White House Threatens Crews While Ignoring Its Own Oil Sanctions
On one hand, the U.S. government is ready to prosecute individual crew members (Al Jazeera, 2026). On the other, the Biden administration quietly eased sanctions on Venezuelan oil in October 2023, then extended licenses in April 2024, allowing oil to flow in exchange for vague promises of 'free elections.' This isn't about 'crushing illicit activity' but about controlling specific illicit
activity, depending on which geopolitical lever the US wants to pull that day. One might wonder if the White House applies the same aggressive 'prosecution' standard to those enabling far greater atrocities, especially when billions in US tax dollars are involved. Or perhaps only small-time crews suffer while the architects of genuine 'illicit activity' on a global scale remain immune.