Since 2007, Beijing has lent Venezuela nearly $60 billion, to be repaid in oil, reportedly at discounts of $15 to $20 per barrel.
At the start of 2026, between $10 billion and $13 billion remained outstanding.
That oil now has a different owner, and the revenues flow through the U.S. Treasury.
A Chinese company operates mature oil fields in Maracaibo under a contract signed with Maduro. Those fields are now going up for bidding.
Beijing now has two options: pursue arbitration against the Republic of Venezuela, not against the United States, which did not breach the contract, or negotiate directly with the new operators.
Either way, the game is now being played in Washington.
And for the first time, an entity under 55% U.S. control is producing oil within the OPEC quota of a member country.
And Cuba?
It loses the subsidy.
The Venezuelan oil that sustained the island is now subject to purchase commitments at cost with the U.S. military.
No new sanctions are even necessary.
Thousands of people criticized @SecRubio without understanding how the São Paulo Forum is being dismantled across the Americas, paving the way for the new Donroe Doctrine to consolidate. Only then comes the electoral phase, with the potential knock-on effect of severely undermining Mexico’s economy under Morena.
Tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. DC time.
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