Zero hour - Trump's "thirst" for oil, rare earths, a threat to Nigeria, Venezuela - Putin is preparing a nuclear hell for him

The global geopolitical landscape has never been more explosive. The US under President Donald Trump is playing a particularly dangerous strategic game that could erase all notion of stability and security from the planet. The Americans are not hiding their military expansionist intentions, as in a desperate effort to "lay their hands" on valuable energy resources and rare earths, they are threatening with Tomahawks and military invasions, countries like Venezuela and Nigeria, presenting ludicrous excuses like the "fight against the drug cartels" of Nicolás Maduro and the defense of Christians in Nigeria.

It is obvious that this plan has deeper implications, judging, for example, that with an attack on Venezuela, the US manages to eliminate the annoying Cuba, which is directly dependent on Venezuelan oil. It is clear that behind the White House's strategy lies a large-scale game for the control of natural resources and the shaping of new balances in the world order. However, the old days are irreversibly gone. The US is not the superpower it was after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Today, there is already a strong opposing pole: China and Russia. And they are determined not to let the US spread its hands and control every major source of wealth. In fact, President Trump also gave an unexpected gift to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin: with his order to the Pentagon to begin nuclear testing, he gave Russia the opportunity to unleash its greatest threat against the West: its nuclear weapons.

The genocide of Christians

According to rapidly circulating urban rumors, on October 31, 2025, US President Donald Trump, while on Air Force One en route to Florida, watched a Fox News report concerning the murders and persecutions of Christians in Nigeria. As a man with good intentions, but impulsive and religious, Trump immediately began posting messages on his social network, Truth Social, which summarized as follows: Christianity in Nigeria is threatened with existential destruction, Nigerian Christians are "beloved people" to Americans, the US cannot remain indifferent to such atrocities, if the Nigerian government continues to allow the murders of Christians, the US will intervene in Nigeria "with its weapons ready" and inflict punishment "quickly, harshly, and ruthlessly." The Pentagon, through Pete Hegseth, gave the green light. Trump's hard-core electoral base was moved.

A small detail

There is no doubt that the murders of Christians in Nigeria are a horrific reality (and religious genocide is indeed being committed there by Islamist groups like "Boko Haram") and that Trump's spontaneous reaction is human and justified.

However, there is a small detail, as always. The issue of the persecution and murders of Christians in Nigeria has been known in the US for many years and remains on the fringes of public discussion. There is nothing new or revolutionary in the Fox News report that seemed to open Trump's eyes. Even during his first term, the US Department of State, without much fanfare, published the "Report on Religious Freedom in the World" every year, which each time included exactly the same description of the horrific situation of Christians in Nigeria. And apart from one or two US senators, no one was really interested in these atrocities.

Significant events

But then two significant events occurred.

First, the trade and raw materials war between the US and China began, and it was suddenly revealed that the US is almost entirely dependent on China for rare earths and critical minerals, which are essential for all modern technologies, especially defense.

Second, Trump signed an executive order for the rapid development of these resources within the US, but it turned out that, even with maximum production increase, the US would only be able to meet the demand for only two of the 12 critical minerals by 2035, and even then with great difficulty.

And then, suddenly, reports and research began to appear, stating that Nigeria is a veritable treasure trove of rare earths, and an unexplored one at that. Even now, when the extraction of rare earths and other valuable minerals in Nigeria is done mainly with primitive methods, the country is already ranked among the top five countries globally in the extraction of these materials.

Explosion of interest

And so, after the news that "Nigeria's federal government approved an investment of $400 million for the establishment of the largest rare earths and critical minerals processing plant in Africa, in Nasarawa state," and that "this initiative makes Nigeria a potential key player in the rare earths market," Republican Senator Ted Cruz proposed the bill, the "Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025."

And, as they say, everything started to "explode": the request to Trump from leaders of US religious organizations, the requests to Secretary of State Rubio to immediately include Nigeria on the list of countries "of particular concern" (the last step before sanctions), and the public statements of leading American politicians, who suddenly "discovered" the atrocities in Nigeria and were outraged.

Three intervention plans

According to yesterday's publication in the "Nigerian People's Newspaper," the US is working on three plans:

1. Air bombardments (with Tomahawk missiles) of positions held by "Boko Haram" and other Islamist groups.

2. Operations by US Special Forces in cooperation with the Nigerian army.

3. General military invasion.

Some experts predict that the country may eventually be split into a Muslim northern part and a Christian southern part, where, coincidentally, all of Nigeria's oil and natural gas extraction is located (ranking 11th and 9th globally, respectively). And there is no doubt that along with the Christians, Nigeria's rare metals, oil, and gas will remain fully protected.

Trump's plan

Trump's plan is very similar to the corresponding one for Venezuela. After several vague statements by Donald Trump according to which Venezuela has the wrong leader and democracy is generally lacking, the American media seem to be competing with each other in the intensity and interpretation of various scenarios. The New York Times reports that Trump's military advisors developed and submitted to the president several options for offensive operations, which include strikes against Venezuelan military bases, the president's personal security, the seizure and control of key oil fields, while even the possibility of the physical elimination of Nicolás Maduro is being considered.

No decision yet

Sources in the publication state that Trump has not yet made a final decision, fearing damage to his reputation in case of failure. Also, coordination with Congress for a foreign military operation is difficult, as Republicans have a marginal majority of just six votes against the Democrats, who may not easily accept the idea of military intervention.

According to the publication, the "hawks" in the American president's circle may resort to a clever solution. They may declare either Maduro himself or members of his personal guard as members of the **Venezuelan drug cartel "Cartel de los Soles," which would allow them to eliminate them, despite the fact that the assassination of political leaders is prohibited by Executive Order 11905, signed in 1976 by President Gerald Ford. Later, this law was amended twice by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. However, Bill Clinton found a solution when he simply placed undesirable leaders on a list of "particularly dangerous for the US."

Dual significance

Foreign Policy took the baton, with its editors, one of whom is a Professor of Public Administration at American University, arguing that this whole situation has dual significance. In their view, military intervention in Venezuela will allow not only the removal of the undesirable Maduro, who openly cooperates with Russia, Iran, and China, but also the cutting off of the oil flow from Venezuela to Cuba, which would lead to the fall of the Cuban government as well.

It is noteworthy that these assessments, although impressive, are based on the logic and realities of the American continent, which Washington considers its exclusive zone of influence and interests. Let's start with the end.

What is happening with Cuba

The situation with Cuba is not as simple as it initially seems. Indeed, oil plays a central role in the island's economy and energy. In the energy balance, oil and petroleum products account for 84.3% of consumption, of which 90% is used for electricity generation, as local energy production is relatively old. The remaining 9% is covered by natural gas, while Havana aims to increase the share of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to 24% by 2030. The import of oil from Venezuela has been the pillar of strong economic balance for Cuba for many years.

Thousands of barrels as a donation

According to Western sources, in 2020 Venezuela supplied Cuba with approximately 80,000 barrels of crude oil daily, of which 20,000 to 25,000 were given free of charge as fraternal aid. It is estimated that in the last five years alone, the Maduro government has offered Havana between 6 and 8 billion dollars.

However, since the imposition of US sanctions, supplies have dropped to 11,000 barrels daily, with an increase in suppliers from Russia. Cuba produces about 50,000 barrels daily, and here is the interesting part. Three rich oil regions were discovered from the end of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century, with American companies Atlantic Refining, Standard Oil, and Union Oil exploiting the reserves in the area with great profitability. After the overthrow of the Batista regime, all the wealth was nationalized, and today companies like the Chinese CNPC, the Malaysian Petronas, PetroVietnam, and the Venezuelan PDVSA cooperate in Cuba, while the Americans remain excluded.

Venezuelan oil to China

As for Venezuela, the US sanctions caused serious damage to its oil industry. In 2015, the state company PDVSA exported 1.9 million barrels per day, while in 2022, this number collapsed to 438,000. However, in 2025, it rose again to 800,000 barrels. The most irritating thing for Washington is that 8 out of 10 barrels of Venezuelan oil end up in China. In October alone, 34 tankers sailed from South America to Asia, while the Americans, without announcing it, bought over 120,000 barrels through Chevron—with the sanctions seeming not to apply in this case.

The deposits and Mount Rushmore

At the political level, neighboring communist Cuba and oil-rich Venezuela (with 300 billion barrels, or 17% of global reserves) constitute particularly attractive targets. If oil supplies from Venezuela are cut off, the regime of Castro's descendants in Cuba could be indirectly overthrown. Controlling the deposits in the Varadero region of Cuba and the Orinoco belt in Venezuela could create a veritable monopoly in the global oil market.

Finally, let's not forget that the faces of four US presidents are carved into the emblematic Mount Rushmore. It is said that they were chosen due to their contribution to US history, but something unites them all: they increased the territory of the country. For example, under Thomas Jefferson, vast tracts of land in the middle of the continent were purchased, corresponding to almost 1/3 of the country's current area (the "Louisiana Purchase"). Under Theodore Roosevelt, the Panama Canal was built, and Panama became, in essence, a US appendage. If there is the state of Hawaii, why not the state of Cuba? All that remains to be seen is whether Donald Trump's vanity or his political caution will prevail.

The gift to Putin

But President Trump made another big mistake, or rather, an unexpected gift to Putin. President Vladimir Putin, following the recent meeting of the Russian Security Council, instructed the examination of the possibility of resuming nuclear tests. For this decision, Russia must thank the President of the United States of America.

The Russian president would never have raised the issue of resuming nuclear tests if Donald Trump had not raised it first. Following the American president's order to the Pentagon to begin preparations for new nuclear tests, Moscow can proceed with corresponding actions without running serious diplomatic risks. The owner of the White House offered Russia a great service. And here's why.

The only barrier

The fact is that the controversial strategic balance of power between Russia and the US, thanks to which Russia has not been bombed to date by all the NATO air forces, is valid only in one sector: the nuclear arsenal. In the other sectors, Russia lags behind NATO by a large margin. The overall size of the economies, the population (i.e., the conscription resource), the number of conventional weapons—in all these, the US and EU countries surpass Russia by a multiple degree.

The West is superior but...

The "hawks" of the West love to underline this data when they demand that their governments take radical anti-Russian measures. In this context, they point out:
- In NATO as a whole, the military budget of the US alone is 16 times greater than Russia's!
- In Europe, there are half a billion people, and are we afraid to force Russia to comply using only conventional weapons?

This argument is refuted by a small, but important point: the nuclear arsenal. Yes, in the number of tanks, aircraft carriers, and soldiers, the West is far superior to Russia.

The alternatives

But how will they force the Russians to fight only with conventional weapons in case of war? They cannot. That is why the Americans and Europeans have been forced in recent years to turn to alternative methods, trying to deter Russia from a real conflict. These efforts include thousands of sanctions and the proxy war in Ukraine.

The answer with Oreshnik, Burevestnik

That is why Russia responded to the full militarization of NATO by developing the Oreshnik, Burevestnik missiles and other potential carriers of nuclear warheads, avoiding entering into an arms race that could exhaust its economy, as happened with the Soviet Union. That is why the northwestern sector of Russia remains secure to this day, although from the territories of neighboring NATO countries, if they wanted to, they could try to take St. Petersburg or Kaliningrad. This desire may exist in NATO, but the capabilities do not. Because Russia has nuclear weapons, and the possibility of their use cannot be ignored.

The dangerous myth

Those who favor a direct conflict with Russia have only one way to insist on their view: to promote the myth that Moscow does not possess nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union once had them, but now all that remains of these weapons are rusty ruins somewhere in Siberia. They say that this "junk" neither explodes nor launches anymore. So there is no reason to fear Putin, who "barks with his nukes." We must prepare for a conventional war in which our allies are not seriously endangered.

The nuclear testing card

Why this certainty that the USSR had nuclear bombs? Because the Soviet Union conducted nuclear tests. That is where the delusion comes from that Moscow has nothing left from that era: from the fact that modern Russia does not conduct nuclear tests. And in a few years, by proving its peaceful intentions, it risks finding itself at war in the Baltic. Russia now must, and it is imperative to prevent a World War III, show that it still has nuclear weapons. The only thing holding it back until now is the fear that, if it violates the test ban, it will be held responsible for starting World War III. But if Donald Trump lifts the ban, he will offer Russia a great diplomatic service that could even lead the Kremlin to honor him with the Order of Friendship.

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