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The President's Daily Brief
February 26th, 2026: Inside Nicolás Maduro's Last Days as Venezuela's Leader & CIA Launches Iran Operation
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It's Thursday, the 26th of February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, new reporting reveals how a five minute phone call between President Trump and Nicolas Maduro in May have sealed the Venezuelan strongman's fate. We'll break down the miscalculation that led Maduro from his life as Venezuela's dictator to a jail cell in Brooklyn. Later in the show, amid mounting pressure on Tehran, the CIA launches a rare recruitment push aimed directly at Iranians. Plus, the United Kingdom slaps sanctions on nearly 300 Russian linked entities after an email blunder exposed a network of illicit oil traders tied to Moscow's energy and military sectors. And in today's Back of the Brief, Moscow is accusing Ukraine of trying to acquire a nuclear weapon with help from Britain and France. Oh, they must be outraged. Apparently, Moscow forgot that it invaded Ukraine four years ago and is responsible for this entire sad, costly conflict. But first, today's PDB Spotlight, we're learning new details about the final weeks that led up to the fall of Nicolas Maduro. The thanks to reporting from the New York Times. And at the center of this story wasn't a missile strike or a special Forces raid. It was a 5 to 10 minute phone call between Maduro and President Trump where both leaders walked away with completely different impressions of what had just happened. According to the reporting, the call, which took place in late November of this past year, was cordial, even light. At moments. Trump complimented Maduro's strong voice and invited him to Washington. Maduro joked back through a translator. There were no explicit threats, no clear agreements, no roadmap laid out for Maduro's exit. And that was the problem. Trump reportedly expected Maduro to outline some kind of serious plan to step aside or at least signal that he understood the gravity of the situation. Maduro believed he was projecting confidence and flexibility. But what Trump heard was a leader who wasn't taking the moment seriously. Ultimately, Maduro ended the call believing that he had the upper hand. He thought he had bought time, that the U.S. military buildup offshore was leveraged, a pressure tactic designed to extract concessions. Trump, by contrast, concluded that Maduro wasn't leaving voluntarily. Now, the phone call wasn't the only miscalculation. It was part of a pattern. And in the weeks after that late November phone call, Maduro's public behavior became another point of contention. He made televised appearances where he danced and delivered slogans in English, moments that were widely circulated and reportedly irritated members of the Trump team, who saw them as a kind of mockery rather than genuine outreach. That perception fed into the White House's view that he wasn't taking US Pressure seriously. Maduro never actually considered resigning, even as sanctions tightened, even as US Officials, intermediaries, and foreign governments relayed warnings. At one point, he floated the idea of early elections in 2026, not immediate resignation, which tells you he still believed he could control the timeline. More telling, according to the reporting, Maduro fundamentally misread Trump's motivations. He believed the White House didn't see him personally as the problem. Instead, he thought he simply needed to identify an economic spoil, something Trump wanted, and structure a deal around it. In other words, he believed this was transactional. And given President Trump's history of deal making, that wasn't an irrational assumption. But in this particular circumstance, well, it was wrong. Meanwhile, inside Maduro's government, fault lines were widening. Maduro reportedly considered firing his vice president, Delsey Rodriguez. He suspected that she was consolidating power, tightening her grip on the national purse strings, sidelining rivals, simultaneously holding the roles of vice president, oil minister, and finance minister. That concentration of authority would normally be threatening to an autocrat, but Maduro didn't remove her. And you ask yourself, well, why not? Well, because he needed her. Rodriguez had become the managerial core of what remained of Venezuela's economy. Oil revenues were under pressure, storage tanks were filling, wells were shutting down. The blockade was biting, and Rodriguez was the only figure with the expertise in operational control to keep the system functioning. And that decision to keep her because he couldn't afford not to, goes a long way toward explaining why she's now in the position that she's in. She wasn't just politically connected, she was economically indispensable. Then there's the tactical layer to this story. As pressure mounted, Maduro began shrinking his personal footprint. Fewer public appearances, pre recorded speeches, a tighter security circle reduced entourage. The intent was clear. Limit exposure, avoid infiltration, prevent targeting. But by consolidating his protective detail and narrowing his circle, he reduced the layers between himself and an external strike. He isolated himself. And in trying to obscure his movements, well, he made himself more predictable. When US Aircraft struck multiple bases and moved to capture him, that smaller protective bubble proved obviously insufficient. Ironically, the steps he took to protect himself were shaped by the same strategic misjudgment that defined the crisis, the belief that escalation would stop short of decisive action. There's a broader lesson here. Regime collapses rarely hinge on one dramatic moment. They unfold through accumulated misreads of adversaries, of allies, of internal dynamics. Maduro misjudged the White House's resolve. He misjudged the leverage sanctions represented. He misjudged how little patience remained. And perhaps most critically, he misjudged how personally he had become the obstacle. All right, coming up next, the CIA steps out of the shadows with a direct recruitment push aimed at Iranians. And a simple IT mistake triggers sweeping UK Sanctions targeting Russia's energy and military sectors. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take just a moment to talk about personal finances and reaching your financial goals. Very important topics. So let's be honest, for many folks right now, it can seem like the math just isn't adding up. You know what I'm talking about. Grocery store bills, utility bills, gas, gas bills, skyrocketing insurance premiums. It can be tough to make ends meet. Even with a steady job. 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And who doesn't come on, check out the Jordan Harbinger Show. It's available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. Jordan sits down with people who've been in the room at the highest levels. From national security leaders to thinkers reshaping how we understand the world. You'll hear ideas and stories that go way beyond the usual sound bites. Two episodes. I'd recommend an interview with our friend Ryan Macbeth on Venezuela's collapse. That's a clear look at how a once wealthy oil state unraveled and what that means, of course, for regional stability. And also his conversation with Douglas Murray where they explore the pressures facing Western democracies and what those trends mean for long term stability. Download the Jordan Harbinger show. That's H A R B I N G E R just like it sounds on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows. Or just go to jordanharbinger.com start to dive right in. It's one of those podcasts that makes you smarter, so give it a go. Welcome back to the PDB in an unusually direct move, the CIA has gone straight to the Iranian people. Through a Farsi language appeal posted across social media, the agency is inviting citizens inside the Islamic Republic with access to classified material to step forward as informants, as sources. Basically, it's an online recruitment drive. The message, which was published on X and Instagram and YouTube, opens with a direct appeal quote, the CIA hears your voice and wants to help you, inviting those with, quote, sensitive information or unique skills to make secure contact with the agency in an effort to expand intelligence. At a moment of rising tension inside the regime, the message opening tells you everything about how unusual this is. It's not a quiet back channel or a classified whisper. This is the CIA speaking plainly and publicly to people living inside one of the world's most opaque and surveilled countries. Now, what elevates us beyond a routine message is what the agency did next. It released a detailed video, walking potential informants step by step through how to make contact without being detected by Iranian security services. Now, the regime has obviously long relied on surveillance and censorship and intimidation to maintain its authoritarian grip. The agency is advising potential sources how to communicate covertly. The message, which guarded millions of views, instructs prospective sources not to use office computers or personal phones. If possible, the CIA advised relying on a disposable burner device. The message told viewers to ensure that no one could see their screen or monitor their activity. Then the instructions became even more specific, use updated browsers, switch to private or incognito mode, and clear browsing histories after making contact. The message strongly conveys the need to consider anonymity tools like utilizing a Tor browser or a virtual private network. Without those protections, the CIA warns, even visiting the agency's website could be visible to Iranian security services. Now let's step back for a moment. The CIA has posted recruitment messages before in Russian and Korean and Mandarin. But a direct Farsi language appeal aimed squarely at people inside Iran is rare, with the last one being several years ago. And the agency has been explicit in past campaigns about why it does this Authoritarian governments restrict information, limit free movement, and make speaking out dangerous. Of course. Now, as we've been tracking here on the pdb, ideological protests inside the regime have been unfolding on university and school campuses for several days. Demonstrations that appear, this time less about economic grievances and more about directly challenging the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic and its leadership. While so far these latest protests do appear confined to universities and schools, that kind of unrest carries weight in the Islamic Republic, where student movements have historically signaled deeper political strain. The outreach from the CIA also comes as Washington and Tehran sit down in Geneva today for renewed nuclear negotiations. And this latest effort of diplomacy is, of course, unfolding alongside the visible US Military buildup in the Gulf. As I've previously discussed, US Forces have surged into the Middle east in recent weeks as President Trump emphasizes that while negotiations are ongoing, military options remain available should Iran refuse to abandon its nuclear ambitions. In recent interviews, officials within the Islamic Republic say a deal is, quote, within reach, portraying momentum and goodwill from Tehran. Yes, Tehran is known for its goodwill. Now, whether the mullahs believe that or are simply trying to control the narrative in order to buy time, well, that's anyone's guess. But the CIA's public recruitment drive makes it clear that when it comes to the regime negotiating a good faith, Washington is skeptical. I mean, after all, this is the regime that just finished murdering thousands of its own citizens and detaining tens of thousands more. Why would anyone start from the premise that they would either negotiate in good faith or abide by any agreements? Alright, now I want to turn to a sanctions crackdown out of the United Kingdom, where an IT blunder exposed a shadow network of oil traders quietly bankrolling Russia's war in Ukraine. London is responding with nearly 300 new sanctions targets. The crackdown follows excellent investigative reporting by the Financial Times, which uncovered a shared IT server used by dozens of companies involved in Russian crude transactions. The digital overlap, which is an apparent operational mistake of epic proportions, allowed reporters to identify sanctions busting entities that had been presenting themselves as independent firms. In other words, companies that were supposed to look separate and distinct were effectively operating out of the same digital back office. By cross referencing those companies names with Russian and Indian customs data, the news outlet identified roughly $90 billion in oil shipments tied to 48 companies. What emerged from that reporting is what UK officials now refer to as the Two Rivers Network, described by London's Foreign Office as a dark web of illicit oil traders and one of the largest shadow fleet operators globally. More than half the nearly 300 new sanctions listings announced by London are tied to entities linked to that network. Now the question is, well, who's behind it? The Financial Times reports the network has been linked to Azeri businessman Tahir Garayev, who has long standing ties to Russian oil giant Rosnev. Now, Goriv has denied involvement. The Two Rivers Group, formerly Coral Energy and now under new ownership, told the outlet it has no connection to the companies referenced in the sanctions or to any alleged network. We have no idea what's going on. But regardless of those denials, British officials say the structure itself tells the story. Here's how it worked. One cluster of companies would purchase oil inside Russia. A separate cluster would then sell that oil abroad by splitting transactions across multiple corporate entities. Traders made it difficult for regulators to match cargo origins with final sale prices. That layering allowed participants to disguise involvement and potentially conceal sales that breached the international price cap. That's a G7 policy designed to limit how much Russia can legally earn per barrel of oil. Breaking that down, it means that this wasn't some rogue trader or a one off scheme. It was a sophisticated architecture designed to keep Russian oil revenues flowing for the war effort even as Western governments try to choke off those revenues. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called this, quote, our largest raft of measures since the early months of Russia's invasion, saying the objective is to disrupt the critical financing military equipment and revenue streams that sustain Russia's aggression. End quote. But oil traders are only part of this picture. The sanctions package expands restrictions on Transneft, Russia's state pipeline operator, along with nine liquefied natural gas entities and 48 tankers. Those vessels are linked to what Western officials describe as Russia's shadow fleet, which as regular PDB listeners know, are tankers operating under opaque ownership structures and flags of convenience to move sanctioned crude. The UK also added nine Russian banks accused of processing cross border payments, targeting the financial plumbing that allows energy transactions to clear. Western governments have increasingly focused on correspondent banking access, forcing Moscow to build alternative payment systems, often involving Chinese financial channels to keep trade moving. London also sanctioned 49 entities and individuals accused of supporting Russia's military industrial base, including Chinese suppliers alleged to have provided goods or technology benefiting the war effort. All right, coming up in today's Back of the brief, the Kremlin alleges Ukraine is pursuing a nuclear capability with Western backing. We'll have the details when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. So what's that old saying? New year, new you? Well, it is definitely a new year, but what if you're not feeling like a new you. Now you know what I'm talking about. 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After your purchase, they'll ask where you heard about them. Do me a favor, tell them the PDB sent you. And in today's back of the brief, Moscow is once again rattling the nuclear saber. On the fourth anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia's foreign intelligence service, the sbr, accused Britain and France of actively helping Kyiv obtain a nuclear weapon. Not just technology, not just expertise. An actual bomb, or at minimum, what they called a dirty bomb. There's just one problem. They offered absolutely no evidence. Well, there's a surprise. Not a document, not a satellite image. Not even vague or uncorroborated. Just a statement timed neatly to coincide with the war's anniversary and ongoing US brokered talks. For background, Ukraine gave up the world's third largest nuclear arsenal in the 1990s under what was then known as the Budapest Memorandum. It's a signatory to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. So for Britain or France, both nuclear powers, to secretly transfer warheads to Kyiv, well, that would fracture NATO. It would detonate the global non proliferation regime, and it would trigger an immediate international cris. The diplomatic fallout would be instant and severe. Instead, we have denials from London, Paris and Kyiv and a claim from Moscow without any receipts. The SVR also floated the term dirty bomb. Now that's worth clarifying. A dirty bomb is not an atomic weapon. It's a conventional explosive laced with radioactive material designed to contaminate a confined area. It creates panic and disruption, for sure, not a nuclear mushroom cloud. And Russia has pushed this same accusation in the past, again without any evidence. Which brings us to the broader pattern. When battlefield momentum shifts, when Western support increases, when negotiations stall, when Ukraine experiences some success in regaining territory, Moscow reaches for nuclear rhetoric. It's meant to intimidate. It's meant to sow doubt inside Europe to test Washington's resolve. And then there is Dmitri Medvedev, former president, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, and of course, Putin's chief saber rattler. He wasted no time threatening the use of non strategic nuclear weapons if the west arms Ukraine with atomic warheads. Medvedev is essentially Putin's online attack dog. His specialty is apocalyptic messaging. He barks loudly, he promises escalation and regularly predicts catastrophe. It never materializes, but it sounds ominous. In his posts on X, he is the boy who cries wolf. Essentially, though, this is all Moscow's standard use of information warfare, a narrative designed to frame Ukraine as reckless, Europe as irresponsible, and Russia as the aggrieved nuclear power forced to respond. All right, that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Thursday 26th February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at the first TV Calm. And should you be so inclined, and hopefully you are, take a moment of your time to check out our YouTube channel. Odd enough, it's on YouTube. Just search up at President's Daily Brief if you like what you see and hopefully you will, please hit that subscribe button. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.