Weather Report #39: Hello, 2026

Hello, dear reader! Welcome to your Weather Report, a (sometimes) weekly column where I recommend some articles, a book, a movie, and some music for readers to consume.

Here's what you're getting this week:

1. Two Act 22 decree holders in legal trouble.
2. My latest article about the U.S attack on Venezuela and how Venezuelans are reacting to it.
3. Essays, articles, and columns about: Crusadercore, oil in Venezuela and Guyana, and the rebuilding of the U.S. empire.
4. One of the best explorations of Latin American history ever put to paper
5. A heartfelt and mindbendingly animated film about fighting against gentrification.
6. A podcast about Latin America and four songs I was bumping at the gym.

If you're interested in seeing the recommendations – and supporting Heavy Weather's quest to keep tabs on collapse – you can become a paid subscriber by clicking the button below. Paid subscribers get access to the MEDIA LIST, a comprehensive list of every book, movie, and video game I've ever recommended. If you're already a paid subscriber, thank you very much! This newsletter would literally not be possible without your support.

Updates:

Have two Act 22-related updates for you today, dear reader.

A previous version of this section read that an arrest warrant was issued on January 5, which reflected what PACER showed at the time. However, PACER has since updated to show that the warrant was returned executed on December 17, 2025 and that the docket had been updated to reflect that. This section has been updated to reflect what PACER says.

Ederle is an Act 22 decree holder who the IRS has been trying to force to hand over tax documents for about a year. As Heavy Weather reported, Ederle had previously been arrested on a bench warrant to get him to show up in court, and was then let go. He agreed to hand over all the documents the IRS was requesting by Jan. 7.

A motion filed on January 8 shows that the U.S. Government and Ederle filed a joint motion for extension of time for Ederle to hand over the documents until January 21.

You can find the notification here.

The second bit of news is that Andrew Stranberg, an investor, sued Ali Latieh Jassim, former advisor to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, VP of the United Arab Emirates, and an Act 22 decree holder for allegedly inducing him to invest $1.6 million into Blockchain Consulting Group, LLC through misrepresentations about the company and Jassim's stake in it.

Under the advise of Jassim, who the lawsuit alleges is an unregistered dealmaker, Stranberg poured the money across three separate transactions in 2020 and claims he never saw a return on investment. The complaint alleges that Jassim presented the investment as a sure thing even though he has no executive position in the company and exaggerated his personal investment in the company, per the complaint.

Jassim convinced Stranberg by hyping up the company and his investment, allegedly saying "I'm going in big into this. This thing can be a 100x plus play" in August 2022, among other things. However, Jassim had only allegedly invested a little under a million dollars when he was claiming it was "over 3m," per the complaint. When Stranberg requested information about the company's operation or financial condition, Jassim allegedly brushed him off by saying "We can't ask for bank statements of a company. I would never divulge that" in September 2022. Per the document, Jassim allegedly continued defending the investment and the company as late as May 2024.

And it wasn't until January 2024 when Stranberg, per the document, was able to get his hands on wire confirmations that directly contradicted Jassims representations about the company. The blockchain company had already collapse by that point.

The lawsuit alleges nine counts, among them violations of the Securities Exchange Act, the Puerto Rico Uniform Securities Act, and being an unregistered broker-dealer. Stranberg is trying to get his $1.6 million in damages back and a court declaration voiding the contract he had with Jassim.

You can find the complaint here.

What I Did This Week:

This Weather Report was supposed to go out yesterday, but I was waiting until I published this piece for The Latino Newsletter. The U.S. attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro is pretty much immoral and illegal by any stretch of the imagination, and it will quickly become the precedent for more U.S. interventions as the Trump administration grows bolder.

I spoke with three Venezuelans, one in Caracas and two outside the country, all of which who have differing sentiments about Maduro's kidnapping. One wants him back, the two others are glad to see him go but are worried about what this could mean for Venezuelan and Latin American sovereignty. Meanwhile, as F-22 Raptors lie in wait at Roosevelt Roads Naval Base, the threat of another U.S. attack still hangs in the background. Two international politics experts told me that this attack set a very dangerous precedent, which could cascade into more and more danger for the region.

Venezuelans React to Maduro’s Capture

Following the Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela and the subsequent capture of President Nicolás Maduro, the future of the oil-rich country is uncertain.

The Latino NewsletterCarlos Berríos Polanco

That's it for this week's free stuff. If you want to see the media recommendations and the link roundup, you can become a paid subscriber today.