US Oil Barons Demand 'Guarantees' After Decades of Sanctioning Venezuela
Amidst US attempts to normalize relations and access Venezuelan oil, shale billionaire Harold Hamm is demanding assurances that US companies' assets won't be 'seized' again. This plea for stability comes from a country that, for years, has endured crushing US sanctions—sanctions specifically designed to destabilize its government and economy, often citing 'nationalization' (Venezuela's control
over its own national resources) as a primary grievance. The irony is as thick as Hamm's oil profits. One might wonder where this concern for 'guarantees' was when the US Treasury Department was actively choking Venezuela's economic lifelines, or when foreign-backed opposition figures like Juan Guaidó were being propped up to seize state assets abroad. Now that the geopolitical winds have shifted
and US 'energy security' demands Venezuelan crude, the very architects of the crisis suddenly expect a red-carpet welcome and ironclad protections. It exposes a blatant double standard: the US can unilaterally destabilize a nation for over a decade, but when it's time to cash in, suddenly 'trust' and 'guarantees' are paramount.