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Donald Trump to hit countries that buy Venezuelan oil with 25% tariff

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Donald Trump to hit countries that buy Venezuelan oil with 25% tariff

Donald Trump said the US would impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imports from any country that buys oil from Venezuela, a move that could roil crude markets and sharply raise levies on goods from China and India.

The announcement on Monday came days ahead of the president’s planned unveiling of a new tariff regime on US trading partners and amid a chaotic trade policy rollout marked by reversals and U-turns.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was imposing the tariff for “numerous reasons”, alleging that “Venezuela has purposefully and deceitfully sent to the United States, undercover, tens of thousands of high level, and other, criminals, many of whom are murderers and people of a very violent nature”.

Venezuela exported 660,000 barrels a day of crude globally last year, according to consultancy Kpler. China, which has been hit with 20 per cent tariffs from Trump this year, is among the top buyers, alongside India, Spain and Italy.

Speaking to reporters later on Monday, Trump said the 25 per cent tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan crude would come in addition to any existing levies.

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“That’s on top of existing tariffs — yes,” the president said.

The US imported about 230,000 b/d from Venezuela in 2024, making the South American nation its fourth-biggest supplier last year.

The latest escalation of Trump’s trade war comes days after Caracas agreed to begin receiving planeloads of deported migrants from the US, in a concession to the US president.

The move risks stoking turmoil in the oil market, something the White House has been keen to avoid in an attempt to prevent supply disruption from raising petrol prices for American motorists. Brent crude rose 1.3 per cent following the announcement.

“If we see Venezuelan supply coming out of the market, that means less global supply, which means oil prices go up,” said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler. “That gets passed on to prices of the pump, which is the opposite of President Trump’s goals.”

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The US president referred to Monday’s unprecedented move as a “secondary tariff” and said it would take effect from April 2, which he has dubbed “liberation day”, when reciprocal levies on other countries will also come into force.

Analysts said countries were likely to cut imports rather than risk the tariffs.

“We have never [before] seen secondary tariffs but a literal interpretation of Trump’s Truth Social statement suggests it could lead to a significant disruption to Venezuelan exports,” said Fernando Ferreira, director of geopolitical risk at consultancy Rapidan Energy. 

“Absent clarification from the administration on potential exemptions, I suspect most countries will self-sanction to avoid across-the-board tariffs on all exports to the US,” he added.

The US Treasury recently cancelled Chevron’s licence to operate in Venezuela, which is under broad sanctions, ordering the California-based oil group to wind down its operations within 30 days.

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The Treasury on Monday extended the deadline for Chevron to wind down its oil production in the country until May 27.

Chevron’s licence allowed it to export about 200,000 b/d last year, which Venezuela’s democratic opposition said contributed to funding repression by President Nicolás Maduro’s government.

Chevron declined to comment on either Monday’s tariff announcement or the Treasury extension. The Venezuelan government did not respond to a request for comment.

As part of Venezuela’s agreement to resume accepting deportees from the US, a flight carrying 199 people landed near Caracas on Sunday.

Trump has in recent weeks pushed to deport hundreds of alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, which the US has designated a terrorist organisation.

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In his Truth Social post on Monday, the president referenced the gang and said Venezuela had been “very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse”.

Earlier this month, the US deported some alleged gang members to El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele had agreed to hold them in the country’s “very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars”.

The Department of Justice on Monday said it would deport three alleged Tren de Aragua members to Chile.

The Maduro government, which has often used the exodus of its citizens as leverage in negotiations with Washington, said migrants had been “kidnapped” and sent to El Salvador.

Ryan Berg, director of the Americas programme at Washington think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, said if the tariffs hit all countries that have companies with business in Venezuela’s oil sector, they could further isolate Maduro as he seeks to consolidate power.

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“This tariff could actually have a significant impact on making companies exit from Venezuela’s oil market,” Berg said. “We’re in entirely uncharted territory right now.”

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.

The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.

Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.

The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.

The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.

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Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.

The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.

“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”

The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.

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Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.

“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”

Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded
Allegations pile up, but Child Protective Services declines to investigate and the school district continues to promote Ronnie Stoner. We include an update at the end of the episode. “The Girls” is a 4-part series from the Louisville Public Media’s investigative podcast, Dig.
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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

A streamer known for hurling racist slurs in public settings under the nickname “Chud the Builder” was charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, the authorities said.

The streamer, Dalton Eatherly, 28, was involved in a confrontation with an unidentified man that escalated to gunfire outside the Montgomery County Court in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were in stable condition, the office said.

In addition to attempted murder, Mr. Eatherly was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.

Mr. Eatherly, who is white, has accumulated an online audience by livestreaming confrontations in which he uses racist language toward Black people in public.

Law enforcement did not provide any details about the second man involved in Wednesday’s shooting. Mr. Eatherly posted an audio recording online of paramedics treating his wounds in which he claims he shot the man in self-defense.

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A video posted by the website Clarksville Now shows Mr. Eatherly on a stretcher with a microphone attached to his lapel.

Mr. Eatherly is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, pending arraignment, the sheriff’s office said.

According to court records, Mr. Eatherly was scheduled to appear for a court hearing on Wednesday morning in an unrelated case brought by Midland Credit Management, a collections agency.

A lawyer listed in court records from a separate harassment case in which Mr. Eatherly was a defendant in November did not respond to a request for comment.

On Sunday, three days before the shooting in Clarksville, Mr. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville. According to a police affidavit, Mr. Eatherly live streamed his meal at a restaurant, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, on Saturday even though the restaurant had asked him ahead of time not to do so.

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When he was confronted, Mr. Eatherly “became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming and otherwise creating a scene,” according to the affidavit.

He then refused to pay for his $370 meal. Mr. Eatherly was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on $5,000 bond.

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