Venezuela contains extensive gold reserves in the east of the country. (AP)
Caracas, March 30, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The US Treasury Department has published three sanctions waivers related to the Venezuelan mining sector.
On Friday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued general licenses 51A (GL51A), 54 (GL54) and 55 (GL55) to authorize Western conglomerates’ dealings with Venezuelan minerals.
GL51A allows US entities to engage in operations to purchase, transport, and sell “Venezuelan-origin minerals, including gold.” However, it does not permit extraction or refining activities. The waiver replaced General License 51, which established conditions only for gold-related operations.
GL54 allows US entities to provide “goods, technology, software, or services” connected to mining activities in Venezuela. Finally, GL55 grants corporations permission to engage with Venezuelan state entities to negotiate contracts, but requires them to apply for a specific license before the contracts are enacted.
The latest US Treasury sanctions exemptions mirror recent licenses related to the Venezuelan energy industry, blocking transactions with entities from Cuba, China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. They likewise mandate that all Venezuela-bound payments be made to a US Treasury-run account. Since January, the Trump administration has imposed control over Venezuelan oil exports, collecting revenues before disbursing a portion at its discretion to Caracas.
On Friday, Canadian conglomerate Roland Mineral Enterprises announced plans to “aggressively seek out and acquire interests in Venezuelan mineral properties.”
“Recent material events in Venezuela, including the new Draft Mining Law, make Venezuelan gold, silver and copper deposits and resources especially attractive for pioneering, transformative and rapidly adaptable resource companies like Roland Mineral Enterprises,” a press statement read.
Roland went on to disclose deals to access information on Venezuelan natural resource deposits and declare interest in gold projects such as Las Cristinas, estimated to contain over 14 million ounces of gold.
Western interest in Venezuelan minerals was boosted by a recent visit from US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who holds the natural resource portfolio. Burgum, accompanied by over 20 US and Canadian mining executives, held a meeting with Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and trumpeted the lucrative opportunities in the sector.
Burgum’s visit also saw US $100 million worth of gold bars shipped to the US in a deal involving Trafigura.
The negotiation of mining contracts remains contingent on an ongoing process to introduce new legislation. On March 9, the Venezuelan National Assembly preliminarily approved a new Organic Mining Law establishing favorable conditions and incentives for foreign capital.
Legislators have advanced in debating a second and updated version of the law, approving the first 55 of its 130 articles on Thursday. A final session is expected in early April. According to a draft of the latest version of the law seen by Venezuelanalysis, the bill establishes a new regulatory framework for mining at different scales, while also allowing private companies to take disputes to international arbitration.
The law expands conditions for private mining concessions, which can last up to twenty years and be renewed for two additional ten-year periods, and do not require National Assembly approval. Additionally, the executive can lower fiscal responsibilities for mining firms at its discretion. The law establishes 13 and 6 percent caps for royalties and a mining tax.
The law’s approval will repeal the current mining law, approved by the Hugo Chávez government in 1999, as well as a 2015 decree imposing state control over mining activities. Since 2015, the Nicolás Maduro administration looked to mining as a potential revenue source, particularly in the 112,000 square-kilometer Orinoco Mining Arc. Nevertheless, the sector was targeted by US sanctions, while the proliferation of irregular mining groups has generated environmental and human rights concerns.
Venezuela possesses vast proven reserves of gold, iron, and bauxite, as well as lesser quantities of copper and nickel. Analysts have also drawn attention to Venezuela’s significant reserves of coltan.
Venezuela’s mining reform follows a pro-business overhaul of the country’s Hydrocarbon Law. In recent weeks, Western energy giants Chevron, Eni, Repsol, and Shell have signed agreements for oil and gas exploration under the improved conditions of the new law. Acting President Rodríguez has touted the country’s reforms in lobbying foreign investors.
In parallel to oil and mining, Venezuelan authorities are also preparing to open the state-run electric sector to private capital. Acting President Rodríguez announced legislative reform plans, while a spokesman for the FEDECÁMARAS business lobby reported that Siemens and General Electric recently sent delegations to evaluate Venezuela’s electrical infrastructure.
The corporate media has endorsed and whitewashed US attacks against the Venezuelan oil industry. (US European Command)
US forces launched a military attack against Venezuela on January 3, reportedly killing over 100 people and kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, who also serves as a National Assembly deputy.
Western corporate media have played an active role in recent years in legitimizing escalated US aggression against the Venezuelan people, from whitewashing economic sanctions that killed tens of thousands (FAIR.org, 6/4/21, 6/13/22) to outright calling for a military intervention (FAIR.org, 2/12/25, 11/19/25). They also exposed themselves once again as the fourth branch of the US national security state, opting not to publish information they had prior to the January 3 operation in order to “avoid endangering US troops” (FAIR.org, 1/13/26).
The brazen act of war has elicited zero dissent from the Western media establishment, no urge to challenge Trump’s return to early 20th century “gunboat diplomacy.” Worse, with the White House pushing to impose a semi-colonial protectorate and plunder Venezuela’s wealth, corporate outlets continue working overtime to normalize US imperialist predations.
Damage control
In the weeks since the attack, Western media have made a point of referring to Maduro as “arrested” (NBC, 1/5/26), “captured” (PBS, 2/10/26) or “ousted” (ABC, 1/5/26). The choice is far from innocent. By not stating that the Venezuelan leader was “kidnapped” or “abducted,” in a blatant violation of international law, establishment journalists are normalizing the US’s rogue actions, denying Maduro the proper protections of prisoner of war status (FAIR.org, 1/20/26).
But it is not just through semantic distortion that corporate outlets have quarantined any critique of the administration’s lawlessness. Another common feature has been a certain “damage control” in covering up Trump’s most outlandish statements.
After the January 3 military operation, Trump stated in a press conference that “many Americans, hundreds of thousands over the years…died because of [Maduro].” No corporate outlets reported the outrageously false statement. (A couple of factchecking pieces—CBS, 1/6/26; New York Times, 1/8/26—addressed his adjacent, essentially unfalsifiable claim that “countless Americans” died due to Maduro.)
The attempts to make Trump’s Venezuela policy claims appear more rational are not new. For instance, in presidential press conferences, he constantly said that Venezuela had “emptied” its mental institutions into the US (X, 10/15/25, 11/2/25, 12/3/25, 1/3/26). But throughout 2025, the New York Times (11/4/25) mentioned this absurd statement just once, and the Washington Post (10/22/25, 12/21/25) did so twice.
On the domestic policy front, corporate journalists have had fewer qualms labeling Trump claims as “false,” when it comes to ending wars (CNN, 1/20/26), immigration (NBC, 2/4/26) or the 2020 US election (Guardian, 1/12/26). But they seem happy to carefully conceal or openly parrot false accusations that build the case for wars of aggression, whether in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran and now Venezuela (FAIR.org, 8/1/05).
The vanishing cartel
In recent years, and especially in the second half of 2025, US officials justified escalating attacks against Venezuela on the grounds that Maduro and associates ran a drug trafficking operation, the so-called Cartel of the Suns. Trump himself, during his January 3 press conference, claimed Maduro “personally oversaw the vicious cartel known as Cartel de los Soles.”
While experts consistently questioned the cartel’s existence, and specialized agencies, including the DEA, found Venezuela to play a marginal role in drug trafficking, media outlets reproduced the warmongering claims without scrutiny, citing only the denials from the Venezuelan president they have systematically demonized for over a decade (e.g., New York Times, 10/06/25; NPR, 11/12/25; CNN, 11/14/25).
But the biggest rebuff came from the Justice Department itself. When the time came to indict Maduro, US prosecutors dropped the accusation that the Venezuelan leader headed an actual drug cartel, and downgraded the Cartel of the Suns to a “patronage system.” In other words, the Justice Department was aware that the cartel charge had no substance, and instead accused Maduro of a much looser “drug trafficking conspiracy.”
But this remarkable about-face brought no accountability for the media establishment. Having spent years echoing claims that US prosecutors admitted would not hold in court, corporate outlets chose to ignore the new development, rather than exposing their shameful stenography over the years and taking responsibility for its deadly consequences. FAIR used Google to search for reporting on this crucial about-face in outlets including the Washington Post, Reuters, CNN, NBC and NPR, and found no results.
The one notable exception in this quasi-state corporate media circus was the New York Times‘ Charlie Savage (1/5/26), reporting on the administration’s quiet dropping of its casus belli. Savage wrote that this “called into greater question the legitimacy” of the administration’s designation of the Cartel of the Suns as a foreign terrorist organization. However, the piece stopped short of challenging the US military operation and illegal kidnapping of Maduro, referring to the Venezuelan leader as “captured” and “removed from power.”
The paper of record was quick to compensate for the vanishing of a flimsy regime-change trope by bringing up another one, focusing on a tried and tested dishonest narrative: Venezuela’s alleged ties with Hezbollah, one of the main opponents of the US and Israel in West Asia (FAIR.org, 5/24/19). Under the headline, “What to Know about Hezbollah’s Ties to Venezuela,” Times reporter Christina Goldbaum (1/19/26) offered nothing but a laundry list of unsubstantiated claims from anonymous officials.
Media connivance with Washington’s official narratives to justify imperialist attacks only pave the way for new iterations. Recently, in tightening the murderous blockade against Cuba, the Trump administration proffered the totally baseless claim of the Cuban government “providing a safe haven” for Hamas and Hezbollah. While the New York Times (1/30/26) uncharacteristically reminded readers that Trump offered no evidence, other outlets (NBC, 1/29/26; CNN, 1/30/26) were happy to echo the accusation uncritically.
Left: Breaking news! NBC (1/5/26) brought on Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to tell viewers that “the US case is strong.”; Right: Media like Politico (2/11/26) focused not on the United States’ stealing Venezuela’s oil, but on the question of whether it was doing so transparently enough.
Holding a country hostage
The media establishment’s support for US foreign policy did not end with the January 3 act of war. Since the attacks and presidential kidnapping, the Trump administration has taken control of Venezuelan oil exports at gunpoint after a month-long naval blockade that involved seizing tankers in the high seas for allegedly transporting Venezuelan crude in violation of unilateral US sanctions.
Under an initial agreement, Venezuela surrendered 30–50 million barrels for White House–picked intermediaries to transport and sell. Proceeds were deposited in bank accounts in Qatar, with a portion being returned to Carácas at the administration’s discretion (Venezuelanalysis, 1/21/26, 1/29/26). Analysts have argued that this arrangement explicitly violates the Venezuelan constitution.
Some articles have given space for Democrats to oppose the Trump deal, but mostly on the grounds of lack of transparency or opportunities for corruption (CNN, 1/15/26; Politico, 2/11/26; New York Times, 2/11/26). Readers will find no opposition on principle to the Trump administration’s Mafia-esque extortion of a sovereign nation’s natural resources, from the president himself saying the US will “keep some” of the hijacked Venezuelan oil (CNBC, 1/22/26) to Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing that the administration is “prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation” (New York Times, 1/28/26).
It is hard to find double standards, because no other nation on Earth unleashes this kind of gangster imperialism. But concerning Russia, Western media did not hold back from denouncing its “stealing,” “robbing” or “plundering” of Ukrainian minerals or grain, despite these resources being in territory that Russia occupies and claims sovereignty over (Washington Post, 8/10/22; Guardian, 12/11/23; DW, 8/28/23; New York Times, 6/5/22).
In a nutshell, when Washington imposed deadly sanctions against Venezuela, corporate pundits said these only targeted Maduro and were meant to promote democracy (FAIR.org, 6/14/19, 6/4/21, 6/13/22, 6/22/23). When the White House ramped up military threats, mainstream journalists parroted drug trafficking allegations (FAIR.org, 2/12/25, 11/19/25). When the drug trafficking charges were exposed, Western outlets reheated baseless stories about Hezbollah. And when Trump seized Venezuelan oil at gunpoint, the only mild concern was whether he would use it to enrich himself.
True to its roots in the “yellow journalism” of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, the liberal media establishment is fully on board with Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine.” They have undoubtedly earned the title, to paraphrase Gen. Smedley Butler, of “gangster journalists for capitalism.”
A highly anticipated new Western drama in the hit Yellowstone franchise is about to start on Paramount+
‘Action-packed’ Western drama has ‘everything you could ask for’(Image: PARAMOUNT PLUS)
Yellowstone’s new spin-off that puts Kayce Dutton (played by Luke Grimes) at the forefront is finally here, and it’s a must-watch for fans of the gripping Western drama.
Airing today (Sunday, 1st March) on CBS in the US and later available on Paramount+, Marshals: A Yellowstone Story follows the rancher and former Navy SEAL as he enlists with an elite squad of US Marshals to deliver justice across Montana.
As he wages war against violence and learns to adapt to working with a team, he must also strive to become the best father possible to his teenage son, Tate (Brecken Merrill).
The latest of several spin-offs from the popular neo-Western saga created by Taylor Sheridan, Marshals promises action-packed cases and gripping drama each week that is sure to keep viewers satisfied.
Although reviews have been mixed so far, garnering a 50 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, critics agree the show has huge potential and is bound to keep die-hard fans enthralled.
Collider has praised Grimes’ central performance as Kayce, writing that he comes into his own as the Yellowstone franchise’s newest lead.
“Grimes carries the series with ease,” they went on, “graduating from being a supporting cast member roaming alongside Kevin Costner’s shadow to the leading man of his own cowboy-flavoured crime drama.”
Their review also assured fans that the shift to CBS hasn’t sanitised the gritty Yellowstone brand too much, adding: “Marshals is a neo-Western that is chock-full of potential.
“It’s action-packed, thrilling, and full of everything you could ask for in a Kayce Dutton-led series that fights hard to divorce itself from the “Y” that still lingers in the background. It’s not perfect, nor does it claim to be, but once it gets through the initial growing pains, it will be able to stand firmly on its own.”
Men’s Journal described the series as “kick-a**”, promising it still has the “Yellowstone magic”.
The review went on: “Marshals may not be as twisty or unpredictable as 1923 or the recent season of Landman, but it has that same sparkle and magic of the other Sheridan westerns.
“It’s the sort of show that doesn’t ask much to get invested, and rewards you with the simple pleasure of feeling good after you’ve watched an episode. In a world of morally grey anti-heroes, Kayce Dutton is here to be the perennial good guy on horseback. And frankly, it’s good to have him back.”
TVLine was also impressed with the Yellowstone universe’s latest offering, urging potential viewers not to be put off by Marshals’ broadcast on CBS, home to crime procedurals such as NCIS and FBI.
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“Marshals actually manages to serve both of its masters quite well,” they wrote.
“With its swelling score, sweeping cinematography, and gorgeous opening credits sequence (a dying art!), you’ll often find yourself wondering, ‘Wait, am I really watching a network procedural right now?’
“Marshals fires on all cylinders, sending the team on explosive missions that guarantee your Sunday nights will end with a bang.”
They concluded: “A visual treat with genuine heart, Marshals is enough of a crime procedural to appeal to viewers who enjoy a complete story told in 60 minutes, while also remaining prestigious enough to satisfy Yellowstone fans who might not typically watch a show like, say, S.W.A.T. or NCIS.”
Marshals: A Yellowstone Story premieres Sunday, 1st March on CBS and the following Monday on Paramount+.
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