Trump Plays Risky Oil Jenga With Venezuela, Invites Military Escort to Party

KEY POINTS

•Venezuela dispatched two unsanctioned oil tankers, including one with a military escort, from ports in defiance of U.S. policies on Thursday.
•Trump declared Venezuela's government a 'Foreign Terrorist Organization' and escalated sanctions, targeting the Cartel de los Soles and Venezuelan oil ministry PDVSA.
•Despite aggressive actions like the destruction of 28 drug boats and killing 104 people, Trump continues licensing Chevron to operate in Venezuela.

In the latest episode of 'Maduro Meets Trump,' Venezuela sent two oil tankers sailing out—one VIP-style with a military escort—testing Trump's blockade that technically doesn’t apply to these unsanctioned vessels. President Trump, freshly branding Venezuela's government as a 'Foreign Terrorist Organization' and tagging Maduro’s Cartel de los Soles as cocaine dealers, still lets Chevron boss oil flow legally, keeping things deliciously confusing. Meanwhile, Operation Southern Spear, aka Trump's Caribbean naval soap opera, has sunk 28 suspected cocaine boats and killed 104 people, but maximum pressure is apparently a setting he missed flipping on. Maduro called Trump's threats 'neo-colonial' ranting worthy of Simón Bolívar-level clapbacks. Popcorn, please.