Nicolas Maduro and an American Gas Station
You may have seen that the Trump Administration eliminated a Venezuelan drug smuggling boat in international waters. You may have seen that the Administration put a bounty on the "leader" of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. But did you know that a prominent Texas gas station is part of the story?
The Trump Administration does not consider the Maduro Regime legitimate, but rather as a narco-terrorist state working with the Tren de Aragua cartel. We wanted to give you more information on the Maduro regime, as Trump has begun to escalate the conflict against it.
Apart from illegal drug money from gangs like TdA, the majority of income funding the Venezuelan government comes from their state-owned oil company, PDVSA. But did you know that the American gas station Citgo (the one with the red triangle) is entirely owned by the Maduro narco-state? They even have an oil refinery in Texas.
But the Venezuelan government, under socialist leadership, has fallen into disrepair, including its state-owned oil industry. The nation has defaulted on so many debts that a Delaware judge is now auctioning off the Citgo brand in an attempt to recover $19 billion in debt owed by Venezuela. Things aren't looking good for the failed narco-state.
Many of these adversarial nations (propped up by state-owned oil) have operations in Texas and can harm the industry through poor leadership. As we've reported before, CCP billionaire Sun Guangxin, who owned vast swaths of land and a large oil company in Texas, recently lost his oil company in a court-enforced bankruptcy. Pemex, the state-owned oil company propping up the Mexican economy, frequently loses oil to cartel members (and American collaborators) trafficking the oil to sell illegally in Texas.
The Maduro-owned PDVSA is no exception. It even has a 10x higher workforce injury rate than Mexico-owned Pemex. Socialist state oil companies may cause trouble for Texans, but they also cause problems on a geopolitical scale.
Venezuela notoriously traffics drugs into America to poison our citizens. But a lesser-known fact is that their former Vice President and Minister of Oil Tareck El Aissami is connected to terrorist groups and has been sanctioned for facilitating Hezbollah-linked drug networks. Because Maduro is an enemy of the US, the Venezuelan narco-state relies heavily on our enemies like China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba, giving them a foothold in America's backyard and access to many times more oil than in American reserves.
While some conservatives may be concerned at the prospect of escalating force against Maduro, it's important to keep in mind that these actions are necessary for preserving American security. Rather than another forever war, action against Maduro is a return of the Monroe Doctrine, with the American military once again being used to support American interests in our backyard.
For example, Venezuela formerly supplied massive quantities of oil to Caribbean nations, and is still closely allied to communist Cuba. While Venezuelan exports have waned due to American sanctions, China has stepped in. The Caribbean and Central America are under serious pressure to accept Chinese influence as an attempt by our enemies to maintain control over our backyard.
Replacing Maduro and retaking the Panama Canal are great initial steps to making the western hemisphere safe again. Hopefully, Trump will keep going!
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