Recently, the US military deployed a carrier strike group in the Caribbean under the operation codename 'Southern Spear.' Looks like another case of maximum pressure—what does Trump want? On the surface, it’s about cutting off Venezuela’s funding sources from drugs and smuggling, using the anti-drug narrative to gain domestic political capital. In reality, it’s about forcing the Venezuelan government to back down in its cooperation with China and Russia, and using Venezuela as a model to gradually eliminate China’s influence and presence in Latin America. At the deepest level, it’s about reorganizing the backyard (https://(x.com)/qinbafrank/status/1882719792064499833?s=46&t=k6rimWsEbo2D2tXolYcM-A) and strengthening the U.S.’s strategic control in the Western Hemisphere. Today, Trump said we might have some talks with Maduro and see how it goes. If it goes well, the two geopolitical events that could impact the market in the near term—China-Japan and U.S.-Venezuela—will both remain under control (no large-scale direct conflict).