B (9:41)

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A (10:12)

Welcome back to the pdb. I want to give you an update on what's unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz. As Iranian threats and attacks rattle shipping in one of the world's most critical energy corridors, President Trump has announced that the US Will step in with naval escorts and political risk insurance for tankers sail the strategic passageway. The Strait of Hormuz sits between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula and as we've discussed, carries roughly 20% of global seaborne oil shipments. As you know, any sustained disruption there quickly impacts global energy markets. And that is exactly why this corridor has become another front in the conflict. The strait has long been one of Tehran's preferred pressure points, and in recent days, the regime has begun turning those threats into action. As we've previously discussed, several commercial vessels have been attacked around the waterway. One ship caught fire after being struck by an unknown projectile, and another was attacked near Oman, forcing its crew to evacuate. At the same time, Tehran has tried to project control over the corridor itself. The regime claimed the strait is closed and warned that any vessel attempting to transit would be set ablaze. Now, U.S. officials say that claim is simply not true. The waterway remains open, but traffic has thinned as some operations operators avoid the passage, worried about exactly the kind of attacks that we have seen unfold. And that's the environment that Trump is now responding to. The president announced in a post on Truth Social that he ordered the United States International Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and financial guarantees for maritime trade moving through the Gulf. Trump wrote that, quote, effective immediately, the program will offer political risk insurance for shipping companies in the region. He added that the Navy could even begin escorting tankers through the strait if necessary to ensure what he described as the, quote, free flow of energy to the world. The move is seen as a bid to cool energy prices after oil prices surged more than $10 per barrel in the days following the joint US Israeli strikes on Iran. And the market reaction has been visible on the shipping side as well. Insurance companies have begun raising premiums for vessels operating in the area and in some cases canceling coverage altogether, prompting tanker operators to avoid the route. Inside the Trump administration officials say the White House is closely watching the economic fallout from the military campaign against Iran. One person familiar with the discussions told Politico that access to the strait is especially critical for energy exports from Gulf producers such as allies Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Simultaneously, the widening conflict has begun hitting energy infrastructure across the region. Qatar has temporarily shut down a major natural gas export facility. And Saudi fuel refineries have come under attack. As we've been tracking, the US military says it has already sunk 11 Iranian vessels since the start of joint operations with Israel. American officials believe future naval operations may focus less on ship to ship confrontations and more on intercepting Iranian missiles or drones aimed at civilian shipping. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration would roll out additional measures to address rising energy prices triggered by the conflic, but kept details limited. He also said the US Intends to eliminate Iran's naval threat in the region as part of the sustained effort to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. Okay, well, while it may seem that all eyes are currently focused on the Middle East, I do want to turn now to South America, where a new front in the Trump administration's counternarcotics campaign is opening. The US And Ecuador have begun joint operations with American special forces advising Ecuadorian soldiers conducting raids on trafficking infrastructure. I want to highlight a key detail before getting into the specifics of the operations, and it's one that the Pentagon has made very clear. American troops will not be the ones carrying out these raids. U.S. forces are providing planning, support, intelligence, and logistics, while Ecuadorian soldiers will carry out the operational missions. And we're already getting a glimpse of what those missions look like. A 30 second video released by the US Southern Command shows a helicopter lifting off in low light and deploying fighters during what US Military officials say is the opening phase of the operation. The command says that the raids are part of a growing regional effort to confront what it calls the scourge of narco terrorism. To better understand why this partnership matters, you have to look at what's been happening inside Ecuador itself. The South American country has seen a surge in violence tied to powerful drug trafficking organizations moving cocaine through its territory. Criminal networks have increasingly turned Ecuador into a key logistics hub, using its ports and coastal routes to move narcotics toward markets in the US And Europe. And while Ecuador isn't a major producer of cocaine, its location makes it very valuable to traffickers. The country sits between Colombia and Peru, which are the world's two largest cocaine producers, making it an ideal transit corridor for narco terrorist groups that move the gear north and across the Atlantic. That growing threat is exactly why Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has leaned heavily into security cooperation with Washington. Noboa has prioritized aggressive action against drug gangs as violence tied to trafficking networks has pushed his country to record homicide levels. As our longtime PDB listeners know, the US has been ramping up its own pressure campaign across the region. Since September of 2025, American forces have carried out dozens of strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, and the coordination between the two countries has been building for months. U.S. southern Command Chief Francis Donovan recently traveled to the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, where he met with Noboa and senior Ecuadorian officials to discuss expanding security cooperation. In a statement after the meeting, Donovan praised Ecuador's armed forces for what he described as their, quote, courage and resolve in confronting narco terrorist networks. Shortly after the meeting, Noboa confirmed that Ecuador was entering what he called a new phase of operations targeting both drug trafficking groups and illegal mining networks. He said the March campaign would involve joint missions with regional partners, including Washington. Now, a few weeks ago, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kane hosted military leaders from across the Western Hemisphere in Washington to coordinate strategies against transnational criminal organizations that are operating throughout the region. So as narcotics networks expand their reach across Latin America and the Caribbean, the US Again appears willing to deploy military assets alongside regional partners to disrupt traffickers and dismantle the cartels and criminal networks. Okay. Coming up next, in the back of the brief new US Pressure against Caracas, as the Trump administration reportedly prepares a criminal indictment against Venezuela's interim president, Delsey Rodriguez, more on that when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take a moment of your time to talk about security, specifically your online security and to tell you about Deleteme. Deleteme is a great company out there working to make people safer online. Now, Deleteme makes it easy, quick and safe to remove your personal data online at a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. Look, it's easier than ever to find personal information about people online. You know, that's. But having your address, your phone number, your family members, information just hanging out on the Internet, well, that can have actual consequences in the real world and can make you vulnerable to all sorts of scams. If you're like me, privacy and protecting your online presence is very important. We all want to stay protected from identity theft or harassment or doxing. And you can do that with the help of Deleteme, take control of your data and keep your private life private. By signing up for Delete Me now at a special discount for PDB listeners, you can get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to join DeleteMe.com PDB and use the promo code PDB at checkout again to get 20% off, go to JoinDeleteMe.com PDB and enter the code PDB at checkout one more time. That's JoinDeleteMe.com PDB code PDB. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take a moment to talk about personal finances and the importance of diversifying your assets. So here's the question. Do you own physical gold? Well, in today's world with its ups and downs and general instability, and I'd say we've got a little bit of general instability right now. Owning gold is something that everyone should consider. And here's a top tip, right? 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C (20:06)

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A (20:31)

Hey PDB listeners, Mike Baker here with a quick recommendation for your podcast playlist. Look, if you like deep, insightful conversations with world class thinkers 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 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. In today's Back of the Brief, we're heading back to Venezuela, where Washington appears to be turning up the pressure on the country's new leadership even as the political transition there remains in flux. According to an exclusive report from Reuters, the Trump administration is weighing criminal charges against Venezuela's acting president. That, of course, would be Delsey Rodriguez, as part of a broader effort to force cooperation from the remnants of the Maduro era power structure. Four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that U.S. prosecutors in Miami have been investigating Rodriguez for years over alleged corruption and money laundering tied to Venezuela's state oil company, Peda Vesa, and are actively readying a draft criminal indictment. The probe has reportedly intensified over the past two months and focuses on financial transactions that took place between roughly 2021 and 2025, when Rodriguez was a senior figure in Nicolas Maduro's government. Now, as our regular listeners know, the looming possibility of an indictment comes at a delicate moment inside Venezuela. Rodriguez, of course, stepped in as Venezuela's acting president following Maduro's capture. But despite friendlier relations with the Trump administration, at least on the surface, the system that Maduro built remains largely intact, with loyalists still embedded across the military, the courts and key government institutions. According to the sources that spoke with Reuters, the Trump administration's play here may be to use the threat of indictment as leverage to start breaking up the entrenched system still loyal to Maduro. And given that the US Captured Maduro and brought him to New York for trial over criminal charges of narco terrorism and cocaine trafficking, while the threat alone would carry serious weight. Despite President Trump's public praise of Rodriguez, the report says US Officials have been pressing her behind the scenes to detain or extradite several high profile figures from the Maduro era, including businessmen and political operators accused of helping move billions of dollars through Venezuela's oil sector. The extradition of such figures would both strengthen the criminal case against Maduro and give Washington even greater leverage over the direction that the post Maduro government takes. Now. There is a twist here. I need to stress that the Justice Department, the U.S. justice Department strongly denied Reuters reporting in a public statement saying that no such decision has been made. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche went so far as to call the Reuters report, quote, completely false and added, quote, not sure how such fake news makes its way to publication. But Reuters quickly responded saying their sources have been vetted and they stand by their reporting that a criminal indictment against Rodriguez is indeed being prepar. Now, if Reuters reporting does prove accurate, it suggests Washington is trying to manage Venezuela's transition with both a carrot and a very large stick, publicly working with Rodriguez to stabilize the country while privately holding the threat of criminal charges over her head. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Thursday 5th March. Now if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me@pdbhfirsttv.com and also if you haven't already, I do hope you'll check out our YouTube channel that's obviously located on YouTube and you just search up at President's Daily Brief. Take a look at it. If you like what you see, I hope you'll 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.