UR MAG

May 16 (Reuters) - The Venezuelan government will retain power to set royalty and tax rates for private and foreign investors in ‌oil and gas projects on a project-by-project basis under draft ‌regulations of a new hydrocarbons law seen by Reuters on Saturday.

The law passed in January ​established a royalty cap of 30% and a new maximum integrated hydrocarbons tax of 15%. Industry experts had anticipated the accompanying regulations would specify the exact rates below those caps that private and foreign partners would pay.

Instead, ‌the draft document states ⁠that the Ministry of Hydrocarbons will review each operating company's business plan to determine the specific tax and royalty ⁠rates.

Venezuela is attempting to attract foreign capital and rebuild its economy following the U.S. removal of President Nicolas Maduro at the start of the year. ​Under acting ​President Delcy Rodriguez, the draft framework ​officially ends decades of state ‌monopoly by allowing private companies to obtain licenses for heavy crude oil processing, refining and international trading -- activities that previously only state-owned PDVSA could perform.

Advertisement

The 63-page regulation must still be published in the Official Gazette to take effect.

Under the new legal framework, the National Assembly no longer approves ‌the energy joint ventures.

Instead, the Ministry of ​Hydrocarbons holds almost complete authority to sign ​contracts and modify their terms, ​including taxes and royalties. Oil experts and economists have ‌criticized the ministry's wide latitude as ​a potential deterrent to ​foreign investors who worry the government could make unilateral changes to agreed terms.

The introduction of the integrated tax raised skepticism over ​whether Caracas intended to ‌reduce significantly the state's take, which has historically been one of ​the highest in Latin America.

(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by ​Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

MIAMI (AP) — Venezuela’s government said Saturday it deported a close ally ofNicolás Maduroto face judicial proceedings in the U.S. less than three years after the business owner was pardoned by PresidentJoe Bidenas part of a prisoner swap.

The decision marks a stark reversal for Alex Saab, who Maduro fought tooth and nail to bring home after his previous international arrest in 2020. Now, the Colombian-born business owner, long described by U.S. officials as Maduro’s “bag man,” may be asked to testify against his former protector, who is awaiting trial on drug charges in Manhattan after being captured in a shock raid by the U.S. military in January.

The Venezuelan immigration authority in a short statement Saturday did not explicitly say where it had sent Saab but said the decision was made based on several ongoing criminal investigations in the U.S. The statement's reference to Saab only as a “Colombian citizen” may have been a nod to Venezuelan law, which prohibits the extradition of its nationals. Following his last arrest, Maduro and acting President Delcy Rodríguez claimed that Saab was a Venezuelan diplomat who had been illegally detained during a refueling stop while en route to Iran for an important humanitarian mission.

The Associated Press reported in February that federal prosecutors have been digging for months into Saab’s role in an alleged bribery conspiracy involving Venezuelan government contracts to import food.

The investigation stems from a 2021 case the Justice Department brought against Saab’s longtime partner, Alvaro Pulido, a former law enforcement official said. That prosecution, out of Miami, centers around theso-called CLAP programset up by Maduro to provide staples — rice, corn flour, cooking oil — to poor Venezuelans struggling to feed themselves at a time of rampant hyperinflation and a crumbling currency.

Advertisement

Saab, 54, amassed a fortune through Venezuelan government contracts. But he fell out of favor with the country’s new leadership that took power following Maduro's ouster. Since taking over from Maduro on Jan. 3, Rodríguez demoted Saab,firing him from her Cabinetand stripping him of his role as the main conduit for foreign companies looking to invest in Venezuela. For months conflicting news accounts have circulated that he was imprisoned or under house arrest.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report from Washington

Venezuelan law prohibits the extradition of its own nationals,

The task facing the Buffalo Sabres is not easy, but it is straightforward.

The Sabres must drum up a win when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday or their season is over.

The Canadiens lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-2 with a chance to close it out in front of their frenzied home faithful. The Sabres head to Montreal with a chance to spoil that party and then have the same opportunity in their arena on Monday.

"What is there, five teams left? To be sitting here talking to you guys, I think that it's a wonderful place to be, and I'll tell the team the same thing," coach Lindy Ruff said on Friday. "We get to go to Montreal in Game 6 in the middle of May to move on to a Game 7."

The series winner will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final. Carolina swept its opponents in each of the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs and has been off since Sunday.

To prolong their series, the Sabres must regroup from a deflating 6-3 home loss on Thursday. Buffalo held a 3-2 lead after the first period, but surrendered four unanswered goals.

This would be a perfect time for a couple of struggling first-liners to find their form. Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs have failed to net a single point in the first five games of this series. Tuch netted four goals and three assists while Krebs had six points (two goals, four assists) in the six-game series victory over the Boston Bruins to open the playoffs.

"I can't play the way I'm playing right now," Tuch said. "Just going to be will and determination, but I've got to move past it, I've got to move on to the next game, and I've got to be better for the guys in this room."

Advertisement

The Canadiens return home to a city and arena that will be filled with excitement.

The young squad had high hopes for the season and going into the playoffs. Reaching the third round may have exceeded anybody's expectation back in October, but now is a reality they can all envision.

"Saturday night at the Bell Centre, I don't think you can write it any better to close out a series," forward Joe Veleno said on Friday. "I think the boys know that, and we're all ready for it."

It's the same situation they had in their opening-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Montreal failed to beat the Lightning in that Game 6 on the road, although it was as much due to a great goaltending performance by Tampa's Andrei Vasilevskiy as anything else.

Still, there was a lesson learned about the difficulty of closing out a series.

"I think it's the hardest game," defenseman Alexandre Carrier said. "Any time a team's got its back against the wall, that's when they're desperate, that's when they play their best most of the time. We've just got to stick to our game plan and really do what we do best."

Though there will be a euphoric atmosphere in Montreal, the Canadiens' track record this postseason has shown they will likely not be overwhelmed.

"I think we're just focused on each and every day," coach Martin St. Louis said. "We're not worried about the day before. We're not worried about what's ahead. Let's just take care of today. I think when you just take care of today, usually you don't get anxious or too ecited. I feel like you just stay present where your feet are."

--Field Level Media

Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell was scratched from his Friday start hours before the opener of the Freeway Series against the Angels in Anaheim and placed on the 15-day injured list.

The Dodgers said the 33-year-old Snell was scratched due to loose bodies in his left elbow.

The IL move is retroactive to Tuesday.

The Dodgers are now listing right-hander Will Klein (1-2, 2.76 ERA) to be the first pitcher in what will be a bullpen game.

The contest was slated to be Snell's second appearance of the season. His season got off to a late start due to shoulder issues and he made his season debut last Saturday against the Atlanta Braves.

Advertisement

Snell struggled against the Braves as he allowed five runs (four earned) and six hits while throwing 77 pitches in just three innings. He struck out five and walked two while taking the loss.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner was limited to 11 starts last season due to a shoulder injury and went 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA in his first season with the Dodgers. In the postseason, he went 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in six appearances (five starts) to help the Dodgers win the World Series.

Snell is 81-63 with a 3.17 ERA in 223 career starts over 11 major league seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays (2016-20), San Diego Padres (2021-23), San Francisco Giants (2024) and Dodgers.

Snell won the American League Cy Young with the Rays in 2018 and took National League honors in 2023 for the Padres.

Los Angeles recalled left-hander Charlie Barnes in a corresponding move. Barnes, 30, hasn't appeared in a game for the Dodgers since being claimed off waivers from the Chicago Cubs last Saturday. He gave up four runs (three earned) in three innings in his one outing for the Cubs.

--Field Level Media

Why did Virginia's Supreme Court reject the state's new congressional map? 04:01

Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid by Virginia Democrats to revive its new voter-approved congressional map that was drawn to advantage the party for the upcoming midterm elections.

In an unsigned one-sentence order, the Supreme Court left intact a ruling from Virginia's highest court thatinvalidated an amendmentto the state constitution authorizing adoption of the new House district lines. No dissents were noted.

Virginia Democrats hadmounted a last-ditch effortto restore the new voting boundaries earlier this week, but it was considered a longshot, since the Supreme Court typically does not review interpretations of state law by a state's highest court.

Democrats have been working to counter Republican-led redistricting efforts in several states to bolster the GOP's chances of holding onto the House majority in November.

The mid-decade redistricting push began last year after Texas, at President Trump's urging, adopted a congressional map that could give Republicans five additional House seats. In response, California officials drew — and voters approved — new House boundaries that aimed to net Democrats five new seats, offsetting Republicans' potential gains in Texas. The Supreme Court hasallowedboth of those maps to beusedin the midterm elections.

State lawmakers in North Carolina, Missouri and Florida have alsoreconfiguredtheir House voting lines to give Republicans more of an advantage.

Advertisement

In Virginia, Democratic legislative leaders began their effort to redraw the state's congressional map in October, when the General Assembly first passed a proposed constitutional amendment allowing it to change Virginia's House districts in the middle of the decade. The measure was approved by state lawmakers a second time in January.

The issue went before Virginia voters in April, whoapproved the proposaland cleared the way for the new map.

But days later, the Supreme Court of Virginia blocked the redistricting plan. In a 4-3 decision, the court found that state lawmakers failed to follow the proper process for putting the proposal before voters, in violation of the Virginia Constitution.

State Democratic leaderssought emergency relieffrom the U.S. Supreme Court soon after and argued that the state court's decision was "deeply mistaken" on issues of federal law.

"By forcing the Commonwealth to conduct its congressional elections using districts different from those adopted by the General Assembly pursuant to a constitutional amendment the people just ratified, the Supreme Court of Virginia has deprived voters, candidates, and the Commonwealth of their right to the lawfully enacted congressional districts," they wrote in their request.

Virginia Republicans urged the high court not to grant Democrats' request, arguing that they "have no case on the merits" and that the Supreme Court of Virginia's decision hinged on state law, not federal law.

The request from Virginia Democrats was just the latest attempt to get the Supreme Court to intervene in state redistricting fights. While states had sought to change their maps for partisan gain, Republicans in some Southern states are also scrambling to redraw their House district boundaries after the Supreme Courtweakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Actin a landmark decision last month.

Since then, officials in Louisiana,Alabamaand Tennessee havesaid they'll pursue new mapsahead of their primary elections.