The U.S. doesn’t run Venezuelan oil — it regulates who gets to touch it. The Treasury’s OFAC sanctions don’t control production; they choke the financial and logistical pipelines around it. That’s Washington’s leverage — not ownership, but gatekeeping. Venezuela nationalized its oil industry back in the 1970s, and PDVSA still owns every barrel that comes out of the ground.
Right now, the only American company still operating there is Chevron, and even they’re basically on probation. Their projects run under a temporary OFAC license that can be pulled at any time, and they’re not allowed to pay the Maduro government directly. Everything has to go through a U.S.-approved escrow system.
Meanwhile, most of Venezuela’s actual oil exports move outside U.S. reach entirely — crude swapped through China, blended with Iranian condensate, shipped under flags of convenience on ghost fleets that never report their location. That’s not American control; that’s a global workaround to avoid it.
So yeah, the U.S. has influence — financial choke points, compliance pressure, and the ability to turn Chevron’s tap on or off. But control? No. PDVSA owns the wells, China and Iran move the barrels, and OFAC just decides who’s allowed to touch the money.
Edit: Please, I encourage you to fact-check me. Informed decision-making is the key to equitable governance.
Fishermen? I’m not defending the actions of my government, they are fucking appalling and illegal, but have you seen the boats they’ve killed? My friend, those are not likely innocent fishermen.
EDIT: None of you read first sentence. Not going to parse a two sentence post for you.
Yes, dont you know “Fisherman?” Is all you need to justify murdering dudes in boats who may or may not be drug runners. Also their boats look like drug boats so fuck em
Oh, look, another lemming so anxious to get his cute little burn out there. So anxious he skipped the first of two sentences in my comment. Hey! It was a pretty long-winded thing to parse!
They will keep killing fishermen until Venezuela takes action, and then its ok to invade for that sweet sweet oil. Drill baby drill! USA USA USA!
Déjà vu
If it works it works
US already does all the oil in Venezuela though…
The U.S. doesn’t run Venezuelan oil — it regulates who gets to touch it. The Treasury’s OFAC sanctions don’t control production; they choke the financial and logistical pipelines around it. That’s Washington’s leverage — not ownership, but gatekeeping. Venezuela nationalized its oil industry back in the 1970s, and PDVSA still owns every barrel that comes out of the ground.
Right now, the only American company still operating there is Chevron, and even they’re basically on probation. Their projects run under a temporary OFAC license that can be pulled at any time, and they’re not allowed to pay the Maduro government directly. Everything has to go through a U.S.-approved escrow system.
Meanwhile, most of Venezuela’s actual oil exports move outside U.S. reach entirely — crude swapped through China, blended with Iranian condensate, shipped under flags of convenience on ghost fleets that never report their location. That’s not American control; that’s a global workaround to avoid it.
So yeah, the U.S. has influence — financial choke points, compliance pressure, and the ability to turn Chevron’s tap on or off. But control? No. PDVSA owns the wells, China and Iran move the barrels, and OFAC just decides who’s allowed to touch the money.
Edit: Please, I encourage you to fact-check me. Informed decision-making is the key to equitable governance.
Fishermen? I’m not defending the actions of my government, they are fucking appalling and illegal, but have you seen the boats they’ve killed? My friend, those are not likely innocent fishermen.
EDIT: None of you read first sentence. Not going to parse a two sentence post for you.
They are innocent until proven guilty, not until killed.
Do I really need to post my entire comment in this reply? It’s two sentences and the first one covers your concern.
Yes, dont you know “Fisherman?” Is all you need to justify murdering dudes in boats who may or may not be drug runners. Also their boats look like drug boats so fuck em
Oh, well, bombs away then!
Oh, look, another lemming so anxious to get his cute little burn out there. So anxious he skipped the first of two sentences in my comment. Hey! It was a pretty long-winded thing to parse!
Bless your heart, I hope you have a better day tomorrow.