🥫 US Coast Guard Seizes Tanker

December 20, 2025

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Three Minute Prepper - US Coast Guard Seizes Tanker

US seized another oil tanker off Venezuela's coast. Secretary of Homeland Security confirmed the US Coast Guard with support from the Department of War seized another tanker last docked in Venezuela. This marks the second seizure in weeks and comes days after Trump announced a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers in the Venezuela region. US Coast Guard teams are leading the operation amid broader military buildup in the region. Trump's gunboat diplomacy aims at the country's autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro. The theory involves cutting off all support to Cuba. Once Venezuela goes, Cuba will follow. When presidents seize a second tanker within weeks while building the largest armada in South American history, those operations are not isolated enforcement actions. Those are escalating military operations setting conditions for regime change.

The Venezuela regime change debate got fiery. Venezuelan opposition figure Emmanuel Rincon claimed you are not going to war against Venezuela but against a drug cartel. He insisted Venezuela's military would not fight the United States. Critics compared the situation to Iraq War when exile Ahmed Chalabi sold the war by promising instant democracy if only the US removes the bad man at the top. Chalabi supplied crucial intelligence about Iraqi weaponry that almost all turned out to be false. The warning is that diaspora groups make sweeping claims about what the people believe and what the country will look like the day after, all while assuming they would be handed power. Venezuela risks becoming the American Ukraine, a war of choice that bogs the US down and consumes an entire presidency. When exile opposition figures promise easy regime change while comparing enemy leaders to drug cartels, that follows the exact playbook used to sell the Iraq War. Same promises. Same intelligence from exiles. Same claims the military will not fight.

Scotiabank plans to revive metals trading desk as prices soar. The Canadian bank shut its precious metals unit in 2020 after US investigations into trading activities. Now they hired recruiters to staff a new unit that will trade, lend, and hedge precious and base metals. The move follows record breaking rallies in gold, copper, and silver. Trump's tariff agenda generated lucrative arbitrage opportunities for copper, spurred price spread trading that drew billions of dollars of bullion to the US, and triggered a historic silver squeeze in London in October. When banks that shut metals desks during the pandemic now urgently rebuild them as prices hit records, they are positioning for monetary system breakdown. Previous issues documented silver hitting all-time highs while gold approached records. Now banks that abandoned the trade five years ago scramble to re-enter because they see what is coming.

US struck over 70 Islamic State targets in Syria after attack killed three Americans. Washington struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria with fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery. The operation employed more than 100 precision munitions. Trump said the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation and those who attack Americans will be hit harder than ever before. The Americans killed were Iowa National Guard sergeants and a civilian interpreter from Michigan. Trump attended a ceremony marking the return of the dead. The perpetrator was a security forces member with extremist Islamist ideas. Trump has long been skeptical of Washington's presence in Syria, ordering withdrawal during his first term but ultimately leaving American forces in the country. When presidents personally attend ceremonies for fallen troops then immediately order strikes using over 100 precision munitions, those responses signal resolve. But when the same presidents question why forces remain in that country, the conflict between stated skepticism and actual deployment creates contradictions that adversaries exploit.

Connect every signal. US seizes second Venezuelan tanker while exile opposition promises easy regime change using the same playbook that sold the Iraq War. Banks that shut metals desks five years ago urgently rebuild them as gold and silver hit records. US strikes over 70 targets in Syria after attack kills three Americans despite long stated skepticism about presence there. Previous issues documented Trump declaring total blockade while Venezuela oil production shuts down, precious metals entering price discovery, and military operations escalating. Now the final stage approaches. Second tanker gets seized while Iraqi exile comparisons warn of manufactured intelligence. Banks rebuild precious metals operations they abandoned. Strikes get launched in countries where presence is questioned. Those who understood that regime changes get sold through exiles promising democracy, that banks position for monetary breakdown by rebuilding metals desks, and that military presence expands regardless of stated skepticism were not being cynical. They were reading what happens when blockades tighten toward invasions, when financial institutions position for currency failure, and when contradictions between words and actions reveal true intentions. When second tankers get seized, when Iraqi War tactics resurface, and when metals desks rebuild for system collapse, preparation determines whether you survive what follows.

Stay prepared,

Alex Simm

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