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The President's Daily Brief
May 18th, 2026: U.S. Intel: Cuba Planning Drone Attacks On U.S. Territory & Iran Seizes Chinese Ship in Hormuz
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Plus, federal prosecutors have charged a senior Iraqi militia figure tied to Iran with allegedly plotting attacks on Jewish sites in major US Cities including New York City and Los Angeles. And in today's Back of the Brief after President Trump's trip to Beijing, White House staffers and reporters aboard Air Force One were reportedly ordered to throw away Chinese issued gifts, pins, badges and burner phones over espionage concerns. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. New intelligence reporting is raising new concerns inside Washington about what US officials say is a growing military threat emerging just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. According to classified intelligence first shared with Axios, Cuba has quietly acquired more than 300 military drones over the past several years. And Cuban officials have reportedly discussed potential plans to use those drones against targets including Guantanamo Bay, US Military vessels, and possibly even Key West. Now, as an aside, you'll have an armada of Parrotheads invading Havana if the Cuban regime dares to attack Key West. That's just a nod to all you Jimmy Buffett fans out there. Now, officials didn't specify exactly what types of drones Cuba has acquired, though intelligence reportedly describes attack drones of varying capabilities supplied by Russia and Iran. To be clear, U.S. officials don't believe Cuba is preparing to launch imminent attacks. And nobody in Washington is suddenly worried about Cuban drones or fighter jets screaming over the Florida coast. But according to officials familiar with the intelligence, that's not really the point. The concern is that modern drone warfare has dramatically changed the military equation, even for weak states with aging conventional militaries like Cuba. Cheap, difficult to detect drones have become one of the defining weapons of modern conflict. We've seen it in Ukraine. Of course, we've seen it in the Middle East. And now US Officials appear increasingly concerned that Cuba and the regimes backing it have been paying close attention. According to the report, Cuban officials have recently sought additional drone technology and military equipment from Russia while also studying how Iran resisted recent US Military pressure during the conflict in the Persian Gulf. That connection to Iran appears especially alarming to the Trump administration. Officials reportedly believe that Cuban military personnel fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine have now returned home with first hand knowledge of modern drone warfare tactics, including lessons learned from Iranian drone operations used against American forces and shipping in the Middle East. And all of this comes amid what appears to be a much broader escalation in Washington's posture toward Havana. As we reported Friday here on the pdb, CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unusual and unannounced visit to Cuba this past week where he met directly with senior Cuban officials, including members of the Interior Ministry and Raul Castro's grandson, Raul Rodriguez Castro. The grandson is increasingly emerged as a behind the scenes power broker inside the regime. According to U.S. officials, Ratcliffe delivered a blunt message from President Trump, Cuba can no longer serve as a platform for hostile foreign powers operating inside the Western Hemisphere. Radcliffe reportedly warned Cuban officials against moving closer to adversaries like Iran and Russia and demanded major economic and political reforms if Havana hopes to improve relations with Washington or secure relief from mounting sanctions and economic pressure. And perhaps most notably, Ratcliffe reportedly referenced the US Operation earlier this year that removed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from power. Taken together, the messaging appears increasingly clear. The administration is no longer treating Cuba as merely a stagnant Cold War relic. Instead, officials are increasingly framing the island as an active national security concern tied to a growing network of hostile states and asymmetric military threats operating close to US Territory. And that pressure campaign may escalate even further in the coming days. According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, federal prosecutors in Miami are preparing criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro, potentially tied to the 1996 shoot down of two civilian aircraft that were flown by the Miami based humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue. That incident killed four people, including three American citizens, and remains one of the most politically explosive moments in modern U. S. Cuba relations. The potential indictment would mark a major symbolic escalation by the Trump administration, shifting pressure away from broad sanctions alone and directly targeting the 94 year old Castro, who still reportedly exerts influence over Cuba's military intel services and internal security apparatus despite formally leaving office years ago. Cuba, as we've discussed, is already facing one of the worst economic crises in its modern history. Rolling blackouts, fuel shortages, food scarcity and growing unrest have left the Communist government increasingly fragile. Meanwhile, US Intelligence officials say Cuba continues hosting Russian and Chinese signals intelligence facilities while deepening military cooperation with Iran and Moscow. Coming up next, Iranian forces reportedly seize a Chinese operated floating armory ship in the Gulf of Oman, while US Prosecutors unveiled charges against an Iranian linked Iraqi militia figure accused of plotting attacks on Jewish sites in major American cities. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me ask you a question. How many times during the week do you drop 10 or 20 or $30 on essentially meaningless items? Right? Impulse buys or just stuff that honestly don't need those impulse purchases? Will they add up? And by the end of the week or the month, you're wondering, where's your money gone? Well, let me tell you what you could be doing with that money. Acre Gold lets you turn that lost money into physical 24 karat Swiss gold. You pick a plan, you balance builds, and once you hit the price of a bar, they ship it straight to your door. It's real gold in your hand, an asset that's been valuable since the dawn of civilization. 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According to maritime security firm Vanguard, the vessel identified as the Hui Chuan, was operating as an armory, essentially an offshore terminal used by maritime security firms that protect commercial ships. In other words, the vessel was part of the defensive infrastructure that shipping companies rely on to survive in a region known for piracy and increasingly resembling a maritime war zone. And that's where the timing here starts becoming somewhat awkward for Beijing, because the boarding unfolded last week at almost the same moment that President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were holding high level talks in Beijing, where tensions over the Strait of Hormuz became of course, a topic of discussion. Now, right away, one question immediately hangs over this incident. Why would Iran target a Chinese operated vessel? Well, Tehran has been publicly presenting itself as aligned with Beijing. Only hours before the seizure, Iranian state media had been touting what it described as a special understanding with China over maritime traffic through the strait. Iranian and Chinese reports suggested that Chinese linked commercial vessels would receive special transit arrangements and protections for safe passage under new IRGC protocols. But then, less than 24 hours later, the BBC reports, the IRGC allegedly boarded and seized the Chinese operated maritime security vessel operating near the same strategic waterway. Beijing is effectively, of course, Iran's economic lifeline right now, purchasing significant amounts of sanctioned Iranian oil and helping keep the Iranian economy afloat despite years of Western pressure and sanctions. Which raises a bigger question. Was this some type of message from Tehran? Was it an operational miscalculation by IRGC forces were a sign that the situation around the strait is becoming unstable enough that even China's relationship with Iran no longer guarantees protection. Now, the deeper that we dig into the Hui Chuan, the more unusual this story becomes. These floating armories are commonly positioned throughout the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman because of the threat of piracy and maritime terrorism. Armed security teams protecting commercial vessels board these ships, collect their weapons and ammunition and other defensive equipment before escort missions, and then later return the weapons once those operations conclude. Now, the BBC could not confirm exactly what equipment was on board or which security contractors may have been using the vessel. Ship tracking data also showed the vessel operating off the northeastern coast of Oman and the UAE before the seizure. According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Organization, the IRGC seized the vessel while it was anchored roughly 40 miles northeast of Fujairah in the UAE, one of the region's most important oil export hubs just outside the Strait of Hormuz. Shortly after the boarding, the vessel's tracking system went dark, often one of the clearest signs that military activity or covert operations or vessel seizures may be unfolding. Vanguard later reported that the vessel was bound for Iranian territorial waters with ship tracking data showing the Hu Iran now appearing inside Iran's exclusive economic zone. The IRGC has spent weeks signaling that it views control over the waterway as one of its most important leverage points. Iran's vice president recently declared the strait, quote, belongs to Iran and would not surrender control, quote at any price. All right, shifting gears. A senior figure tied to an Iranian backed Iraqi militia is now sitting in U.S. custody after federal prosecutors accused him of helping orchestrate and carry out a sprawling terror campaign targeting Jewish sites in major cities across the U.S. prosecutors identified 32 year old Mohammed Bakar Saad Dawoud Al Saldi as a commander within Kataib Hezbollah. That's the Iranian backed Iraqi militia closely tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Now Katab Hezbollah is not viewed by counterterrorism officials as some rogue local milit. For years the paramilitary group has been designated by the US as a terrorist organization. It functions as one of Iran's primary regional proxy organizations accused of targeting American forces, destabilizing Iraq and helping project Tehran's anti American influence across the Middle East. Authorities say Al Saudi helped coordinate nearly 20 attacks across Europe, including arson attacks at synagogues, the planting of explosives at Jewish schools and the stabbing of a Jewish US British citizen in London. In the US his planned targets included Jewish centers and communities in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona. According to the complaint, prosecutors say Al Saadi communicated with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a Mexican cartel member supposedly willing to carry out attacks on U.S. soil. And prosecutors allege al Saudi instructed the undercover operative to either bomb a Jewish target in New York or quote, set the place on fire and film the attack. The complaint does not publicly identify the specific New York locations allegedly targeted. Authorities say Al Saadi allegedly agreed to pay roughly $10,000 in cryptocurrency and transferred approximately 3,000 up front as an initial payment on the 4th of April. For years, many Americans pictured international terrorism through the post 911 lens. Foreign operatives entering the country, sleeper cells or highly coordinated external attacks directed from overseas safe havens. But counterterrorism officials say that's no longer always the model. Instead, Iranian aligned networks and extremist organizations are increasingly accused of trying to outsource violence through criminal intermediaries, proxy actors online recruits or loosely connected individuals willing to carry out attacks for money. And that creates, of course, a much harder threat environment for Western intelligence agencies to track in real time. The individuals allegedly carrying out the operation may not initially appear ideologically tied to a foreign terrorist organization at all, according to the unsealed FBI complaint. El Saadi now faces six federal charges, including conspiracy to support a foreign terrorist organization, terrorism related offenses, and conspiracy involving bombings of public places. He appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday and was ordered detained pending trial after authorities arrested him overseas and transported him into U.S. custody. An important question now facing counterterrorism officials is whether this was a single disrupted plot or an early glimpse into an Iranian backed proxy campaign already quietly operating across the West. All right, coming up in today's Back of the brief, President Trump may be back from Beijing with talk of productive meetings and goodwill and but the trust issues clearly remain as White House staffers and reporters aboard Air Force One were reportedly ordered to throw away Chinese issued gifts, badges and burner phones over espionage concerns. More on that when we come back. 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Get the TV you love and start watching live sports news and the latest movies, plus your favorite streaming apps all in one place. Switch to DISH today and lock in the lowest price in satellite TV starting at $89.99 a month with our two year price guarantee. Call 888-add-D dish or visit dish.com today in today's Back of the brief, President Trump's summit in Beijing may have projected cooperation and goodwill between Washington and Beijing. But by the steps of Air Force One, staffers and reporters were seen throwing away Chinese issued items before boarding the flight home. Now, right away, we're not talking about some diplomatic blow up here. As we've been monitoring, the summit itself was cordial. Trump at one point was even talking about extremely positive and productive meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. And on the surface, both governments were projecting stability. But then, almost immediately after the meetings wrapped up, White House staffers and reporters were reportedly being told to throw away Chinese issued pins and badges, burner phones, and other items before flying back to the US and that should tell you quite a bit about where the trust level between Washington and Beijing actually stands. We're learning from reports in the White House press pool that those traveling with the President were instructed to toss the items into a disposal bin positioned near the bottom of the aircraft that reportedly included commemorative summit pins, Chinese issued credential badges, and temporary burner phones used during the trip. You can even see the massive trash bins of summit collectibles posted across social media with one post by Emily who's the White House correspondent for the New York Post. She wrote on X, quote, nothing from China allowed on the plane. And it's much more revealing than it may initially sound. To be fair, this is standard security protocol when senior American officials travel through countries that US Intelligence agencies view as aggressive espionage environments. And of course, China has been at the top of that list for years. One of the clearest examples of that mindset may be the burner phones, because those devices reveal the assumptions that American officials are already operating under before these trips even begin. They're designed for temporary use in hostile or heavily monitored environments where compromise is usually assumed rather than feared. So once the trip ends, the phones are discarded rather than brought back into secure government systems or communications networks. And that same mindset increasingly applies to almost anything originating from Beijing. One question naturally emerges from all of this. If both governments are operating with this level of suspicion toward one another, how stable is the relationship? Because the reality is Washington increasingly views China not simply as a competitor, but as an adversary capable of penetrating American institutions, stealing sensitive technology, surveilling communications, and projecting influence far beyond its borders. And that's because, well, the CCP is an adversary and they do penetrate American institutions, steel sensitive technology, surveil communications and aggressively work to project influence beyond its borders. Now, from Beijing's perspective, the CCP officials continue viewing the US as actively trying to contain China's rise economically, militarily and technologically. So while both sides continue talking about cooperation and goodwill and friendship, well, at the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Monday 18th May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the firsttv.com and I hope you had a chance to catch the latest episode of our weekend show. That would of course be the PDB Situation Report. If not, it's always available on our YouTube channel. Just wander on over to YouTube and search up at President's Daily Brief. And if you like what you see, well I hope you'll hit that subscribe button. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDP Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Tired of juggling sales tools or spending hours on prospecting just to book a few meetings? Meet Apollo, the go to market platform for finding leads, connecting with buyers and closing deals all in one place. Apollo gives you access to over 210 million contacts and AI that handles all your busy work finding leads, drafting emails and even prioritizing your day. So stop paying for five different sales tools when one does it all. 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