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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 10th, 2025: China Seethes As Panama, US Sign New Security Agreement & Russian-American Ballerina Freed In Latest Prisoner Swap
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- [00:12]
Mike Baker
It's Thursday, the 10th of April. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. The first up, tensions between America and China over the Panama Canal are heating up as the US Inks a new defense and security pact with Panama. And China accuses Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of, quote, spreading rumors and sowing discord. Later in the show, a Russian American ballerina who had been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year was freed by the Kremlin on Thursday in the latest prisoner swap with the U.S. but first, today's afternoon spotlight. Tariffs aren't the only serious point of contention currently between the US And China as tension builds over the Trump administration's push to exert more influence on the Panama Canal. Chinese Communist Party officials are now accusing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of deliberately attempting to sow discord in the region. The latest flare up came during a trip by Hegseth to Panama earlier this week, where he met with Panamanian leaders in the hopes of strengthening ties to counter what he described as China's, quote, malign influence in the region. Now, after a day of meetings, Hegseth announced Wednesday that the U.S. and Panama had officially signed a new defense and security pact that outlines plans for increased military cooperation between the two nations while reaffirming Panamanian sovereignty over the strategic trade passage. That's according to a report from Fox News. Officials said the, quote memorandum of understanding aims to boost military coordination on areas of engineering, security and cyber security to push back against foreign interference. It also seeks to establish a cost sharing model to cover services provided to U.S. warships and auxiliary vessels operating in the waterway, with the goal of keeping it cost neutral. While the broad framework represents some progress for the US Regarding President Trump's stated goal of reasserting dominance over the Panama Canal, the we should stress that the language of the agreement remains exceedingly vague. Officials with the Panama Canal Authority emphasize that the agreement is simply a starting point for more cooperation that will, quote, be developed in later stages. But there are currently some conflicting reports about how comprehensive the framework will be. Hegseth claimed on Wednesday that U.S. and Panamanian officials were finalizing a document that would grant US Warships and auxiliary vessels priority toll free passage through the canal. But Panamanian officials have not confirmed such a deal. And Panama's president has previously pushed back against the concept of granting the US Special privileges in the strategic waterway. Still, it appears slow but steady progress is being made to bolster military ties between the US And Panama. As a further show of partnership, the US Is preparing to deploy the Comfort that's a navy hospital ship to the region in the coming weeks. Now, Hexa's visit provoked a fierce reaction from China, as you might imagine, which the Trump administration has long accused of working to capture the Panama Canal. During his trip, Heath repeatedly warned that China's military presence in the Western hemisphere is becoming too large and vowed to, quote, take back the strategic waterway from Chinese influence. On Wednesday, Hegseth said, quote, make no mistake, Beijing is investing and operating in this region for military advantage and unfair economic gain. They operate military facilities and ground stations that extend their reach into space. They exploit natural resources and land to fuel China's global military ambitions. He added that the US And Panama must work together to, quote, prevent war by robustly and vigorously deterring China's threats in this hemisphere, end quote. He also made it clear that the US Was committed to taking steps to counter China's control over port infrastructure in Panama. It's an issue that has been in the spotlight since Trump returned to office. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, US asset firm BlackRock is pursuing a deal to take over control of two ports anchoring both ends of the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong based company. Though the deal is at risk of falling apart at this point after China opened an antitrust investigation into the matter. Hegseth warned that China could use their holdover port infrastructure to conduct surveillance activities across Panama and undermine US Interests. Though Panamanian officials have consistently downplayed the threat from the CCP, Hegseth bluntly declared Wednesday that, quote, the U.S. will not allow China to threaten the canal's operations. Well, as you can imagine, leaders in China didn't take too kindly to the statements. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry hit back on Wednesday saying Hegseth had, quote, maliciously attacked China, was engaging in a form of diplomatic blackmail and was, quote, spreading rumors and sowing discord in an attempt to sabotage China Panama cooperation. The spokesman continued, quote, everyone knows who wants to control the Panama Canal. The US Side should take a look in the mirror to see who really threatens the security and development of other countries, end quote. The war of words over Panama comes as relations between the US and China, well, continue to deteriorate. As we covered earlier on the pdb, the US and China are now engaged in a fierce trade war, with the US placing a 125% tariff on Chinese goods on Wednesday and China countering with an 84% tariff on American products. So far? Well, it doesn't appear that either side plans on backing down anytime soon. All right, coming up next, a Russian American ballerina who had been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year was released from Kremlin custody on Thursday in a prisoner swap with the US I'll be right back. Hey, Mike, Baker here. Have you heard about the Maha movement? Of course. I'm talking about the Make America Healthy Again movement. It's all about inspiring people to make fitness a priority. When you work out regularly, you feel better, you look better. Come on. You know that it positively impacts your entire being and everything that you do. That's why I'm very excited to be working with Don Mastrongello on the team at Jacked Up Fitness. But their commercial grade Power Rack Pro has everything you need for a full body workout at home. Seriously, this is an amazing setup. You got to check it out. The cable crossover system with integrated 200 pound weight stacks and the Smith machine allows you to do hundreds of exercises. 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- [07:46]
Josh Hammer
The China shop, Donald Trump came in to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. but with his bold reform and rejuvenation agenda comes so legal questions nationwide injunctions, are they constitutional? What's the deal with birthright citizenship? What about the administrative state? Can he actually clean the deep state and end the politicization of the federal bureaucracy? I'm Josh Hammer, host of America on Trial with Josh Hammer. Subscribe to America on Trial with Josh Hammer for your daily updates on all of these questions and more.
- [08:16]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. In a prisoner exchange between the US And Russia. On Thursday, Russian American Senya Karelina was released from Kremlin custody despite tensions remaining fraught between the two countries. As listeners of the PDB know, this is a story that we've been tracking for quite some time. For background, Karelina, a dual citizen and former ballet dancer, was arrested while visiting family in Russia in January of 2024. She was later sentenced to 12 years in a Russian penal colony on charges of treason, all stemming from just a $51 donation that she made to a Ukrainian charity on the day that Russia launched its full scale invasion back in 2022, her detention became a flashpoint in U.S. russia relations. Moscow claimed the donation funded. The $51 donation, might I add, funded tactical gear, medical kits, and even ammunition for Ukrainian fighters. Dollars going a long ways, a charge that American officials, of course, labeled wildly disproportionate. Complicating matters further, the donation was made while Karelina was on American soil, raising legal and moral questions about Russia's reach. Her boyfriend, Chris Van Herden, summoned up the outrage in blunt terms, stating, quote, she didn't do this in Russia as a Russian citizen. She did this in America as an American citizen. The man that Moscow received in return is Arthur Petrov. He's a German Russian dual national and is accused of something, well, far more consequential, helping orchestrate a clandestine smuggling network that funneled US Made microelectronics to the Russian military via shell companies. Now, those components were later recovered from damaged Russian weapons on the Ukrainian front lines. Petrov was arrested in Cyprus back in 2023 and extradited to the US FBI Assistant Director James Smith called his case a prime example of Russia's efforts to circumvent Western export controls after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who led the backchannel talks alongside a senior Russian intelligence official, told the Wall Street Journal, quote, today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia. The exchange occurred in Abu Dhabi. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the development early Thursday, stating, quote, american Senya Karelina is on a plane back home to the US for the Trump administration, the deal marks a continuation of its assertive approach to hostage diplomacy. As we covered here on the pdb. In February, President Trump secured the release of Mark Fogel, a longtime American teacher in Moscow who'd been held since 2021 over a small amount of prescribed marijuana. Approximately 10Americans remain imprisoned in Russia, including Stephen Hubbard, who's enduring a near seven year sentence for allegedly serving as a mercenary in Ukraine. That's a claim that his family firmly denies. The US Designates him as wrongfully detained. For now, the Associated Press reports Carolina will touch down on American soil later Thursday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, while the Trump administration continues to push for the release of the other Americans still held in Russia. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 10 April. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the first tv.com and to listen to the show ad free. Well, you know what to do. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB premium.com I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. It.