don't want other countries to choose our leaders--so we have to stop trying to choose theirs.
................................
They are not on a common path |
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12-17-25 savo
carib... true... and that is what keeps maduro in power... even without exports (as it happened from 2017 to 2021... the country can manage eating what it produces.....
That is why I do not understand Trump's current policy which has the same same as the old policy that did not work plus the Gerald Ford outside Miraflores...
is it that difficult to sit down and find a way out that works for all parties... Trump always says he has no problem sitting down to talk with anybody... |
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12-17-25 carib
| Venezuela should be a net food exporter, given nature and logic. |
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12-17-25 savo
Colombia was downgraded by one notch to BB from BB+ by Fitch. The move reflects Fitch’s view that persistent large fiscal deficits and rising spending rigidities will keep Colombia's government debt on an upward path. The agency projects a central government deficit of 6.5% of GDP in 2025 and 7.5% in 2026, with general government debt rising to about 62.8% of GDP by 2027. Although interest costs in 2025 are temporarily reduced by below-par buybacks, the interest-to-revenue ratio is projected to rise again to around 15% in 2026, increasing public finances’ exposure to slower growth, higher borrowing costs, or currency depreciation. Fitch also flags reduced predictability of fiscal policy after the government invoked the fiscal rule’s escape clause and prevailing popular sentiment against tax initiatives or spending cuts. Additionally, approaching March 2026 congressional elections will also constrain President Gustavo Petro’s reforms amid legislative setbacks, court suspensions and weak congressional traction according to Fitch.
Its bonds were trading with a negative bias, with its 8% 2033s, at 107.78 yielding 6.61%. |
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12-17-25 carib
There goes the TACO theory?
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12-17-25 savo
| I wonder if the blockade is only for oil tankers or for any kind of imports... what is the plan of the neocons... turn veni into a concentration camp....?...starvation? |
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12-17-25 savo
victor.. you are right.. the numbers are not the same... i was referring to the kind of people... once one kills the first person becomes a murderer... once one steals the first apple becomes a thief
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12-17-25 victor
Reportan que otro jet privado casi choca en el aire con una aeronave de la Fuerza Aérea de EE.UU. cerca de Venezuela
CNN —
Transmisiones de radio revisadas por CNN detallan que los pilotos de un jet privado evitaron por poco una colisión con un avión cisterna de reabastecimiento de la Fuerza Aérea de Estados Unidos cerca de Venezuela el sábado, un día después de un incidente similar en las cercanías.
Los pilotos de un jet ejecutivo Falcon 900EX que volaba de Aruba a Miami informaron sobre la casi colisión a los controladores de tráfico aéreo en Curazao poco después del incidente la tarde del sábado, según el audio capturado por LiveATC.net. |
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12-17-25 victor
let's see what he has to say re vz
//
My Fellow Americans: I will be giving an ADDRESS TO THE NATION tomorrow night, LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, at 9 P.M. EST. I look forward to “seeing” you then. It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME! |
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12-17-25 victor
savo, refreshing your memory
el banco no esta en venta, pero yo lo puedo expropiar..
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v1xKvQyL7rk
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12-17-25 victor
sabo, no, they are not even.
chavez expropriated a lot of assets, many of usa companies.
citgo does not compensate. |
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12-17-25 savo
victor... in exchange of which they stole Citgo... so they are even...
as said... one does arbitrary detentions.. the other arbitrary killings... they are made of the same stuff...that is why they like each other and Maduro remains there. |
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12-17-25 victor
| merlino, i guess dt means nationalizations that took place |
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12-17-25 savo
merlino...
and yet the ones assassinating people in high sea is them
the corner in which they are painting themselves is getting smaller...
The EU just comes from stealing Russian assets... I guess they are next in Trump's list. |
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12-17-25 Merlino
President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a total blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, declaring the Nicolás Maduro regime a foreign terrorist organization and accusing it of using stolen U.S. assets to finance terrorism, trafficking and other criminal activity.
"Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America," Trump said on Truth Social. "It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before – Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.
"The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping," he continued. "For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.
...............................................
Stolen from us?
Exon? |
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12-17-25 Merlino
Fox News @FoxNews
BREAKING: President Trump designates the "Venezuelan regime" a "FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION."
The president ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country. |
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