>line count set to 30
International Baker respectfully requests 45 lines, until then I shall be in the fetal position under my desk, sobbing
Many many Thanks!
Scotland is doing up reports on Operation Talla, where cops were told not to take report regarding vaccine injuries
South Africa tends to post some lengthy but good stuff, and getting 12 or more parts in the notables is quite frustrating for me and the anon posting the goodies
When doing the expanded buns, I limit to 40 lines so the Bun heading can be there and not take up too much space, but 30 lines as a limit makes more bun parts to do
Rubio Says Oil ‘Quarantine’ Gives US Leverage Over Venezuela
By Jen Judson Bloomberg January 4, 2026
Jan 4, 2026, 9:06 AM (Bloomberg) –Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would use an oil “quarantine” to get what it wants from Venezuela’s new leaders following the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro.
With questions swirling about how the US will deal with members of Maduro’s leadership who remain in power, Rubio said that Venezuela must sever ties to Iran, Hezbollah and Cuba, stop drug trafficking and ensure that its oil industry doesn’t benefit US adversaries.
“There’s a quarantine right now in which sanctioned oil shipments — there’s a boat, and that boat is under US sanctions, we go get a court order — we will seize it,” Rubio said on CBS’s Face the Nation. That’s “a tremendous amount of leverage” for the US to press for change in Venezuela, he said.
President Donald Trump suggested that US oil companies would spend billions of dollars to rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry when he described how the US captured Maduro and his wife and brought them to the US on Saturday to face charges in New York.
Rubio said a global shortage of heavy crude could help spur that transition.
“I haven’t spoken to US oil companies in the last few days but we’re pretty certain that there will be dramatic interest from Western companies,” Rubio said on ABC’s This Week. “Non-Russian, non-Chinese companies will be very interested. Our refineries on the Gulf Coast of the United States are the best in terms of refining this heavy crude.”
“There will be tremendous interest — if it can be done the right way,” he said.
Rubio gave few hints on the immediate path forward in Venezuela after Trump said the US will work with acting president Delcy Rodríguez to transition to a democratically elected government. She and other Venezuelan leaders have thus far appeared uncooperative.
Rubio sidestepped a question on CBS on when Venezuela might hold elections as part of a transition to democracy.
“These things take time — there’s a process,” he said, without elaborating. “We’re going to make an assessment of what they do, not what they say publicly in the interim … but what they do moving forward.”
Rubio cited Venezuela’s oil industry as the key to a strong economy.
“Right now, it is an oil industry that is backwards,” he told Face the Nation. “None of the money from the oil gets to the people. It’s all stolen by the people that are on the top there and so that’s why we have a quarantine.”
That blockade will remain in place “until we see changes that do not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the Venezuelan people.”
US forces deployed in the region are “capable of stopping not just drug boats, but stopping any of these sanctioned boats that come in and out and really paralyzing that portion of how the regime generates revenue,” Rubio said.
https://gcaptain.com/rubio-says-oil-quarantine-gives-us-leverage-over-venezuela/
Venezuela’s PDVSA Asks Some Joint Ventures To Cut Back Oil Output
By Marianna Parraga Reuters January 4, 2026
Jan 4 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA is asking some joint ventures to cut back crude production amid an export paralysis, three sources close to the decision said on Sunday, adding pressure to an interim government trying to hang on to power.
Caracas is in political crisis under an interim government after President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured by U.S. forces on Saturday. The OPEC country’s oil exports, its main source of revenue, are now at a standstill following a U.S. blockade on tankers under sanctions and the seizure of two oil cargoes last month.
Chevron’s CVX.N cargoes bound for the U.S. had been an exception, continuing to move, because the company has a license from Washington for its operations. But even those have stopped since Thursday, shipping data showed on Sunday.
As part of his announcement of Maduro’s detention and a government transition overseen by the U.S., President Donald Trump said on Saturday that an “oil embargo” on the country was in full force.
PDVSA’s move includes shutting down oilfields or well clusters as stocks stored onshore mount and the company runs out of diluents to blend Venezuela’s heavy crude for shipment.
The requests were made to joint ventures including China National Petroleum Corporation’s (CNPC) Petrolera Sinovensa, Chevron’s Petropiar and Petroboscan and Petromonagas, the sources said. Petromangas, previously operated by PDVSA and Russian state-run Roszarubezhneft, is being run solely by PDVSA.
PDVSA and CNPC did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Chevron said on Sunday it continues to operate “in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations,” without providing details.
Workers at Sinovensa on Sunday were preparing to disconnect up to 10 well clusters at PDVSA’s request, one of the sources said, after an over-accumulation of extra heavy crude and diluents shortage. However, the wells could be quickly reconnected in the future, the person added.
A portion of Sinovensa’s oil output is typically delivered to China as debt service payment. But two China-flagged supertankers that were approaching Venezuela to load oil stopped at the end of December, LSEG shipping data showed.
On its side, Chevron has not cut product output yet as it has some room to keep storing, particularly at Petropiar, and tankers have not stopped loading. However, its vessels have not left the country’s waters since Thursday and storage capacity is limited at Petroboscan, which could ultimately lead to cuts, another source said.
DOMINO EFFECT
Venezuela’s oil minister Delcy Rodriguez, who is now Venezuela’s interim president, said last month the country would continue producing and exporting oil despite the U.S. measures.
But the U.S. pressure has forced PDVSA to store oil in vessels since late December and slow down cargo deliveries at its main port, Jose. If loaded tankers cannot depart, company executives and experts view production cuts as unavoidable .
No tankers were docked on Sunday at Jose to load either for export or domestic supply, according to TankerTrackers.com.
The company, which in the second half last year ramped up imports of much needed naphtha and light oil to dilute its extra heavy crude output, in December began having problems receiving cargoes from Russia amid the U.S. blockade.
Venezuela’s oil exports averaged about 950,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, but the U.S. measures knocked them down to around 500,000 bpd last month, according to preliminary figures based on ship movements.
https://gcaptain.com/venezuelas-pdvsa-asks-some-joint-ventures-to-cut-back-oil-output/
I'm thinking about the major efforts the UJ and the EU are doing to destroy their own farmers
Once done they will import whatever they can get, but won't figure it out until zoo animals have been eaten
Dagnabit, supposed to be UK, not UJ