Summary
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky asserts that restrictions on Starlink and Starshield, which hinder Ukraine's defense against Russia, remain in place despite claims from former President Donald Trump that billionaire Elon Musk had lifted them. An article by Anton Trojanowski and Eric Lipton in the New York Times reveals that Trump's push to normalize relations with Russia may be influenced by oil deals, including a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska that involves Russian technology and funding from a company under U.S. sanctions. The project's CEO resigned after discovering the Russian ties, raising concerns about U.S. interests in Arctic gas commercialization.
Additionally, a report from ProPublica outlines a controversial deal involving the U.S. and Venezuelan oligarch Alejandro Betancourt, accused of money laundering. The agreement, signed by high-ranking officials, allows the U.S. to acquire a stake in Betancourt's firm in exchange for discounted oil, while potentially violating Venezuelan law. The deal establishes a board dominated by U.S. citizens, with significant control over the venture, and suggests further U.S. intervention in Cuba, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio encourages efforts for change on the island.
Show Notes
October 23, 2026 The restrictions that have been crippling Ukraine’s ability to protect itself from Russia continue in spite of Trump’s statement to the contrary, Oil deals explain Trump’s rush to normalize relations with Russia, The Polar LNG project, designed to liquefy natural gas in Alaska, will be funded with money from Novatek, a Russian company currently under US sanctions, Trump lifted new sanctions against Novatek that had been put into place in the recently passed Graham Act, The CEO of Polar LNG resigned when he learned funding will come from Russia, Trump, Putin, and their allies in the administration are pushing to carve the world up into spheres of influence as quickly as possible before the midterms, The deal to capture Venezuela’s oil sets up a partnership between the US and Alejandro Betancourt who has been accused of money laundering, The US is looking at taking a stake in Betancourt’s firm, buying shares in a parent company based in Barbados which enables investors to remain hidden, The deal appears to violate Venezuelan law, The administration is also suggesting it will take steps to control Cuba. To read this letter, click here: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify You can also find Heather at: YouTube Bluesky Instagram Facebook Threads TikTok
Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
More from Letters from an American
October 21, 2026 The president’s behavior is becoming more and more erratic, He has abandoned the traditional allies of the US to align with Vladimir Putin and Russia, Trump claims he had nothing to do with the slowing of Starlink over Ukraine, but Congress members have vowed to hold whoever was responsible for the cuts accountable, Musk is threatening Congress, but is also worried about the move of Europeans and Canadians to develop their own satellite communications systems and if Congress were to do the same, Musk could be in real trouble, Nearly 12 million Americans have lost healthcare coverage under Trump and enrollment in SNAP had fallen by more than 5 million people since the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, The budget deficit for the fiscal year that ended on September 30 was about $2 trillion, $160 billion higher than during Biden’s last year as president, The cost of the Iran war is about $45 billion according to the administration but other costs drive it even higher, Republicans are peddling fear, warning of dire results if the Democrats win the majority in Congress, Right wing groups are sharing inflammatory flyers and Vivek Ramaswamy released an attack ad against Amy Acton that has created a storm of protest, although JD Vance has defended it, Some Republicans are speaking up about the direction in which the party is headed. To read this letter, click here: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify You can also find Heather at: YouTube Bluesky Instagram Facebook Threads TikTok
October 20, 2026 Elon Musk ordered SpaceX to slow down its Starlink service in Ukraine, It is unclear if Musk operated with or without input from White House officials, The slowdown caused a public uproar, whereupon representatives from SpaceX and the White House coordinated their messaging, Musk’s decision to take it upon himself to reverse US foreign policy for the benefit of Vladimir Putin is reminiscent of Revolutionary War general Benedict Arnold’s betrayal, The White House was happy to endorse Musk’s decision until it blew up in their faces, Venezuelan billionaire banker Julio Herrera Velutini, who wanted, and received, a pardon from Trump, had hired former Trump lawyer Alina Habba, for a reported $50 million, Trump is considering restoring the press briefing room to its original form as a swimming pool, Trump is attempting to shore up support from farmers by promising $8 billion in aid, but the fund that he plans to use for payments doesn’t have sufficient funds, After a call with Ukraine president Zelensky, Rep Jim Himes is pressing Congress to pass veto-proof legislation that will provide assistance to Ukraine, saying that “[W]e’re going to act as a Congress and override this president’s desire to see Vladimir Putin win." To read this letter, click here: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify You can also find Heather at: YouTube Bluesky Instagram Facebook Threads TikTok
October 19, 2026 Ten years ago, Hillary Clinton, who was running for president against Donald Trump, warned that Vladimir Putin hoped to have a “puppet” in the White House, and that Trump was that puppet, Trump protested, but ten years later he is openly embracing Putin and working to destroy the strongest and most successful alliance in human history, Meanwhile, support for Republicans has fallen to historic lows, Tariffs, the war in Iran, soaring costs of gasoline and diesel, and blatant corruption have meant that firm Republican districts are now up for grabs, Republicans are refusing to hold town halls or debate their Democratic challengers, In Texas, Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina, and Maine, Republican candidates are being revealed as extremely weak, The Republican Party acts like a dying party that is no longer bothering to compete and is facing a rising one whose candidates are ready and willing to work, It is not unlike the 1850s, when the Democrats were so confident that they assumed they were entitled to their seats, The Democrats were trounced by the Republicans, who would dominate the political system for the next 70 years. To read this letter, click here: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify You can also find Heather at: YouTube Bluesky Instagram Facebook Threads TikTok
October 18, 2026 Putin has proposed a meeting with Trump and Xi Jinping to decide the fate of Ukraine, Such a summit would formally acknowledge that the US has broken from Europe and allied with Russia, In just over a week, Trump has lifted sanctions on the sale of Russian oil, i which will send desperately needed money to fund Russia’s war on Ukraine, Additional sanctions that Congress demanded in a recent law named for Lindsey Graham were waived just before they were to go into effect, Outrage over Trump’s actions has come from across the political spectrum, In response, Trump posted a screed on social media suggesting that Ukraine was to blame for the high costs of diesel, and claiming that Ukrainian president Zelensky doesn’t want to end the war, Tom Nichols wrote that a world in which the US was allied with the Kremlin was the “stuff of paranoid fiction…” The Framers of the Constitution thought they had designed a system that would prevent the rise of a tyrant, The Framers didn’t anticipate that senators would put party over country and stand aside as a president captured its prerogatives, And yet, here we are. To read this letter, click here: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify You can also find Heather at: YouTube Bluesky Instagram Facebook Threads TikTok
October 17, 2026 People around the US and the world gathered at more than 3,000 No Kings:Vote Early events, Events were designed to encourage people to vote early, Republican dominated state legislatures have restricted access to the vote since 2020, Since the 2024 election, 22 states have passed laws that make voting more difficult, Just at the height of the pre-voting events, Meta took down the No Kings organizing page on Instagram for about 4 hours, Meta claimed the issue was technical, but a report out of Brazil claims that in internal communications, Meta employees acknowledged that the company had restricted the Instagram accounts of Brazilian president Lula da Silva during the country’s recent election while recommending accounts related to his challenger, No Kings organizer Ezra Levin said the shutdown will not stop early voting, and that “No Kings means no kings in the White House,” he wrote, “or in Silicon Valley.” To read this letter, click here: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify You can also find Heather at: YouTube Bluesky Instagram Facebook Threads TikTok