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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 22nd, 2025: A New Ally Joins Trump's War Against The Cartels & Hamas Declares Victory
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22 September welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the U. S. Strikes another narco trafficking boat in the Caribbean. We're learning what was on board and which regional ally just joined the fight. I'll have those details later in the show. Hamas is declaring victory today as a number of Western nations officially recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We've been tracking a string of US Military strikes against drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean. Today we're learning some significant new details about the latest operation as well as the broader efforts to curb smuggling in the Caribbean. This weekend, President Trump took to Truth Social to announce that he had ordered what he called the latest lethal kinetic strike on a narco trafficking vessel. He said the boat was moving narcotics along a known smuggling corridor and that three so called narco terrorists were killed when the vessel was destroyed in international waters. At the time, Trump did not specify where the strike had taken place. However, government officials from the Dominican Republic are filling in some of the blanks. In a press conference, their National Directorate for Drug Control revealed the target was a high speed boat operating about 80 nautical miles south of Isla Bayata off the Dominican coast. In a major development, they confirmed this was not just an American action. Dominican naval forces worked directly with the US Navy and marking the first ever joint US Dominican strike against narco terrorists in the Caribbean. Officials also disclosed the rather staggering scale of what the boat was carrying. According to Dominican authorities, the vessel held roughly 1,000 kilos of cocaine. That's more than £2,200 if my math is correct. Crews have already recovered nearly 400 tightly wrapped packages from the wreckage, some stamped with markings like the word men. Likely a code used by traffickers to identify the source or the batch or the the destination of the shipment. Now, to put this in perspective, US street prices for cocaine generally run between 90 and $130,000 per kilo. Even at a conservative $100,000 per kilo, this single shipment would have Been worth more than $100 million. That's $100 million of cocaine now consigned to the bottom of the ocean. That is a lot of blow for Davy Jones locker. This marks more than just another interdiction. Traditionally, US Counternarcotics missions in the past have focused on boarding vessels, seizing contraband and prosecuting crews when possible. What we're seeing now is, of course, an escalation. The outright destruction of drug running boats, lethal force against traffickers, and the involvement of regional allies. For the Dominican Republic, the symbolism is just as important. Officials there called the mission a precedent setting operation, the first of its kind. By joining forces with Washington, Santo Domingo is signaling that narco terrorism isn't just a US Problem, it's a regional threat that undermines Caribbean nations as well. The implications are significant. On one hand, traffickers now face the risk of not only arrest, but annihilation at sea. On the other, Washington is now more deeply tied into Caribbean security, which could mean tighter cooperation or greater exposure to retaliation from cartels and their state linked partners. So the latest update. Three traffickers dead, a speedboat destroyed, 1,000 kilos of cocaine gone. And a new precedent set for joint US Dominican operations in the fight against narco terrorism. And in his post to Truth Social, President Trump left no ambiguity in his message to the cartels. Quote, stop selling fentanyl narcotics and illegal drugs in America and committing violence and terrorism against Americans, end quote. And, and yes, he wrote it in all caps. It's worth noting that many Democrats are now clutching their pearls and choosing to fall on the fainting couch over the legality of targeting and terminating narco traffickers. I'd like to think that they're not stupid enough to side with cartels and traffickers working to bring drugs into the US And I, I frankly don't think they care enough to actually worry about legality issues. I mean, back in the day, they didn't say boo about President Obama's rather extensive drone campaign, but it's Trump. So once again, Democrats take the opposite position and test various messages to see if anything sticks with the voters. Admittedly, it is politics. Look, if President Biden had engaged in this sort of aggressive behavior against cartels, and it's likely many Republicans would have also criticized his actions as questionable or illegal. That's the nature of Washington, D.C. you'd like to think that both sides of the aisle in Capitol Hill could agree on the concept of destroying thousands of kilos of drugs destined for the US and terminating cartel members involved and engaged in deadly trafficking it is, after all, called the war on drugs. And it's about time we act like it. All right, coming up next, Hamas is declaring victory as a wave of Western nations move to recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. ah, so many u diplomats in New York City right now straining muscles as they pat themselves on the back. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me ask you a question about protecting your hard earned assets. 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Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. As widely expected, four US Allies formally recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday, sparking outrage in Israel, rejection from Washington and celebration from Hamas. Oh look, Hamas now has something to celebrate besides killing Jews. The coordinated announcements from the uk, Canada, Australia and Portugal landed on the eve of the UN General assembly in New York. Their stated aim was an attempt to breathe life into the flickering vision of a two state solution. Of course, their real aim was to play to their internal domestic politics and appease their left wing various groups and Muslim coalitions at home. From London, Prime Minister Keir Starmer framed recognition as, quote, a practical plan to bring people together behind a common vision, arguing it was the only way to preserve the, quote, possibility of peace, end quote. And he said it with a straight face. Starmer warned that with Hamas's terror and Israel's military blitz in Gaza City, the idea of two states was fading. Quote but we cannot let that light go out, end quote. Lisbon echoed the same refrain. Portugal's foreign minister declared the two state solution is the only path to just and lasting peace while pressing for a ceasefire to immediately follow. Well, that's clever. I wonder why no one else thought to call for a ceasefire before now. As you can assume, the backlash was instant. And President Trump blasted the recognition as a mistake, declaring, quote, I don't think Hamas should be rewarded. And in a political climate in Israel where unity is scarce, the four allies managed to do the unthinkable. Unite nearly all of Israel's political spectrum in outrage. Opposition leader Yair Lapid branded Palestinian recognition as, quote, a harmful step and a reward for terror. The chairman of the left wing Democrats Party, Yair Golan, called it, quote, destructive. Israeli President Isaac Herog warned it, quote, won't help free a single hostage and it will not help us reach any settlement. And far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben GVIR dismissed it as, quote, a prize for murderous terrorists. The hostages in Missing Families Forum accused the four nations of, quote, turning a blind eye to the 48 Israelis still in Hamas captivity, both living and dead. Hamas, by contrast, hailed the move as a, quote, victory and a clear message to Israel. A senior Hamas figure called it proof of the, quote, justice of their cause, demanding recognition be paired with, quote, practical measures from halting Israeli annexation to ending what he called the, quote, genocidal war in Gaza. Now, I'd like to point out that the wave of recognition appears to violate the 1995 Oslo 2 accords, which bar unilateral steps to change the status of Gaza and the West Bank. Before final talks, the four nations demanded no concessions from Palestinians beyond a letter of intent signed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Now it's worth pointing out that Hamas hates Mahmoud Abbas. But Hamas gains new momentum without offering hostages disarmament or even basic recognition of Israel inside the Jewish state. The fallout is fueling calls from the right to accelerate annexation efforts in the enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu now finds himself with the broad political backing to act militarily as he sees fit in wake of the recognition. Then came Hamas's most chilling move. The Yazidine Al Qassam Brigades released a photo of all 48 remaining Israeli hostages. Again, 20 are believed to be alive at this point, branding each hostage with the name Ron Arad. Now, Irad was an Israeli Air Force navigator who vanished after ejecting over Lebanon back in 1986, captured by the Amal militia and likely handed over to Iran backed groups. Despite decades of intelligence efforts and rumored sightings, his fate remains unknown and remains one of Israel's deepest scars. Hamas twisted that drama into a warning, your hostages are scattered within the neighborhoods of Gaza City and we will not be concerned for their lives as long as Netanyahu has decided to kill them, end quote. Referencing Israel's military push into the urban hub. So what was billed by those nations at the UN As a diplomatic breakthrough looks more like a political boomerang. Instead of advancing peace, it's hardened both sides, emboldened Hamas and left Israel's hostages still in limbo. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday 22nd September. Now if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the first tv.com and of course to listen to the show ad free. That is something you can do and you can do it very simply. 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.