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The President's Daily Brief
December 19th, 2024: Syria’s Drug Empire Collapses & ISIS Prison Crisis Looms
00:21:11
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- [00:01]
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- [00:30]
Mike Baker
This episode is brought to you by Patriot Gold Group. Now protect your retirement assets and safeguard your future. Speak with the experts over at Patriot Gold today. You may have heard me say this before, but they have been the top rated gold IRA dealer for seven years in a row. That's a lot of years in a row, Frankly. Go to patriotgoldgroup.com or call 1-888-621-3856 for a free investor guide. It's Thursday the 19th of December. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And look at that. I'm back off the road after a few weeks in Europe and the Middle East. Here I am back in the compound bringing you the PDB in full VistaVision and surround sound stereo. So let's get briefed. We'll start the show with more fallout from the Assad regime's collapse in Syria, which has reportedly upended the Middle East's most profitable drug empire, pulling back the curtain on a massive trade that fueled war and social crises across the region. Later in the show, U.S. officials sound the alarm over what they're referring to as a ticking time bomb in Syria. Thousands of ISIS fighters remember them still held in makeshift prisons, a security nightmare waiting to unfold. Plus a violent gang crackdown in Colorado. In the United States, police break up a kidnapping ring at an apartment complex overrun by Venezuela's Trent Aragua or TDA syndicate. And in today's back of the brief, Ukraine unveils a cutting edge laser beam weapon reportedly based on UK prototypes that could soon be targeting Russian jets. And yes, I did say laser beam. Apologies to Austin Powers fans. But first, today's BDB spotlight. The downfall of Syrian strongman Bashar Al Assad has exposed a sprawling multimillion dollar drug smuggling network that that helped prop up his regime and fuel addiction. And unrest of course, across the Middle East. Since Assad's overthrow on December 8th at the hands of Islamist rebels, dozens of industrial scale manufacturing and trafficking facilities producing an amphetamine based stimulant have been uncovered. All parts of A side hustle orchestrated by the Assad regime that pulled in an estimated $2.5 billion annually. The massive financial windfalls helped Assad offset the impact of crippling international sanctions during the height of the Syrian civil war, and, of course, enrich regional allies like Hezbollah, who helped facilitate the trade. That's according to a report from the Wall street journal. The drug in question is called captagon. It's a methamphetamine like substance that has soared in use throughout the region since 2018, particularly in the Arab gulf states. Over the years, smugglers have trafficked hundreds of millions of these pills, which are now, unfortunately, wildly popular with civilians across the socioeconomic spectrum. They're used by everyone from taxi drivers, students logging late hours, workers trying to stay alert, and militia fighters looking for a bit of courage on the battlefields. Arab elites are also said to enjoy partaking in captagon recreationally, with the most popular markets for the drug, said to be in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab emirates. The drug's regional popularity fueled tensions between Syria and its neighbors, particularly with Jordan, which has spent the last two years conducting targeted airstrikes inside Syria in an attempt to stymie the activity of the traffickers. But with the ousting of Assad, the sprawling narcotics empire has started to unravel. Rebel fighters began seizing facilities being used to manufacture captagon in the days after Assad fled for Russia, Putting some to the torch. The rebels uncovered these drug factories hidden inside government military bases and other sites affiliated with senior officials of the deposed regime. The Mozeh air base in Damascus was apparently a central hub for the operation, as was a car trading company in the port city of Latakia and a potato chip factory in the suburbs of Damascus, which was linked to Assad's brother. The rebels invited journalists to tour some of the facilities in recent days, where they reported seeing thousands of captagon pills stuffed inside a random assortment of items for shipment, like fake fruit, ceramic mosaics, and electrical equipment. While the captagon trade was hardly a secret, the facilities uncovered by rebel forces offer the first hard evidence that the Assad regime was the primary force behind the drug smuggling network. For more than a decade now, most of the global supply of captagon has been produced in Syria, particularly after Assad began industrializing production sometime in 2018, an expert on the captagon trade told the Wall street journal. You can imagine the manpower, the resources that were required. It penetrated so many elements of the regime, its political apparatus, patronage networks, the security apparatus, end quote. The Annual global captagon trade pulled in an estimated $10 billion per year, with the Assad regime directly netting roughly two and a half billion dollars. Assad's brother, who commanded the Syrian military's elite 4th Armored Division, was oversaw production and distribution, reporting directly back to the former president. The Syrian rebels, led by the militant group hts, have pointed to the narcotics operation as a prime example of the Assad regime's moral and financial corruption. Rebel leader Abu Muhammad Al Jalani vowed to supporters on Friday to eliminate any last vestiges of the trade from the country, saying today Syria is being cleansed. So you ask yourself what happens to serious narcotics empire now that Assad is gone? Well, unfortunately it's a bit like whack a mole. While a short term supply reduction in the trade is expected, analysts say that due to widespread demand throughout the Middle east, manufacturing will likely just shift to other countries as other criminal elements look to fill the void. All right, coming up next, U.S. officials warn of a ticking time bomb in Syria's makeshift ISIS prisons and police crack down on a brutal gang linked kidnapping and torture plot in Colorado. I'll have those stories when we come back.
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Mike Baker
Let's talk security for a moment.
- [07:43]
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Mike Baker
What's going to go wrong?
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Mike Baker
Look, here's the problem.
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Mike Baker
We're going to stay in Syria where American officials are sounding alarm bells over a looming crisis and that would be a potential mass jailbreak of ISIS fighters. Now, as we've reported here on the pdb, thousands of ISIS fighters and their families remain detained in makeshift prisons overseen by the Syrian Democratic Forces, or sdf. That's a US Backed coalition primarily led by Kurdish groups. These Kurdish led forces have led the fight against isis, but their position is increasingly under threat. Originally intended as temporary holding facilities, the prisons now hold detainees in, well, essentially legal limbo as home countries from Iraq and Syria to Europe and North America refuse to take them back. And frankly, who can blame them? The situation has obviously become more complex following the collapse of the Assad regime, and officials now warn that an ISIS resurgence could hinge on whether the US and its allies can keep these prisoners contained. The SDF has been one of America's most reliable partners in the fight against isis. But Turkey, a NATO ally, views the Kurdish led SDF as a threat and has launched repeated attacks on them through Turkish backed militias. These strikes have forced the SDF to divert attention away from guarding prisons to defending their territory. A fragile US brokered ceasefire near the northern city of Manbish is providing a glimmer of hope, though not much. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently traveled to Ankara to discuss extending that agreement with Kurdish leaders, signaling their willingness to maintain the talks and establish a demilitarized zone under U.S. supervision. Still, U.S. officials are rightly so deeply concerned. One senior counterterrorism official described the situation as a ticking time bomb, warning that if Turkey's proxy forces continue their attacks, well, a major jailbreak could be imminent. Meanwhile, critics in Washington are urging the US to do more to shield the SDF from Turkish aggression, arguing that such attacks ultimately benefit isis. Adding to the tension, US forces conducted dozens of airstrikes last week against ISIS leaders, signaling a commitment to preventing the group's resurgence. Central Command chief General Eric Kurilla visited US troops and SDF fighters in Syria before traveling to Baghdad for high level discussions. He issued a firm warning that the US will hold any organization accountable if they support ISIS. As it stands, around 900American troops remain in Syria to train and support the sdf. There are no plans to increase that number or shift their mission, but with a new US Administration on the horizon, the long term strategy in Syria is anything but certain. Alright, shifting to the U.S. police in Aurora, Colorado arrested 14 suspects tied to a brutal kidnapping and assault linked to the notorious Trenda Aragua, or tda, Venezuelan prison gang that infiltrated the city and captured national headlines. The gang members, a mix of men and women, ripped a migrant couple from their home Monday night, taking them to a separate apartment where they endured hours of torture. Aurora police revealed the victims were restrained, pistol whipped, beaten and in one case stabbed, though injuries were reportedly not life threatening. The suspects also looted the couple's residence in a desperate bid for freedom. The victims promised not to contact authorities, only to dial 911 as soon as they escaped. Early Tuesday morning, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain confirmed TDA's possible involvement, labeling the scene as, without a question, a gang incident. The police chief acknowledged the difficulty in identifying suspected TDA members due to limited intelligence sharing between the US Government and and Venezuelan authorities. Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Chamberlain stated, quote, we're not going to rest until every individual who mistreated another human being is in custody, end quote. Homeland Security has also joined the investigation. Now the arrests have refocused the national spotlight onto a complex, an apartment complex called the Edge at Lowry and has been notorious for violent crime. You may remember earlier this year the viral video of surveillance footage capturing armed gang members breaking into an apartment, fueling outrage among residents, state and federal lawmakers, and that became a heated topic in the presidential debates. A recent spree of shootings and break INS has forced several tenants to flee, including a couple whose car was riddled with bullets during a shootout. The couple told local news outlet KDVR it's been a nightmare, describing how they fortified their door with five locks before relocating with assistance from City Council member Danielle Jerinsky. Now Jerinsky has long sounded the alarm about TDA's growing influence in Aurora, accusing state and federal leaders of negligence, telling the New York Post, quote, it will come as no shock to me when they are confirmed TDA gang members. This is what I've been saying for months now, end quote. The city Council member added that Democrat Colorado Governor Jared Polis previously dismissed her warnings regarding TDA's infiltration as, quote, imagination. Additionally, Chief Chamberlain didn't hold back criticism of the current Biden administration, blaming immigration policies for creating an environment ripe for criminal exploitation, stating, quote, we have individuals who come to this country, get dropped off into a community and have absolutely no infrastructure, no support, and no guidance from the federal government, end quote. Well, he would not be wrong in that assessment. Aurora, like many other cities, continues to struggle with the influx of migrants, many of whom arrive from Denver. Ooh, look at that. A sanctuary city that received a minimum of 40,000 migrants over the past two years. Meanwhile, the edge at Lowry is now under police lockdown as authorities intensify efforts to detain additional suspects. Remaining residents grapple with the uneasy reality of living in a city increasingly affected by gang violence and systematic failures with little apparent relief in sight. Okay, coming up in the back of the Brief, Ukraine unveils a laser weapon inspired by UK prototypes with claims that it's ready to take down Russian fighter jets. I'll be right back.
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Mike Baker
In today's Back of the Brief, Ukraine revealed its development of a high powered laser weapon called Trident1. Ukrainian commander claims the cutting edge technology is ready to shoot down Russian jets and could revolutionize their air defense capabilities. Revealed at a defense industry conference by the commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, Triton was described as fully operational and capable of neutralizing targets at distances exceeding one mile. The commander further stated that efforts to improve its capabilities are underway. Notably, this marks Ukraine's first public acknowledgment of the system, positioning it as only the fifth nation to field such cutting edge laser capabilities. So you ask yourself, how does this high power laser weapon work? It's a good question. Triton employs a concentrated beam of light to destroy its targets, an approach that could prove critical encountering Russian fighter jets and hypersonic missiles which can travel at nearly 4,000 miles per hour and evade conventional defenses. According to the Telegraph, Ukraine's Trident system is reportedly modeled on the UK's Dragonfire prototype, following shared designs earlier this year. The British system, known for its precision, capable of hitting a coin from half a mile away, costs just $12 per shot. Ukraine's adoption of this technology could also address Russia's frequent drone barrages with a, well, essentially a cost effective and highly accurate solution. The then UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps hinted in April that Dragonfire's technology could be tailored to meet Kyiv's needs, calling its potential battlefield impact as possessing huge ramifications. Shapps emphasized that the system didn't need to be 100% perfect for Ukrainians to begin using it for the UK. Dragonfire was initially expected to enter service in 2033, but recent developments have accelerated its deployment to as early as 2027 for the Royal Navy. Ukraine's Triton, however, appears battle ready now. That's a development that could alter the dynamics of air defense in its nearly three year long war with Russia. The system reflects Kyiv and the West's increasing focus on on technological innovation to bolster its military capabilities in an effort to counter Russia's aggression. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Thursday 19th December. Look, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at pdb@the firsttv.com and as you've likely read in the newspaper's gossip section to listen to the show ad free. It's very simple. Become a Premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com see, told you it was simple. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.