Despite Trump’s statement yesterday that billionaire Elon Musk had removed Starlink and Starshield restrictions that are crippling Ukraine’s ability to protect itself from Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that the restrictions remain in place. An article published tonight by Anton Troianovski and Eric Lipton in the New York Times sheds light on the oil deals behind Trump’s rush to normalize relations with Russia at the expense of Ukraine, as well as his and his cronies’ repeated statements that they want to open business transactions with Russia as an incentive for Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop his war against Ukraine, an argument that, on its face, never made sense. Troianovski and Lipton report that a project designed to liquefy natural gas in Alaska and export it would not only use Russian technology but would also be financed with money from a Russian company close to Putin that is currently under US sanctions. That company, Novatek, told reporters it is planning to take on “minority shareholder” status in the Polar LNG project, a move journalists call “a surprising effort by the Russian energy giant to seek ownership of American gas production.” US sanctions against Novatek mean Polar LNG would need special permission from the Treasury Department to use Novatek equipment. The Graham Act sanctions bill that Congress recently passed specifically targets Novatek because of its ties to Putin, a likely reason Trump simply waived the new sanctions just two days before they took effect. Joel Riddle, CEO of the Polar LNG company, resigned when he learned that the financing was not coming from the United Arab Emirates, as he had been told, but from Russia. “Not only is it illegal, but it is also not in the interest of the United States for Russian technology to control the commercialization of Arctic gas on the North Slope,” Riddle told New York Times reporters. At least two other Polar LNG executives have also resigned, citing concerns about Russian financing. The Alaska gas talks joined talks about selling parts of Russian energy giant Lukoil to the U.S. government and investors, some of whom are linked to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy (and business partner) Steve Witkoff. Also involved in the Alaska project is Gentry Beach, who was a college friend of Donald Trump Jr. It appears that Trump, Putin and their allies in the administration are trying to replace the post-World War II international order and divide the world into the system of spheres of influence they want as quickly as possible before the midterm elections. Central to those systems are the private deals that enrich Trump and his cronies. On October 20, ProPublica’s Cate Brown, Aaron C. Davis and Sebastian Rotella reported that the deal to capture Venezuela’s oil establishes a strategic partnership between the United States and a Venezuelan oligarch, Alejandro Betancourt, who has been accused of money laundering. An agreement signed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls for the United States to acquire a 35% stake in Betancourt’s company, North American Blue Energy Partners, by purchasing shares of a parent company registered in Barbados. A source told ProPublica reporters that the people who made the deal wanted to work with Betancourt because a publicly traded company would have to report to shareholders. They wanted flexibility and secrecy. The registration of the parent company in Barbados allows the identities of its investors, who could make fortunes from the deal, to remain hidden. In exchange for the investment, the United States can buy up to 20% of the oil produced at a deep discount, but that cost does not take into account transporting the oil, which is so thick that it must be mixed with other products to flow through pipelines. Currently, Betancourt’s company produces only the amount of oil in a year that the United States uses in three days. The United States insists that the agreement is good for both countries, but it appears to violate Venezuelan law, which prohibits oil concessions for more than 25 years, and ensure American control. The deal creates a powerful seven-member board to oversee the company for 15 years. The majority of board members must be US citizens. The US government can appoint a single non-voting board member and can only unseat Betancourt with a supermajority of five board votes. Any dispute over the company must be resolved not in Venezuela, but in Texas. The administration also suggests it will take steps to rein in Cuba. At 4:35 today, Secretary of State Rubio posted on social media: “For those seeking to create positive change in Cuba, now is the time. The disappointment of failed promises, corruption and the privileged lives of only a few; take advantage of this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discreet strategy.” [sic] association with the CIA.”—Notes: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/us/politics/in-us-gas-talks-with-kremlin-hidden-financing-for-alaska-project-emerges.htmlhttps://www.propublica.org/ar tickle/trump-venezuela-oil-agreement-terms
