Something just shifted in the market.
While most traders are busy arguing about inflation and rate cuts, or worrying about an AI bubble, a real story is breaking across the world … One that could reshape the global energy map for years.
Last weekend, on January 3, the U.S. made its boldest geopolitical move in decades. Stepping directly into Venezuela, seizing control of the world’s largest proven oil reserve, and pledging billions to rebuild the country’s collapsed energy infrastructure.
This is a major catalyst.
When the most oil-rich nation on the planet suddenly becomes an American project, the ripple effects don’t stay overseas. They hit the charts here at home.
Energy stocks are already reacting.
This is exactly the kind of environment where disciplined traders thrive. Where the prepared get rewarded and the hesitant get left behind.
We’ve seen this move before: Global disruption, price shock, and small-cap energy runners lighting up the tape.
The question isn’t if the stock spikes are coming … They’re already here.
Now’s the time to focus. This is where the next wave of opportunity is forming. And the crowd still hasn’t piled in yet.
There’s a specific stock I’m watching this week.
Get ready for more trading opportunities.
The Whole Story
This is one of the biggest geopolitical and energy stories of the decade.
On January 3, 2026, the U.S. military executed a rapid operation in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and announcing a plan to oversee the nation’s vast oil reserves.
The largest proven reserves on Earth, estimated at over 303 billion barrels of crude.
President Trump confirmed that American oil companies will move in to rebuild Venezuela’s decayed energy infrastructure, pipelines that haven’t been upgraded in nearly 50 years.
The goal: Restore production capacity that once rivaled Saudi Arabia’s but has since collapsed to just 1 million barrels per day. That’s less than 1% of global output.
Analysts estimate the cost of bringing Venezuela back online is roughly $58 billion in repairs, modernization, and logistics. A massive undertaking that could take years.
But the potential payoff is huge. It would mean an entirely new wave of heavy crude supply, refined more efficiently by U.S. plants already optimized for Venezuelan oil.
And in the short term, the hype is already moving stocks.
Oil futures spiked briefly after the news, and U.S. energy stocks, especially smaller exploration and drilling names, are already seeing speculative inflows.
We’ve seen catalysts like this before.
And we can trade it almost the same way.
War-Time Oil Setups
If this setup feels familiar, that’s because it is.
Every time geopolitical tensions flare up in oil-dense regions, the market reacts the same way.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, oil spiked past $130 a barrel almost overnight. Global supply chains seized up, and traders rushed into energy names.
That’s when Houston American Energy Corp. (HUSA) became a legend. It was a $1 stock that exploded more than 1,000%* as money flooded into anything tied to oil.
Fast-forward to mid-2025. The U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites sent crude higher again.
Panic hit the headlines, and small-cap energy tickers followed the same rhythm. Quick spikes, massive volume, and some decent multi-day moves.
Traders who recognized the patterns didn’t need to guess the outcome of the conflict. They just needed to trade the reaction.
Now, we’re watching it unfold all over again with Venezuela.
Different players. Same market reflex.
Oil-heavy nations under pressure. Uncertainty in high supply. Global headlines dominating every feed.
But this time, the catalyst isn’t destruction, it’s reconstruction.
The U.S. isn’t bombing oil fields, it’s taking control of them. And that’s creating a new kind of volatility. One that could be tied to production optimism, infrastructure deals, and energy re-pricing.
The tickers are already responding. Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL), one of the biggest oil-field service names, spiked on the news and held some of its gains into the close.
Look at the chart below from Friday into Monday. Every candle represents one trading minute:
While the world focuses on politics, smart traders focus on price action.
Because whether it’s Ukraine, Iran, or Venezuela, the pattern never changes …
War-time tension moves oil, oil moves stocks, and prepared traders have huge opportunities to bank on that volatility.
Stay Street Smart,
Jeff Zananiri
