American helicopters flew over a tanker with Venezuelan MT Skipper oil and Navy SEALs on the ropes landing on board, ran with automatics to the Captain's Bridge and seized the ship.
It was not difficult, fewer (20-25 people) crews of specified tankers are not armed and surrender immediately – whether it is Somali pirates or American peculiar forces. It was December 10, then a akin destiny met respective another tankers. With Marinera (formerly Bella 1 – this shadow fleet changes names like gloves) it was a bit of fun. erstwhile she sailed to Venezuela in December for oil, she refused to comply with the demands of the U.S. Border defender and fled to the open ocean. She changed the flag to Russian due to the fact that it seemed to defend her from the long arm of American jurisdiction.
However, after 2 weeks of being chased, despite winter storms and storms, by an American ship in the open waters of the Atlantic, an empty tanker was overrun by the Marine, Air and Land peculiar Forces of the United States Navy. The heroic "fok" action – a landing operation utilizing many helicopters against unarmed sailors was only successful off the British coast. And this with the large aid of the erstwhile ruler of seas and oceans (Rule, Britannia! regulation the waves!). But today, individual else is in charge at sea, and this piracy is officially referred to as "America first at sea".
In front of our eyes, there is another act of diplomacy of canons in the oil edition. Officially president Trump announced on his own private Twitter (Truth Social) "a full naval blockade for all tankers sanctioned" only on 16 December erstwhile U.S. Navy ships off the Venezuelan coast were deployed. The naval blockade is recognised by global law as an act of war. But whatever law it is, it falls into ruins, for the powers that erstwhile created it are striving for a change of power. Just as Russia no longer wants to be defeated in the Cold War by a power being pushed further east, so besides America, giving up establishing a global liberal order, considers the Western hemisphere not only to be its safety zone, but its property.
This oil version has its roots in 19th century European and American practices. They utilized their naval power to force the victim to accept the conditions of a stronger one, while not causing war. The Americans have repeatedly utilized this method to mention even Japan's 1853 coercion by Commander Perry to open the marketplace or the "diplification of a thick stick" by Teodor Roosevelt (US president 1901 – 1909), whose motto was "speak softly but hold a thick stick in your hand, you will go far." Thanks to this he built the Panama Canal, and the area around it was an extra-territorial U.S. area, including the American police, courts, schools and postal system.
Obedience is an introduction to plundering another people's property. It utilized to be the beginning of markets, the power over territory, now it's oil. The U.S. Secretary of State announced that “we will take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil that Venezuela cannot export. We will sale it on the global market, at marketplace prices, without discount. Money from it will control and spend us – for the sake of the Venezuelan people." Marco Rubio has only “hope” for “the affirmative effects for the Venezuelan people”, but he is absolutely certain that “it will be in the national interest of the United States, which is most important.”
The tiny $2 – 3 billion is for starters. Officially by the White House, Trump's declared doctrine focuses on oil, which “belongs to American corporations” and which is unfairly “taken away” from them, and they have “developed the Venezuelan oil industry”. Donald Trump besides claims that oil will be mined there by American corporations, selling American institutions, and that he, the president of the United States, will decide everything. The money will be in Washington controlled banks, and Venezuela can buy any goods for them at most, provided they are produced in the United States. This is today's geopolitical version of Ford's old saying about car color.
The U.S. is just subjecting itself to the world's largest oil reserves to make money from them, but besides to cut off their enemies. 1 of the first conditions for Caracas was to break cooperation with China and Russia. Not to mention Cuba or Iran. Many years earlier, Washington had asked Europe to break its energy ties with Russia a small more gently, and now it is doing so much more violently.
Well... and then a spectacular second act of this "fat stick diplomacy" was played—the kidnapping of president Maduro and his wife from Venezuela and putting him in handcuffs before a court in fresh York. So things will grow...
Andrzej Szczęsniak
Think Poland, No. 3-4 (18-25.01.2026)
