We’ll go Down The Rabbit Hole in just a bit but first…If there’s one thing I’ve learned following the disaster that is Chavismo and 21st Century Bolivarian Socialism it’s that if you think something’s going on it probably is. I think it might be tinfoil hat time.

 Rio Times had an article that listed the five highest-profile detainees (51 total so far) in Venezuela’s wide-ranging corruption probe. They are : Joselit Ramirez, national superintendent of cryptocurrency assets in Venezuela, Jose Masumino Marquez, a judge who was usually used by the Maduro regime to prosecute opponents for “terrorist acts”, Pedro Maldonado, president of steel firm Corporacion Venezolana de Guyana, Hugo Cabezas, former director of the national ID service and then went on to control the state supply of newsprint and cardboard (newspapers that support the opposition are denied access), and Hugbal Roa, former minister and congressman.

 What do all these guys have in common? They all have alleged close ties to former Oil Minister and former VP, Tareck El Aissami, who resigned as Oil Minister at the start of the probe a few weeks ago. This leads us to the question asked by Rio Times, “Where is Tareck El Aissami?”

 He hasn’t been seen in public since he resigned, nobody seems to know where he is, and the Maduro regime isn’t talking about whether or not he’s under investigation.

 At the start of this whole thing we told you, and numerous times before and since, that this is an unusual situation in that the Maduro regime doesn’t usually go after people for corruption since almost all Chavistas are corrupt. Remember, for years now under Chavismo, Venezuela has ranked in the top three most corrupt countries in the world and many years is in the top spot as the most corrupt country.

 If we “look behind the curtain” this seems more like a Castro-style or Stalinist purge of opponents or potential threats. As more information comes out (if it comes out) we’ll see where it leads…

 Then we have Daily Caller telling us that Deb Haaland, US Secretary of the Interior, was asked if she believed it was better for the US to produce it’s own oil and gas or import it from countries like Venezuela or the Middle East, while testifying before the US Senate Appropriations Committee.

 It’s not exactly a trick question is it? After making sure we all knew how dedicated and committed President Biden was to making sure the US was energy independent, she didn’t answer the question.

 Now, let’s head Down The Rabbit Hole…

 Chapter 6 continued…

 …Well, uhh…OK..Let’s say I was still willing to buy some Petros. What blockchain technology is supporting El Petro? Originally El Petro would use the Ethereum platform, which was well known in the crypto community. It seems someone forgot to tell Ethereum. Then they said they would use the NEM platform. NEM wasn’t at the top of the list like Ethereum but they did exist. Well, NEM didn’t get the memo. As the first of several “official launch” dates approached the Chavistas announced the creation of their own platform that would support El Petro. Funny thing is, when you went to their website for some details about the platform it looked as if somebody just cut and pasted details of the Dash cryptocurrency platform. Hmm… If you wanted to actually use the platform you could go to the “manual” to find out how to buy PTR, the symbol for El Petro. The only problem is that the “manual” was just a cover page with the word “manual” and nothing else. Hmmm…

 What about ratings agencies or organizations? Maybe they could shed some light on this if I’m still undaunted in my quest to own PTR. I mean, after all, the government has announced in their “pre-sale” that they sold $735 million…No wait…they upped  that to $3.5 billion…no wait, it was actually $5 billion. I don’t want to let an opportunity pass me by do I? (Ever heard of the term FOMO, fear of missing out?) It turns out that none of the above claims could be verified as sales…Shocker! The top four crypto ratings organizations all said PTR was a scam while the others just refused to issue a rating. The Washington Post did, however, have something to say. “The Petro might be the most obviously horrible investment ever.” It’s also telling that the Chavistas wouldn’t accept their own currency for purchases of PTR although they would modify that stance after Maduro announced his economic overhaul and the introduction of his new currency, the “Sovereign Bolivar”.

 Despite these inconsistencies, Maduro dispatched his minions around the globe to get buyers for PTR (El Petro). I guess having been rejected on his last couple of jaunts around the world begging for money he decided to send emissaries. He offered a 35% discount to anyone who would support the “glorious Bolivarian Revolution”. There were many reports of more substantial discounts offered but they were unconfirmed, believable but unconfirmed. Chavismo hyped the global interest to the max… “The Oil Minister to present Petro proposal to OPEC”… “Venezuela and Russia discuss Petro for…” …”Venezuela and China meet regarding Petro”… And on and on it went. At the end of all this, actual verified sales of PTR were…wait for it…ZERO!

 To further confuse the issue there was a dizzying array of announcements by Maduro, his Crypto Minister, and other government officials.

 “Maduro hints at second crypto offering, Petro Oro, a gold-backed cryptocurrency”

 “Maduro launches creation of Petro-funded crypto bank for youth initiatives”

 “Petro will be tied to the Fuerte Bolivar beginning in August” (weeks before the launch of the new currency, the “Sovereign Bolivar”)

 “Petro will be used as unit of account for goods, salaries, and services”

Decree 3.196 announced that the backing of El Petro will consist of a barrel of oil or…wait for it… WHATEVER COMMODITY THE NATION DECIDES!

 Also in Decree 3.196 two different prices are referenced for a barrel of oil. One refers to the OPEC basket price while the other refers to the Venezuela basket price, which are far apart, not to mention one is denominated in dollars while the other is denominated in yuan.

 “Maduro announces economic overhaul tying new currency and minimum wage to El Petro”

 “Petro will be unit of account for banks”. Banks had to list account balances in both bolivares and Petros.

 “Maduro claims Petro will be used for international commercial transactions”

 “Maduro announces special cryptocurrency teams to conduct crypto mining nationwide”

 “Maduro announces official Petro sales to begin November 5th”

 Note : No mention is made of previously announced launches nor previous whitepapers (the total number of whitepapers was 7 for something that usually requires 1)

 “Maduro announces he has a schedule for oil to be sold in Petros in 2019”

 “Maduro announces fuel for airlines to be sold in Petros”

 “Maduro decrees public authorities and entities must also promote and guarantee the use of cryptocurrency in the public sector”

 “Maduro announces central cryptocurrency mining registry”

 I could go on with the announcements, decrees, changes, etc. but my head would explode. Why don’t we just say that nobody seems to know exactly what Petro is, what it’s worth, how it can be used/traded, how much has been sold, and most importantly, what other changes/ reconfigurations are coming and are there any protections for buyers (other than the oil/whatever that doesn’t really exist). We already know that the government has been raiding crypto miners, jailing them, confiscating their equipment, or extorting them into working for the government.

 More tomorrow….