Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Jan. 12, 2026
Update	: Jan. 12, 2026
Parts	: 09

Synopsis:



Continuing our discuss from part six, as I mentioned to you in part six, Marco Rubio, the current Secretary of State, is of Cuban descent. Thus, it should be rather obvious that he has a heart for, and a great burden for, the oppressed people of Cuba. Well, one keen observer suggested that part of Marco Rubio's calculus is that toppling Nicolás Maduro -- as just occurred nine days ago -- will weaken the regime in Cuba. My friends, again, this is not simply idle talk. Cuba is in fact a part of the overall Trump agenda, and as we have already seen, people such as Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller are fully on board with it.

In other words, what is occurring right now does not end with just Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia and Cuba. In case you do not understand why the regime in Cuba is going to be negatively affected by Maduro's downfall, the answer is this: Venezuela is Cuba's largest trading partner, and is extremely important to Cuba's economy. According to the Wikipedia website, since the 1990s, the two countries have shared a close relationship and maintained very strong economic collaboration. In October of 2000, Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro signed the "Convenio Integral de Cooperación", by which Venezuela agreed to ship about 53,000 barrels of oil per day to Cuba, in exchange for technical support in fields such as education, health care, sports, science and technology. While that may not seem like a lot, nevertheless, even that amount made up a major part of Cuba's overall imports.

However, according to online statistics, as of 2024, Cuba was importing 79% of its oil from Mexico. I assume that this was due to the fact that Venezuela's oil production declined to just under one million barrels a day once US sanctions began kicking in during 2017, as I explained to you earlier. Now it seems that there may possibly be something happening behind the scenes. Word is that President Trump could be applying pressure to Mexico, so that it will sell less oil to Cuba. As a result, this would force Cuba to purchase more of its crude oil from Venezuela. The end result of that would of course be that Cuba would become more vulnerable, because the USA is now controlling Venezuela's oil exports via the military blockade. In short, the United States is applying pressure to Cuba by forcing it into a corner.

In fact, as I conducted some more research, I discovered that this appears to be the same conclusion reached by others as well. According to David Goldwyn, who is the chairman of the energy advisory group at the Atlantic Council -- a Washington think tank -- Cuba has been reliant on Venezuela for crude oil and other petroleum products for many decades. Thus, it could be significantly affected by the current military blockade on oil tankers sailing out of Venezuela. In fact, Trump and his team obviously already know this. So it should come as little surprise that shortly after Maduro's capture, President Trump said the following to reporters aboard Air Force One:

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"It [Cuba] looks like it's going to go down. They got all of their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil."

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The reason why President Trump states that Cuba derives an income from Venezuelan oil is because while sugar has been Cuba's primary export in a historic sense, oil is also near the top of Cuba's export list as well, because it refines the oil it obtains from Venezuela, and then exports much of it.

However, not everyone agrees with Mr. Trump's assessment. In other words, Cuba's economy may not collapse as a result of America's military blockade on Venezuelan oil. One example is Michael J. Bustamante, who serves as associate professor of history, and as director of the Cuban studies program at the University of Miami. He expressed skepticism that the loss of Venezuelan oil will push Cuba into economic collapse. So, the oppressive government of Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel may not fall after all, even though that certainly seems to be a major part of the American game plan. If the Cuban government does fall, Marco Rubio will no doubt be very pleased.

As you will recall, earlier I pointed out that Marco Rubio has been one of the key strategists behind the events which have transpired over the nine days. Furthermore, this past Sunday on "Meet the Press", Rubio made no attempt to hide exactly what their strategy is. He in fact wants the world to know and plainly stated the following:

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"No more using the oil industry to enrich all our adversaries around the world."

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On ABC's "This Week" program, Secretary Rubio also explained how refineries on the US Gulf Coast would be able to refine the heavy crude oil coming from Venezuela, and then sell it on the global market. He stated as follows:

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"Our refineries in the Gulf Coast of the United States are the best in terms of refining this heavy crude, and there's actually been a shortage of heavy crude around the world, so I think there would be tremendous demand and interest from private industry if given the space to do it, if given the opportunity to do it."

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Of course, Cuba is NOT the only American adversary which is being affected by the stranglehold that the United States has put on the export of Venezuelan oil. China, Iran and Russia are likewise close partners with Venezuela, and thus have also been negatively affected. In fact, while the United States used to be the primary purchaser of Venezuelan oil, that all changed when the Trump administration began imposing heavy sanctions on Venezuela, as we discussed earlier. As a result, over the last decade or so, China has become the primary importer of Venezuelan crude oil. However, as of late 2025, due to the drop in Venezuela's oil production, perhaps 10% of China's crude oil imports -- or less than one billion barrels of oil per day -- come from Venezuela.

As of now, it still remains unclear regarding to what extent Venezuelan exports to China have been disrupted as a result of the US military blockade. However, considering how little oil China gets from Venezuela in the first place, I seriously doubt that it will really hurt China in that regard. However, where Maduro's downfall WILL hurt China, is in the fact that China -- as well as Russia and Iran -- has now lost a rather strategic partner in the Western Hemisphere, which they used as a beachhead to conduct intelligence gathering, and also to engage in other questionable activity throughout the Western Hemisphere. That strategic loss probably matters more to the aforementioned countries than any loss of oil. Furthermore, as we have clearly seen, the USA will not let go of its tight control of Venezuela's oil exports any time soon.

While the United States claims that its hold over Venezuela and its oil is temporary and transitional, and that it will supposedly relinquish its tight control once the government in Caracas -- whoever ends up leading it -- proves that it will fully support American interests, I have serious doubts about that. As we've already seen, the Trump administration has made very clear that it desires to punish and hurt its perceived enemies by controlling Venezuelan oil exports. So, if the USA were to give up that control, it would obviously weaken its hand and its ability to keep its enemies in check.

So the way I see it personally is this. What America was not able to accomplish in Iraq -- that is to say, by making Iraq an American power base, and controlling its oil reserves -- it is now doing instead with Venezuela. Please don't forget that Venezuela has the largest confirmed crude oil reserves than any other country in the world. America is NOT about to give that up, no matter what bogus promises it makes. Either it will continue to control Venezuelan oil exports in order to control the country, and to punish its enemies, or else it will make absolutely sure that it has an obedient puppet installed in Caracas before it decides to loosen its grip on the oil.

From my perspective, the first option -- maintaining a naval blockade -- is simply not sustainable. Why not? Because such a military blockade requires too many resources which the US could be using elsewhere, and which it will in fact probably need to use elsewhere in the world sooner or later, more than likely somewhere in the Middle East, or more probable in the Indo-Pacific region where I happen to live. So that leaves only option number two: installing a pro-USA leader who will be submissive to American interests. As I explained earlier, I don't think the USA will care what kind of leader rises to power, whether it is Delcy Rodríguez, or someone else. To reiterate my previous point, for the USA, it's not about and has never been about peace, freedom and democracy. It's only about oil and American hegemony and imperialism. Period.

Several times throughout this series, I have mentioned the fact that Donald Trump and his cabinet have a very specific agenda in mind. Through the many facts, figures and pieces of information I have now shared with you, we have seen a large part of said agenda. However, we have yet to see ALL of it. Well, believe it or not, but not quite eleven months ago in late February of 2025, and just a month after Donald Trump had assumed office to begin his second and final term, I wrote a two-part article in which I shared what at the time probably seemed somewhat outlandish to some of my readers.

In the article, which is entitled "Trump Fiefdom and the Trilateral World", I shared my personal theory regarding what I suspected might be going on behind the scenes with regard to the major powers of the world, meaning Russia, China and the United States. My friends, the truth of the matter is that even eleven months ago, President Trump had begun giving clear signs and indications regarding exactly what his intentions were. Some of the things that President Trump was saying -- and continues to say -- shocked a lot of people, including world leaders. They probably thought that Trump was totally off his rocker. Well, I wonder if they are still laughing at him now, in light of the surprising and successful attack on Caracas nine days ago.

At any rate, eleven months ago, my nose started twitching, and so I began to make a list of some of the things that President Trump had begun to say. While I share that short list in the aforementioned article, allow me to share it again with you here in this series for your convenience and personal reflection:

* President Trump wants to restore ownership and control of the Panama Canal Zone to the United States, even if it may mean resorting to military force.

* President Trump just renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, thus better delineating the US's southern maritime border, and sphere of influence and control.

* President Trump wants Canada to become the 51st American state, thus extending both the United States' territorial size and integrity.

* President Trump wants to purchase the island of Greenland, thus further extending the United States' territorial size and integrity.

My friends, to this day, eleven months later, Mr. Trump has not changed his position regarding any of the aforementioned issues. In fact, if anything, he has not only strengthened them, but he has extended the previous list to also include taking down Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, destroying all of the drug cartels in Mexico, and more than likely taking down Gustavo Petro -- the current president of Colombia -- also. Furthermore, based on Trump's own words, and things stated by other members of his cabinet which I have shared with you in this series, I am convinced that President Trump is just getting started. He means to accomplish every single point I have mentioned to you, including taking Greenland, either by outright purchasing it from Denmark, or by taking it through military force, just as he just did with Caracas.

If you doubt that this is so, consider some of the latest statements which have been issued by either Trump himself, or by other members of his administration. These things were all said between January 4th and January 7th of this present year, 2026. They are ALL saying the same thing, and that should alarm anyone. To begin with, Donald Trump stated the following to reporters aboard Air Force One this past Sunday on January 4, 2026:

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"Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security."

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While what the president is saying regarding Russian and Chinese ships doesn't seen to be true, the most important thing he is saying there -- which he has repeatedly been saying for the past year, is that America needs Greenland for security reasons. In other public comments, President Tump has also openly stated multiple times that aside from its importance from a purely strategic military point of view, he is also interested in acquiring the territory's mineral wealth, exactly as he tried very hard to do with Ukraine. Even before the previous comment, in May of 2025 when he was questioned by NBC News regarding whether or not the United States would consider using military force to steal Greenland from Denmark, Trump stated the following:

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"I don't rule it out. I don't say I'm going to do it but I don't rule out anything. No, not there. We need Greenland very badly.

Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we'll take care of, and we'll cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security."

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In response to the previous troubling comments which were made by President Trump back in May of 2025, both the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland -- Mette Frederiksen and Jens-Frederik Nielsen respectively -- shot back with the following firm answer:

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"We have said it very clearly before. Now we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law -- You cannot annex other countries."

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Next we come to Stephen Miller, who is currently serving in a dual position as White House deputy chief of staff for policy, and as homeland security advisor. In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper this past Monday on January 5, 2026, Miller stated the following:

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"The United States is the power of NATO. For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the United States.

Nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.

We live in a world in which you can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.

I just wanted to reset, Jake, by making clear that has been the formal position of the U.S. government since the beginning of this administration, frankly, going back into the previous Trump administration, that Greenland should be part of the United States. The president has been very clear about that. That is the formal position of the U.S. government."

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Next we come to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who stated the following to reporters this past Tuesday on January 6, 2026:

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"President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it's vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region. The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief's disposal."

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Lastly, we come to the man who appears to be the primary architect of the Trump administration's agenda. At least that can be said for the Caracas invasion. I am, of course, referring to US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Following are two paragraphs I extracted from an MxM article dated January 7, 2026:

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio has formally told members of Congress that President Trump intends to purchase Greenland, prompting a sudden burst of diplomatic activity from Denmark and Greenland's leadership. The disclosure reportedly came during a closed-door briefing with lawmakers on national security matters, where concerns about Trump's blunt rhetoric were raised and Rubio made clear the administration's preference for a negotiated transaction. At the same time, Trump has asked aides to refresh internal options for acquiring the territory, a signal that the idea—floated publicly before—has moved back to the top tier of priorities.

The timing is not lost on anyone. Days earlier, Trump authorized a high-risk operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, an action that jolted capitals across the Atlantic and underscored a White House willing to act decisively in the Western Hemisphere. That display of resolve appears to have focused minds in Copenhagen and Nuuk. Requests for talks followed quickly, even as European governments weighed their response. According to Reuters, several U.S. allies are coordinating contingencies should Washington press ahead, a sign of how seriously Trump's intentions are being taken.

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As I explain in the aforementioned article "Trump Fiefdom and the Trilateral World", the leadership and people of Greenland -- which is a semi-autonomous territory which falls under the jurisdiction of Denmark -- as well as the government of Denmark, were shocked when President Trump first made his intentions known a year ago. That he has continued to promote and push for the same thing a year later, and that members of his cabinet are promoting the very same thing, has ruffled A LOT of feathers. They now realize that Mr. Trump was NOT joking. Trump meant every single word of it, and he still means every word of it.

In response to the threatening rhetoric proceeding from Washington, DC, on January 4, 2026, a day after the USA invaded Caracas and captured President Nicolas Maduro, the Prime Minister of Denmark -- Mette Frederiksen -- made clear that President Trump's threatening talk had to stop. She stated the following on Facebook on the 6th of January, 2026:

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"I have to say this very directly to the United States:

It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the US to take over Greenland. The United States has no right to annex one of the three countries in the Danish Realm.

The Kingdom of Denmark -- and therefore Greenland -- is a part of NATO and is covered by the alliance's security guarantee. We already have a defense agreement today between the Kingdom and the United States, which gives the United States wide access to Greenland. And we from the Kingdom have invested significantly in the security of the Arctic.

I would, therefore, strongly urge the United States to cease its threats against a historically close ally and to another country and another people, who have very clearly stated that they are not for sale."

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Furthermore, in support of both Denmark and Greenland, also on January 6, 2026, the leaders of France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Poland and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement in which they declared that American domination of Greenland would not be acceptable, and that the NATO nations should collectively be responsible for ensuring the security of Greenland. Their statement read in part as follows:

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"Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland. NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up."

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To make matters worse, barely hours after the US military operation in Venezuela which saw Caracas bombed and Nicolás Maduro captured, Katie Miller -- the wife of Stephen Miller -- posted a map of Greenland covered with an American flag on her X platform account. Accompanying the graphic was only the word "SOON" in uppercase letters, as you can see below:



On the very same day that Stephen Miller's wife had made the distasteful and offensive post on X, the prime minister of Greenland -- Jens-Frederik Nielsen -- offered very similar views as those which had been made by Mette Frederiksen, and stated the following regarding President Trump's intentions, and the offensive graphic:

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"Relations between nations and peoples are built on mutual respect and international law -- not on symbolic gestures that disregard our status and our rights.

There is neither reason for panic nor for concern. Our country is not for sale, and our future is not decided by social media posts.

No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law.

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To add to this very troubling picture of America's obvious hegemonic intentions, one analyst, Jennifer Kavanagh -- who is the director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, which is a think tank that advocates restraint in US foreign policy -- recently stated that while she had long dismissed Mr. Trump's saber-rattling regarding Greenland, now she was not so sure, as we see by this quote taken from the BBC:

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"Now I'm not so sure. It wouldn't be that hard for the US to put a couple hundred or a couple thousand troops inside of Greenland, and it's not clear to me who could do anything about it."

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Let me likewise mention here that Greenland has had extensive self-government since 1979, although its defence and foreign policy remain under the jurisdiction of Denmark. Furthermore, while the vast majority of Greenland's 57,000 inhabitants do hope to eventually become independent from Denmark, according to the latest polls conducted in this same month, they have absolutely no desire to become a part of the United States. Let me likewise remind you that Denmark and the United States are both founding members of NATO. Under Article 5 of NATO's treaty, an attack on any NATO member is treated as an attack on all members. As such, if President Trump were to decide to attack Greenland -- which is Denmark's territory -- it could result in some very major trouble.

Please go to part eight for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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