Oil pressure: America’s tanker seizures

<p>It had real dramatic elements: a (slow) chase scene, faked locations, a literal false flag, a daring helicopter descent. But what is the <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/01/07/donald-trump-chases-down-the-shadow-fleet-serving-venezuela?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">broader picture</a> of America’s bid to disrupt the Venezuelan-oil network? And how will the expanding oil saga affect an already weakened regime <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/01/05/cubas-regime-is-now-in-donald-trumps-sights?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in Cuba</a>? Also, we ask whether Hispanic football fans <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2025/11/12/will-visitors-and-local-hispanic-fans-avoid-the-mens-world-cup?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">might avoid</a> the World Cup in America.</p><br /><p><em>Get a world of insights by </em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>subscribing to Economist Podcasts+</em></a><em>. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account.</em></p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>