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The President's Daily Brief
October 7th, 2025: Thousands Of CUBANS Join Russia’s Fight Against Ukraine & Sticking Points In Hamas-Israel Deal
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Mike Baker
Learn more@WhatsApp.com looking to diversify and protect your hard earned assets? Well, schedule a free consultation with the Birch Gold Group. They're the precious metals specialists. Just text PDB to 989898 and you'll receive a free no obligation information kit and you'll learn how to convert an existing IRA or a 401k into a gold IRA. Again, text PDB to 989898. It's Tuesday the 7th of October, October the 7th. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And for those of you keeping score at home, today is the second anniversary of the barbaric Hamas attacks on Israel that kicked off this current tragic mess in Gaza. All right, let's get briefed. First up, a new report says that as many as 5,000 Cuban fighters are now fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. We'll look at how Havana became part of Moscow's war machine later in the show as negotiators work to finalize President Trump's Gaza peace plan, we'll break down the key disputes still dividing Israel and Hamas. Plus, the US May soon become one of Ukraine's biggest drone customers will outline what's behind this potential deal. And in today's back of the Brief, the political chaos continues in France, where the nation's new prime minister has resigned after less than a month in office. Now here, I'd normally make a joke about the chaotic French government, maybe toss in a little bit of French language to show how posh I am. But here in the US the government is shut down completely and reaching new heights of dysfunctionality. So we'll just move on. We'll start with today's PDB Spotlight. As Moscow struggles to keep up with the manpower demands of its war in Ukraine, it's increasingly turning abroad for help. As we've been reporting here on the PDB for quite some time, Russia has leaned on North Korea to fill some of those gaps. But now it appears that another country has quietly become a source of manpower for the Kremlin, and that would be Cuba. According to an internal U.S. state Department cable obtained by Reuters. As many as 5,000 Cuban fighters are now on the front lines in Ukraine, serving alongside Russian troops. The document, dated October 2, was circulated to American embassies around the world, instructing diplomats to share the information with foreign governments as part of a broader US Campaign to isolate Havana at the un. That campaign comes ahead of yet another annual vote at the UN General assembly, where member states have for decades called on Washington to lift its embargo on Cuba. The Trump administration is pushing back, using this new intelligence to make the case that Cuba is not a victim of US policy, but an active participant in one of the world's bloodiest wars. The cable describes Cuba as, quote, the second largest contributor of foreign troops to Russia's aggression after North Korea. And can you imagine, just take one moment and imagine what that foxhole looks like with a Russian soldier, a North Korean soldier and a Cuban soldier. It actually sounds like the start of an excellent joke. I'll work on it. It's a remarkable claim, one that shows how far the Kremlin has gone to keep its invasion going and how deep Cuba's economic desperation has become. Now, of course, this isn't the first time that Havana has sent its citizens to fight in Moscow's wars. As a matter of fact, the two nations do have a long history together in that regard. During the Cold War, Fidel Castro deployed tens of thousands of Cuban soldiers and advisors to Soviet backed conflicts in Angola, Ethiopia and Yem. But this time it's not about Marxist solidarity, it's about survival. Cuba's economy is reportedly in freefall. Inflation is out of control, the currency has collapsed, and basic goods like fuel and medicine are in short supply. In that context, Russia's offers of hard cash and citizenship have proven almost irresistible. Recruits are reportedly promised $2,000 a month. Now, that's an astronomical sum compared to the average salary on the island of around 6,500 Cuban pesos per month, or less than $20. But not all of these Cubans even know they're going to fight. According to Ukrainian officials, Russia has been recruiting Cubans en masse, flying them directly from Havana to Moscow under the guise of construction or logistics work, which we also saw with some cases revolving North Korean troops. Once they arrive, many are told the truth. They're going to the front lines. Some of those captured in Ukraine told investigators believed they'd be rebuilding damaged cities, not fighting in them. CBS News obtained videos of Cuban nationals taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces. Lawmakers in Kyiv say at least 39 Cubans have been confirmed killed, though they believe the real number is far higher. One Ukrainian MP estimated that if recruitment continues at its current pace, the number of Cuban fighters could reach 25,000, surpassing North Korea as the largest foreign contingent in Russia's military. The Cuban regime, for its part, has denied any involvement, claiming that mercenariesm. I don't even know if that's a word, is a crime under its laws, and that it's cracking down on human trafficking networks, recruiting Cubans to fight abroad. But that denial doesn't really hold up to scrutiny, as you might imagine. Reports from Washington and European intelligence suggested as much as 40% of the recruits are coming directly from Cuba's armed forces, and that Havana likely receives compensation for each soldier's scent. As grim as it sounds, the logic is practical for Havana. Cuba owes billions to Russia and relies heavily on Moscow for oil and energy financing. By supplying manpower, Havana can partially repay those debts in kind, helping Putin to sustain a war effort that has consumed hundreds of thousands of Russian troops. In an email to Reuters, a State Department spokesperson put it bluntly. The Cuban regime has failed to protect its citizens from being used as pawns in the Russian, Ukraine war. Behind all of this is a reminder that Russia's war machine is showing signs of wear and tear. Putin is now relying on whatever foreign manpower he can get. North Koreans, Nepalese Indians, and now Cubans to plug the gaps left by massive casualties. It's a transactional partnership built on desperation. Russia needs bodies. Cuba needs money. But the cost is being paid in blood by ordinary Cubans who saw in Moscow a way out of poverty and found themselves instead on the killing fields of Ukraine. Now, as an aside, when it comes to Cuba, it's reasonable to ask if there's some other path that the US could take in an effort to one day align Cuba with the west, break their longtime dependence on Russia, and improve the lives of the Cubans who have suffered for decades for the decisions and actions of their leaders. There's always been an alternate school of thought when it comes to Cuba, the idea that instead of maintaining an embargo, the US should economically embrace Cuba, flood the zone with Western goods and an opportunity for the population to see what they've been missing all these years. President Trump is a transactional president. You'd think that he might see the opportunities on island for hotels, tourism, casinos. I mean, it would be a lot easier to turn Cuba into a Riviera than to turn Gaza into a Riviera, for example. Now, is it a complex problem? Well, of course it is. Absolutely. You'd get pushback from The Russians, of course, and the Chinese, who have been busy courting the Cuban government while building out their satellite and surveillance capabilities on the island. And then there's, of course, the Cuban American lobby in the U.S. but the embargo over the decades has done nothing to soften or change the Communist leadership in Cuba. They continue to live well while the population suffers. So perhaps, rather than doing the same thing over and over again, hoping for a different result, well, maybe, just maybe, it could be time to try a different course, or at least to discuss it seriously. All right, coming up next, Trump's Gaza peace plan faces hurdles as Israel and Hamas remain divided. That's a shock. Plus, a massive drone deal between the US And Ukraine takes shape. 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- [10:53]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the pdb. Yesterday, on the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas's terror attack on Israel, negotiators from Jerusalem and the Iran backed group arrived in Egypt to begin indirect talks to try and finalize. I said try and finalize. President Trump's peace plan. Talks shadowed by disputes over disarmament, governance and withdrawal timelines. Yeah, those are all serious sticking points. As for the mediators in attendance, they consist of delegations from the U.S. qatar, Egypt and Turkey. Trump said he expects the negotiations, quote, to take a couple of tasers urging, wow. Urging both sides to, quote, move fast. And he typed that in all caps. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Trump's 20 point peace plan is a concise few page framework outlining a path to halt the fighting, free the hostages and initiate Israel's phased withdrawal from Gaza. Under its terms, all remaining hostages would be released within 72 hours of Hamas's signature on the document. Israeli officials estimate 48 hostages remain in the enclave, roughly 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu predicts the hostages could return home as early as next week. Hamas accepted what he called the quote, exchange formula in Trump's plan, agreeing to release all captives, both living and dead, quote, provided the field conditions for the exchange are met. The devil's in the details. The devil's in the Hamas details. And there's the rub. Hamas wants to change the term of the proposal, it appears. I'd like to point out that Hamas's leverage rests entirely at this point on the hostages, and Israeli officials warn that the terror group is unlikely to give them up before trying to secure concessions on other fronts. And as for trust between the two sides, well, as you'd imagine, it's non existent. Just last month, as our regular PDB listeners will recall, Israel attempted to assassinate Hamas to stop negotiators in Doha. That was an airstrike that enraged both Qatar and the US alike. The first and perhaps most immovable sticking point is disarmament. For Israel, the objective remains unchanged. Netanyahu vows the destruction of Hamas, insisting that the group will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized, either the easy way or the hard way, end quote. Trump's plan offers Hamas fighters amnesty and safe passage to third countries in exchange for full disarmament. But Hamas has long refused to lay down arms without a recognized Palestinian state. That's a red line for Israel and has made no mention of disarmament in peace talks, fueling speculation that the terror group has not softened its stance. That omission is telling. It suggests Hamas likely intends to use the hostages as bargaining chips, forcing concessions before even touching the question of weapons. The second dispute centers on Gaza's post war governance. Trump's proposal bans Hamas from any role in the strip's future government, placing separate control under a transitional body of Palestinian technocrats overseen by a Board of peace chaired jointly by Trump and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Eventually, the governing authority would transfer control to the Palestinian Authority, the PA. Netanyahu has endorsed the framework but balked at the PA's involvement, declaring that the authority, quote, will play no role in Gaza's reconstructed administration. Not to mention, of course, that the PA is widely disliked and distrusted in Gaza. And the pa, on the other hand, well, they would love to take over as manager of the billions in international aid that will inevitably flow into Gaza once peace is somehow restored. Hamas, meanwhile, has proposed forming a unified Palestinian movement that would include so called responsible participation from its members in the revived Gaza government, language that both Washington and Jerusalem are expected to reject as a backdoor for Hamas to retain power. A third and equally contentious issue concerns Israel's withdrawal. Trump's plan stipulates that Israeli forces will pull back based on standards, milestones and timeframes determined by the U.S. israel and international partners. A map released by the White House divides the withdrawal in Gaza into three zones, the first being 55% under initial Israeli control, 40% in the second phase, and the final 15% held as a security perimeter until Gaza is deemed secured from any resurgent terror threat. But the timeline is vague, a loophole Hamas is certain to exploit. And the map presented in Trump's peace plan doesn't align with Israeli operational boundaries, raising questions over clear coordination between Washington and Jerusalem. Basically, it's good. Of course the negotiations are underway. That goes without saying, but no one at this stage should imagine that we're close to a done deal. Turning to the U.S. a Ukrainian delegation was in Washington D.C. last week to hammer out the framework for what will be a landmark defense agreement, one that would flip the script and make the US a buyer of Kyiv's battle tested drone technology. The talks, personally endorsed by both President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky, mark a decisive new phase in the U S Ukraine partnership, a shift from merely arming Kyiv to potentially integrating its defense industry into America's own supply chain. Ukraine's deputy defense minister led several days of meetings at the Pentagon and State Department, described by Kyiv as the preparatory stage for the signing of what's called the drone deal agreement. The Ukrainian Delegation presented technical data and battlefield performance metrics that have dominated the front lines against Russia for nearly four years. In a statement, Keefe's Defense ministry said, quote, the American team noted Ukraine's expertise in developing the drone industry, the production of not only UAVs but also sea drones. Zelensky confirmed the initiative in one of his nightly addresses, saying Ukraine was, quote, working on the issue of exports, controlled exports of our weapons. The Ukrainian president added that some systems are now produced in such large quantities that they can be sold abroad, generating revenue for, quote, the production of scarce items most needed at the front, as well as those that have proven most effective in strikes inside Russia. According to the Kiev Post, the proposed agreement envisions a 5 year 50 billion with a B framework. Right, $50 billion allowing Ukraine to produce up to 10 million drones annually. For Washington, that's a lot of drones. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the US Military has already begun testing several of Ukraine's long range attack drones, the same models that struck Russian oil and gas facilities hundreds of miles behind enemy lines from the Baba Yaga. Bomber drones say that three times fast, which are massive night flying quadcopters built to drop heavy explosives to the Magura unscrewed surface vessels. Those are fast explosive latent sea drones that crippled Russia's Black Sea fleet. Ukrainian designs redefined modern warfare. Cheap, adaptable and effective. By contrast, American production remains concentrated on complex high cost systems like the MQ9 Reaper. An impressive feat in drone technology to be sure, but scarce and very expensive. Ukrainian drones, often built for under $50,000, cost barely 30% of their Western counterparts, yet deliver enormous tactical payoff. An American official familiar with the negotiations said the prospective deal would allow Washington to capitalize on Ukraine's competitive advantage and UAVs, while Kyiv would use the proceeds to acquire higher end American systems such as Patriot air defense missiles, Himars rocket launchers and F16 fighter jets. Western governments and defense firms are hungry not just for the hardware, but for something that could even be more valuable. And that would be battlefield data. Every flight, every strike, every failure feed into a growing data data set that can reshape military doctrine. But despite the looming advantages, this framework isn't expected to be implemented tomorrow or anytime in the immediate future. Hurdles do remain. Ukraine's drone industry is sprawling and diffuse, with more than 300 registered companies and many of those relying on Chinese components that are incompatible with the US military procurement standards. Those details will obviously need to be further worked out. But the very fact that the US is seriously weighing purchases of Ukrainian drones underscores just how profoundly the conflict has altered the modern battlefield. Okay, coming up in the back of the brief, France faces fresh political upheaval. The nation's new prime minister resigns just weeks into the job, the latest casualty of the country's fractured leadership. More on that when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take just a moment of your time, if I could, to talk about protecting your hard earned assets. That's an important topic. Now. Look, gold is up around 40% this year. That's not speculation, that's just reality. 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- [23:00]
Mike Baker
In today's Back of the brief Political turmoil is once again shaking France Prime Minister Sebastian La Cornue has resigned after less than a month in office, making his government the shortest lived in modern French history. Oh look, you're the winner. And leaving President Macron scrambling to restore stability in France's government. La Cornue's resignation came less than 24 hours after finalizing his cabinet, a fragile coalition of centrists and conservatives that unraveled almost immediately. The announcement blindsided much of the country and immediately fueled calls from both the far right and the far left for Macron to call snap parliamentary elections or even step down himself. Macron has rejected both options for now, but the political pressure is mounting. The president's office confirmed that Macron accepted Loco Nou's resignation and has asked him to remain in a caretaker role while holding last ditch talks with other parties to define a platform for action and stability by Wednesday. Few in Paris expect those talks to yield much, if anything. Markets reacted sharply to the news amid fears that France will now struggle to pass a budget bill before the end of the year, a bill that's already critical to addressing France's rising raising debt and deficit. La Cornue was scheduled to present that budget on Tuesday. Now this is the third prime minister that Macron has lost in under a year. Wow. Three in less than a year. That's pretty impressive, a level of instability that was once thought unthinkable. Much of the chaos stems from Macron's failed snap elections in 2024, which left the national assembly deadlocked among a patchwork of left wing alliances, a center right block loyal to Macron and the far right national rally led by Marine Le Pen. No party holds a majority and nearly every vote has become a brawl. La Cornue had been seen as one of Macron's most capable negotiators, but his own coalition quickly turned on him. Conservatives were furious over his decision to appoint Bruno Le Maire, the former economy minister as defense minister, a move critics called tone deaf, blaming Le Maire for soaring deficits during his previous tenure. Facing mounting backlash, La Cornue took to national television to defend his resignation, accusing Francis parties of acting as though each held an absolute majority. He said, quote, I was ready to compromise, but each political party wanted the other to adopt its whole platform, end quote. The collapse of La Cornue's government now leaves Macron increasingly isolated and France adrift, without a functioning majority, a working budget, or a clear path forward. Well, but at least they're not completely shut down. I mean, how bizarre would that be, a government shutdown? And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Tuesday 7th October. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the first tv.com and if you find a free minute or two in your day, and I know it's tough to do, but if you do find a couple of minutes in your day, head on over to YouTube and check out and subscribe, hopefully, to our YouTube channel. That's at President's Daily Brief. As they say, it's a humdinger. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.