It's Tuesday, the 28th of April. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Iran is facing a major new pressure point as a U.S. blockade leaves its oil piling up with nowhere to go. That pressure is building toward a potential shutdown of their industry that could cause lasting damage to the country's most important business. Later in the show, Mexican forces capture a key Jalisco new generation cartel figure, a man once seen as a potential successor to the now deceased El Mencho. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Iran is continuing to feel the pinch of the U.S. naval blockade against its ports. And now the problem isn't just their bottom line that's being strained. Because under the weight of the blockade, Tehran isn't just struggling to sell its crude oil, it's now struggling to store it. And if that system backs up much further, Iran may be forced to shut down production altogether, a move that could cause lasting damage to its oil industry. So here's what's happening. Before the blockade took effect earlier this month, Iran was exporting roughly 2 million barrels of oil per day. Since then, that number has collapsed to just over 500,000. Now that obviously is a massive drop. And all of that unsold oil, well, has to go somewhere. And right now, it's just being put into storage, hundreds of thousands of barrels day after day. Iran has already begun filling up its onshore storage tanks, while also parking oil and offshore tankers sitting idle in the Gulf. But that's not enough space. According to Newt reporting, Tehran is now turning to what industry insiders call, quote, junk storage, reviving old deteriorating tanks that had long been considered unusable and even using improvised containers to hold excess crude. Analysts warn that Iran could hit what's known as, quote, tank tops, essentially running out of usable storage capacity in less than two weeks. And once that happens, Iran faces a difficult choice, either shut down production or risk dangerous pressure building inside its oil infrastructure. Now, here's the problem. Shutting down oil production is not as simple as flipping a switch, especially for Iran. A lot of Iran's oil fields date back decades, some to the 1950s and 60s, and many are now low pressure, meaning they're particularly vulnerable to long-term damage if production is halted abruptly. In some cases, shutting down wells can permanently reduce how much oil they're able to produce in the future. So this isn't just about losing revenue in the short term. This is about potentially crippling a core pillar of Iran's economy for years to come. For now, Tehran is trying to buy time. Officials are exploring alternative ways to move crude, including shipping oil by rail to China. But that's far less efficient and far more expensive than traditional tanker routes. And it's unclear whether Chinese buyers, particularly the smaller teapot refineries that typically take discounted Iranian crude would be willing to absorb those higher costs But these are stopgap measures for Iran they not solutions which brings us to the bigger picture This conflict has increasingly become a race Can Iran oil system hold out long enough to force concessions? Or will physical limits inside the country force Tehran back to the negotiating table first? As we reported yesterday, Iran has already floated a proposal through regional mediators, offering to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt its attacks there in exchange for an end to the war and the lifting of the U.S. blockade. And notably, the proposal would also delay any negotiations over Iran's nuclear program until at some point later. But the response from Washington has been cautious at best. President Trump has not rejected the offer outright, but officials say he remains skeptical that Iran is negotiating in good faith, particularly as Tehran continues to resist key U.S. demands, including ending uranium enrichment and committing not to pursue a nuclear weapon. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear that the administration has serious concerns about what Iran actually means when it talks about reopening the strait. According to Rubio, Iran's version of a, quote, open Hormuz appears to come with conditions requiring ships to coordinate with Tehran or risk being targeted, and they may intend to charge tolls for passage. And that, Rubio says, is not acceptable. Because the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and allowing Iran to dictate who can pass through it would fundamentally alter the rules of global commerce. So, you ask, where does that leave things? Well, right now, the U.S. appears willing to keep talking, but not, well, at least for now, at the expense of its core demands. Alright, coming up next, a major cartel figure is taken alive in a massive Mexican military operation. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take just a moment to talk about something very important for anyone on Medicare or about to sign up for Medicare. Here's the thing. When folks get Medicare guidance, they rarely consider this fact. Agents get paid by big insurance to sell specific plans. It's just the way that business works. So that advice that you may get, well, it's not necessarily in your best interests. It means you're often shown what they're paid to show you. Not every option out there. The result, well, your doctor might not be covered, or your prescriptions could cost way more than they should. And this problem is more common than you think. And those unnecessary costs can add up very quickly. Here's what I think. 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You can find We'll Do It Live on BillOReilly.com, YouTube, or wherever you download your podcasts. Every major story has a version the news gives you, and then a version that's actually true. If you're a critical thinker, if you're somebody who's not tribal, if you're somebody who just wants the facts so you can make your own decisions, Keeping It Real with Jillian Michaels is the show for you. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Another member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leadership is now off the field in Mexico, this time in handcuffs. Mexican special forces and police tracked down Audios Flores Silva, known as the Gardener, who came up with that nickname, in the northwest Mexican state of Nayarit. And when authorities moved in, they did not take any chances. We're talking about an operation consisting of reconnaissance aircraft, six helicopters and more than 100 troops on the ground closing in. They found Flores Silva, the gardener, hiding in a roadside ditch, and remarkably, they took him alive, all without a single shot being fired. Flores Silva was deeply embedded in the cartel's leadership structure. He served as head of security for the organization's top leadership, while also overseeing drug production and trafficking routes across multiple Mexican states. In other words, Flores was someone operating at the core of the cartel's power structure. And American authorities certainly saw it that way. they had a $5 million reward out for information leading to his capture, and he's been on Washington's radar for years. In fact, Washington has been pushing for his extradition stateside since 2021, where he faces charges tied to drug conspiracy and firearms possession. And this is not his first run-in with law enforcement. At a young age, Flores Silva was arrested in the U.S. and served a five-year sentence for drug trafficking before returning to Mexico. Then in 2016, Mexican authorities arrested him for his alleged role in an ambush against police in Jalisco, but he was released after three years. Ambush police get three years. Seriously. Flores Silva was widely viewed as a potential successor to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes better known as El Mencho the cartel founder and longtime leader And if you remember El Mencho was killed in a major military operation back in February That strike triggered a wave of cartel violence across Mexico His henchmen torched businesses, burned vehicles and blocked highways and coordinated attacks that left more than 70 people dead, including 25 members of Mexico's National Guard. And now in the wake of Flores Silva's arrest, local reports indicate we're seeing similar retaliatory tactics again with cars and businesses set on fire. So this is another blow to CJNG leadership, and it's landing at a delicate moment because the cartel is still reorganizing after losing its founder, and now a potential successor has been taken off the board. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has taken a more aggressive stance against the cartels, stepping up military operations in an effort to regain control. And that shift comes in, well, at least in part, from growing pressure from Washington. President Trump has made cartel violence and fentanyl trafficking a priority of his administration. And last year, he formally designated the Jalisco New Generation cartel, and several others, as foreign terrorist organizations. But zoom out and the bigger picture still hasn't changed. Cartels like CJNG are built to absorb this kind of pressure, Even after losing their top leader and now a potential successor, the organization continues to operate across 21 of Mexico's 32 states, according to the DEA, surpassing the Sinaloa cartel's reach. And CJNG's network is thought to span roughly 100 countries. So while this latest capture is a clear tactical win, it's far from a decapitating strike to one of Mexico's most powerful cartels. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Tuesday, the 28th of April. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, well, you know you can do that, and it is very simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, here's a question. Do you ever wonder what happens to those, quote, natural brands when they go corporate, right? When they're bought up by a big entity? Well, often they get swallowed up by private equity and suddenly those simple natural ingredients aren't so simple or natural anymore. 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