Trump's Venezuela tactics draw ire from Congress

: Crude oil
25/12/01

US president Donald Trump's heavy-handed approach to Venezuela has drawn a rare bipartisan rebuke from Congress — even before he makes good on his threat to attack the country.

The top Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee said over the weekend they will examine the circumstances of a strike the US military carried out in early September near Venezuela, destroying a boat allegedly carrying drugs.

The large US naval force deployed near Venezuela since September has destroyed around 20 small boats and Trump said on 27 November that he would order land strikes against Venezuela soon.

What prompted scrutiny from Congress is a 28 November story by The Washington Post that defense secretary Pete Hegseth in September ordered the US military to kill survivors of the first US strike on the boat allegedly carrying drugs in the international waters off Venezuela's coast.

"There can be no conceivable legal justification" for the reported follow up attack, said Jack Goldsmith, who headed the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in 2003-2004, under former president George Bush. "If the Post's facts are correct, it appears that [the US military] committed murder," Goldsmith said.

House committee chairman Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) and ranking member Adam Smith (D-Washington) said on Sunday they took the report seriously and will take "bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question."

A day earlier, Senate committee chairman Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) and ranking member Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) said they would conduct "vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances".

Hegseth did not explicitly deny the report at first. "As we've said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be 'lethal, kinetic strikes'", he said on 29 November.

But on Sunday, the Pentagon described the story as "fake news" and Trump added that Hegseth "said he did not say that and I believe him, 100pc."

But Trump added that he "wouldn't have wanted" a follow up strike against the survivors.

Senior lawmakers briefed on the Trump administration's legal rationale for the strikes have pointed out that it makes no explicit reference to Venezuela and describes the US operations as a "non-international armed conflict" with an unspecified group of "designated terrorist organizations".

The Trump administration had sparred with US lawmakers about the legality of its military orders even before the latest developments. The Democratic members of Congress who previously served in the military issued a statement last month reminding active US military personnel of their duty to defy illegal orders by their commanders.

Trump called the statement "seditious" and suggested that it was "punishable by death". The Pentagon announced an investigation into one of the lawmakers, senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), a former astronaut and Navy pilot.

Talking with Maduro

Scrutiny from critical lawmakers may not deter Trump if he decides to proceed with attacking Venezuela. But it does not appear that Trump has made up his mind.

Trump on 27 November spoke by phone with the US military personnel stationed on ships off Venezuela's coast and told them that land strikes will start soon. He also posted on his social media platform that day that Venezuelan airspace should be considered "CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY".

But on Sunday, he told reporters who asked him to clarify his statements, "Don't read anything into it."

Trump also said he had spoken with Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro recently, without providing any details.

The US administration describes Maduro as the head of a terrorist organization that is also a drug cartel.

Trump on Sunday pardoned former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a sentence in US jail following a 2024 conviction for drug trafficking.

"The people of Honduras really thought he was set up and it was a terrible thing," Trump said. "Take any country you want. If somebody sells drugs in that country, that doesn't mean you arrest the president and put him in jail for the rest of his life."

The show of US military force has not affected Venezuela's overall oil exports. Flows of Venezuelan crude to the US allowed under waivers have slowed since mid-November, pushing more of its roughly 1mn b/d of supply into the illicit market for sanctioned crude in China's independent refining sector and depressing prices for Venezuelan grades.

By Haik Gugarats

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25/12/04

Qatar presents 2040 climate target to UN

Edinburgh, 4 December (Argus) — Qatar has pledged to reduce its emissions by 42mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) by 2040 from a 2019 baseline, with the oil and gas sector "at the forefront of national mitigation efforts". Qatar does not provide its total greenhouse emissions for 2019, but said its climate plan encompasses CO2, methane and nitrous oxide gases. It covers the energy sector — oil and gas, power and water — construction and industry, transport, waste and agriculture, forestry and other land use. Parties to the Paris Agreement were required to submit climate plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), for 2035 to the UN climate body UNFCCC this year. Qatar had previously targeted emission reductions of 25pc, or 37mn CO2e, by 2030, compared with a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. BAU scenarios typically assume emissions based on current policies, leaving room for potential increases. The country's emission cuts in its oil and gas sector will rely on "deploying cleaner fossil fuel technologies, developing engineered sinks to store emissions, diversifying the energy mix, and driving operational excellence across existing facilities and infrastructure", according to its climate plan. Qatar is the world's largest LNG producer, with a production capacity of 77mn t/yr, according to QatarEnergy, and its economy is heavily reliant on hydrocarbon revenues. The country's climate plan highlights the country's vulnerability to response measures to mitigate climate change, resulting from its economy's reliance on hydrocarbons. "Qatar is actively working to reduce the socio-economic effects of global climate action," the plan said, adding that it seeks to balance climate goals with national sustainable development. "Despite many efforts and considering its role as a leading producer and exporter of natural gas, Qatar remains significantly vulnerable to climate response measures," it said. Qatar is part of the Arab Group, a negotiating group in UNFCCC climate talks, which is seeking to focus on cutting emissions from fossil fuels, rather than hydrocarbon production and consumption, through increased adoption of carbon capture technologies. The country said it plays "a pivotal role" in supporting other countries' targets by "reliably supplying them with a cleaner alternative to coal and oil and providing a critical backup for intermittent renewables". Qatar's climate plan sees the secure and affordable supply of lower-carbon energy as well as the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the management of emissions of energy production as the focus to pursue sustainable development and climate action. The country considers itself to be among the leaders in CCS with its Ras Laffan project, and aims to capture 11mn t/yr of CO2 by 2035. Engineering firm Samsung C&T was recently awarded a contract to build a 4.1mn t/yr CO2 facility to process and store emissions from Qatar's LNG liquefaction plants. Qatar, in its climate plan, highlighted the country's water supply vulnerability to temperature increases and heat. The power and water sector accounts for a large share of the country's emissions. Water scarcity is also responsible for increasing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in Bahrain through desalination, although its energy sector remains the main source of emissions, according to the country's new climate plan. The country is heavily reliant on fossil fuels for its energy and revenues, while "limited land availability and competing land-use demands constrain large-scale deployment" for the development of solar energy. Rising demand over the peak summer months this year meant that Bahrain had to import LNG for the first time since commissioning its 800mn ft³/d onshore LNG receiving and regasification terminal in 2020. But it is looking at renewables options and is in talks with Saudi Arabia for a link to a large-scale solar facility. Bahrain said that response measures to climate change "may lead to economic losses that, in turn, hinder Bahrain's ability to pursue effective climate action and achieve broader sustainable development objectives." By Caroline Varin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Total bids for west African crude on Argus AOM: Update

25/12/03

Total bids for west African crude on Argus AOM: Update

Updates bid price London, 3 December (Argus) — TotalEnergies has bid for Nigerian crude Forcados on Argus Open Markets (AOM), the first activity for west African crude on the public price-discovery platform. The French firm began its bid for a 1mn bl cargo of medium sweet Forcados loading over 23-27 January at price reporting agency Platts' Dated Brent +1.80 on a fob basis. The firm bid up to Dated +2.65 for Forcados, amending the loading dates to 1-17 January. The bid was then withdrawn, and no deals were heard struck. The AOM platform is already used for a number of commodity markets covered by Argus and was enabled for west African crude grades in early November. Between 11:00 and 17:30 London time on UK working days, market participants registered on the platform are able to post and respond to bids and offers on the platform for any of the 24 west African grades assessed in the Argus Crude report. By Sanjana Shivdas Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

TotalEnergies bids for west African crude on Argus AOM

25/12/03

TotalEnergies bids for west African crude on Argus AOM

London, 3 December (Argus) — TotalEnergies has bid for Nigerian crude Forcados on Argus Open Markets (AOM), the first activity for west African crude on the public price-discovery platform. The French firm began its bid for a 1mn bl cargo of medium sweet Forcados loading over 23-27 January at price reporting agency Platts' Dated Brent +1.80 on a fob basis. The firm bid up to Dated +1.90 for Forcados loading in end January. The AOM platform is already used for a number of commodity markets covered by Argus and was enabled for west African crude grades in early November. Between 11:00 and 17:30 London time on UK working days, market participants registered on the platform are able to post and respond to bids and offers on the platform for any of the 24 west African grades assessed in the Argus Crude report. By Sanjana Shivdas Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US claims success in Venezuela offshore raids

25/12/02

US claims success in Venezuela offshore raids

Washington, 2 December (Argus) — US military operations near Venezuela have been so successful in stopping the flow of drugs by sea that the naval force is taking a pause, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday. "We're stopping the drugs, we're striking the boats, we're defeating narcoterrorists," Hegseth said at a cabinet meeting chaired by President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. "We've had a bit of a pause because it's hard to find boats to strike right now, which is the entire point." Trump added that "drugs coming in by sea are down 91pc, and I don't know who the [other] 9pc is". Trump did not provide any details to back his claim. Hegseth's comments could be a prelude to a declaration of victory that would allow the large US naval force deployed near Venezuela to disperse without taking direct military action against the country. They also could be an attempt to shift attention from a high-profile debate about the legality of the US operations. Either way, the Trump administration is no closer to explaining what it is trying to achieve in Venezuela than when it began to amass naval ships, Marines and war planes in the Caribbean in early September. As a legal rationale for the US naval operation, the administration has argued it is interdicting drug-laden boats allegedly launched from Venezuela. As the US force has grown in size, the Trump administration has hinted at possible land strikes against Venezuela or even an attempt at regime change in Caracas. But the Trump administration has now been forced to defend the legality of its Caribbean operations. The US naval force has reported lethal attacks on around 20 small boats in international waters near Venezuela since early September. The Pentagon initially said that the first boat it destroyed, on 2 September, carried drugs and 11 crew members, all of whom were killed by a missile strike. But the White House confirmed on Monday that two crew members survived the first attack on that boat and were then killed in a subsequent missile strike. A group of retired US military lawyers said the second strike amounted to a war crime or murder. Trump's administration is defending the 2 September strike as legally justified, while at the same time trying to shield Hegseth from responsibility. Hegseth on Tuesday assigned full responsibility for it to Admiral Frank Bradley, who is in charge of US special forces' operations. "I watched that first strike," Hegseth told reporters observing the Cabinet meeting. "As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we got a lot of things to do, so I didn't stick around." Then, "a couple of hours later, I learned that that commander had made the decision, which he had the complete authority to do," Hegseth said. Bradley "made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat," Hegseth said. "I did not personally see survivors because the thing was on fire," he said. "There's this thing called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don't understand." The armed services committees in the US Senate and the House of Representatives have vowed to investigate the circumstances of the 2 September boat attack. Senators Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) said on Tuesday they will try to advance a resolution blocking the use of military force against Venezuela. Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro appears to be taking the threat of a US land attack seriously, asking fellow Opec members on Monday to help "stop this growing aggression". Maduro made a brief televised appearance on Monday, after not speaking publicly for several days. He complained about enduring weeks of "psychological torture" from the US and shouted "Victory forever!" in English. Trump said on 30 November that he had spoken with Maduro the preceding week, but he provided no details. By Haik Gugarats and Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop 30 president eyes fossil roadmap draft by April

25/12/01

Cop 30 president eyes fossil roadmap draft by April

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