On January 2, 2006: the military dictatorship that rules Venezuela.
On January 4, 2006: the military dictatorship that rules Venezuela.

Hmm. That's not the question I asked you. I asked who was in charge of their oil exports. I'll answer for you - Trump is.

The fact that you asked this series of questions shows that you're overlooking the main point.

You're obsessing over the optics. The optics don't matter when the facts on the ground (or in this case, the ocean) are running in the other direction.

And since nothing else has changed in the country,

You keep saying this...but I would bet that the opposition there is getting more organized and that pressure to hold another election will start to build.

Then you need to care about the U.S. oil companies, because that's the key element to that.

Do I? The key parameter is the oil. What happens if it stays in the ground? Have you considered that possibility?

It is both modest and easily replaced.

4.5% of their total? Okay. 1) that's not a small amount and 2) they're going to pay market price for it. (They weren't when they were buying Venezuelan oil). Nice 1-2 crotch shot for China's economy.

especially since India's decided they want to temporarily reduce their oil imports from Russia a bit (but still near record highs) in order to get Trump over the finish line for a trade deal.

Interesting, that. It's almost like we...had some leverage and used it on India! I seem to remember one of us dumping on that notion pretty hard.