I don’t think Trump is going to take Venezuela’s gold.
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Gold is a monetary asset, but silver is a horse of a different color: a strategic asset required for data centers, weapons and...perhaps less critically...smartphones, EV batteries and solar cells.
Physical silver is currently undergoing a massive squeeze which cannot be suppressed by Central Banks and other big players printing more paper.
Turns out they cannot print atoms.
Effective 1/1/2026, China, which accounts for about 2/3 of the world's refined silver output, placed the metal on the list of commodities with drastic export restrictions--same idea as the rare earths.
A major source of raw silver is black-market exports from the vast Orinoco Mining Arc (OMA), a vast region in southern Venezuela. This is controlled by cartels and gangs including the Tren de Aragua organized crime syndicate and others, who were under protection of Maduro.
There is an argument that the strategic importance of the OMA is potentially as great as that of Venezuelan oil.
X posts claim the region is already being patrolled by U.S. drones and other military assets.
Thus, Trump has just moved to secure an extremely critical strategic asset for the USA which China is trying to employ against us.
I'm anxiously awaiting, with many others, the 2026 reopening of the Shanghai metal exchange in about 73 minutes from now.
Enjoying the show.