By Larry C. Johnson
Sonar21
August 31, 2026
My friend, Karl Miller, is out with a great piece that exposes Trump's claims about Venezuelan oil as a massive case of gaslighting. I am summarizing his piece, which is titled,"Venezuela Oil: The Physical Barrel and the Capital Bill," because it is not publicly available via a link.
On 27 August 2026, President Trump announced what he called the biggest oil deal in world history - a US-Venezuela agreement giving the United States majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan reserves, which he said would "substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans." The pitch landed with gasoline near $4.09 a gallon, about 27% higher than a year earlier and on track for the most expensive August on record, as a six-month Iran war and the Hormuz disruption kept a fifth of world supply under strain - and with the midterms two months away.