The President's Daily Brief - April 11th, 2024: Zelensky's Trump Invitation, India's Covert Killings, & Venezuelan Gang Invasion

Episode Date: April 11, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: President Zelensky extends an invite to former President Trump for a Ukraine tour amidst election pressures. A new report exposes India's alleged involvement in 20 foreign assassinations since 2020. Dangerous Venezuelan gang members infiltrate US cities, posing a new border threat. President Biden contemplates unilateral border closure in response to record migrant crossings and political strain. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Thursday, 11 April. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll start things off in Ukraine, where President Zelensky says he's extended an invitation to former President Donald Trump to take a personal tour of the country. The comments come after reports that the presidential candidate is planning on pressuring Ukraine to cede territory to Russia if he's elected. Coming up later in the show, the Indian government continues its program of targeted assassinations in foreign countries, with a new report claiming that the nation had a role in up to 20 murders since 2020.

Plus, a new threat emerges from the poorest U.S. southern border as members of a dangerous Venezuelan gang set up shop in cities across the U.S. And in today's back of the brief, President Biden might be feeling the political pressure as record migrant crossings continued to drag down his presidential campaign. The 81-year-old president is now saying he's exploring whether he has the power to shut down the border unilaterally. So it wouldn't be the millions of unvetted individuals entering the country, the significant strain the newcomers are putting on U.S. cities, the fentanyl and other narcotics making the way across,

or the human trafficking that might stir the White House into taking some action. It's the poll numbers. But first, today's PDB spotlight. The U.S. presidential election is still seven months away, but former president Donald Trump is looming large on the world stage. Earlier this week, it was reported that the Trump campaign was workshopping a plan behind closed doors that would bring the war in Ukraine to an end. According to our report in the Washington Post, Trump's proposal consists of Ukraine making some fairly major territorial concessions, ceding Crimea and the provinces of Dhenzsk and Lhansk to Russia in exchange for a ceasefire. Now, Russia would presumably withdraw its troops from provinces of Zaporizia and Kerosan, parts of which it currently occupies.

People close to Trump told the post that the former president has privately asserted that Russia and Ukraine, quote, want to save face, they want a way out, and that some Ukrainians, quote, would be okay with belonging to Russia. Now, mind you, the Washington Post, as well as other mainstream outlets, has never been shy about running with stories on Trump completely based on anonymous sources. So it would be wise, as with every media or social media story or allegation, especially those involving either Trump or Biden, to do some actual fact checking. Since we can't confirm the Post's anonymous sources and their comments, we're just pointing out that you should take any political reporting in the current climate, with a dose of skepticism and a grain of salt. Now, Trump has denied the Washington Post's report, calling it, quote, fake news. However, Trump's denial has not stopped Ukrainian President Zelensky from offering his thoughts on the potential peace plan. During an interview on Tuesday, Zelensky said, quote, if the deal is that we just give up our territories, and that's the idea behind it,

then it's a very primitive idea. Selensky added, I need very strong arguments. I don't need a fantastic idea, I need a real idea because people's lives are at stake, end quote. While Zelensky threw cold water on Trump's idea, he also extended an invitation to the former president saying he would happily host Trump in Ukraine to, quote, see everything with his own eyes and draw his own conclusions. He even said that he had privately urged Trump through intermediaries to travel to Ukraine. Now the Trump campaign responded on Wednesday that there's been no outreach from Zelensky, and that it wouldn't be appropriate for him, meaning Trump, to go to Ukraine

right now since, well, since he's not commander-in-chief. Back in May of last year, Trump told a CNN town hall audience that as president, he would settle the war in 24 hours. That, of course, is a classic Trumpism. As for the war itself, Zelensky said the situation in the eastern regions of Ukraine, where Russia continues to be on the offensive, has stabilized now and called Western analysis of the situation on the ground pessimistic. He also acknowledged that Ukraine's defeat in the war is possible without an aid package from the U.S. Now, regardless of your opinion of Trump, there is some validity to the notion that if there is going to be a negotiated end to the war, it likely means Ukraine will have to concede some territory. The world cared less about Russia annex and Crimea a decade ago

than it did about the recent solar eclipse. And nobody in America was waving Ukraine flags or sticking ice stand with Ukraine bumper stickers on their Subaru's right next to the coexist stickers back when Russian troops first moved into eastern Ukraine. I'm not saying it's right that Putin should end up with the turf he started with back when he launched this invasion, but there's the world we'd like to live in and the world that actually exists. With wavering support for the war in the U.S., and Putin feeling as if he's getting the hand, the idea that the West will suddenly fully recommit to a lengthy war and that Ukraine will

win the day and fully regain all their territory, while that seems less than realistic. But the West needs to continue supporting Ukraine in a significant way if for no other reason than Zelensky needs to be able to bargain from a position of strength. Zelensky's talk about possibly losing the war if the West, especially the U.S., doesn't continue its support, that's not hyperbole. And this isn't a binary choice. It's not Ukraine either wins everything or loses everything. It's how can we drive Putin to the negotiating table and end with a result that benefits Ukraine and discourages Putin from future adventurism. All right, coming up next. A fascinating report

implicates India in 20 foreign assassinations since the year 2020. And a dangerous Venezuelan gang infiltrates U.S. cities, raising alarms, of course, at the U.S. southern border. I'll be right back. Welcome back. I want to turn to a story that's not getting nearly the attention it deserves, involving an alleged overseas murder program orchestrated by the Indian government. The drama has been heating up in recent days, following a bombshell report by the Guardian that found India's intelligence agency has carried out at least 20 targeted killings in Pakistan since 2020, of individuals that they feel are hostile towards India, particularly dissident leaders of the Sikh community. The report alleges that India uses sleeper cells, primarily based in the United Arab Emirates,

to carry out these killings, citing evidence supplied by senior officials from two separate Pakistani intelligence agencies, along with unnamed officials from both sides of the border. The revelation has once again caused tensions in the region to flare, with both sides trading barbs over the unsettling accusations. As a reminder, India-Pakistan relations, which have always been tense, have significantly deteriorated in recent years. The assassination program was reportedly built out in the wake of a deadly 2019 suicide bombing in an Indian-administered city in the disputed Kashmir region, which prompted retaliatory airstrikes by India. The suicide attack left 40 dead and appears to have motivated the Indian government to mobilize covert actions on four

soil against those they consider hostile. For their part, the Indian government has privately denied the Guardian report as, quote, false and malicious anti-India propaganda, though they have not issued a formal reaction to the allegations. On the other side of the border, Pakistani officials have lashed out at India's alleged provocations, saying they've provided irrefutable evidence linking India to extrajudicial killings. They've called on members of the international community to intervene and hold India accountable. On that score, U.S. officials appear to be attempting to stay well out of the fray. They've urged caution on both sides and said their focus is on preventing escalation. As we've previously discussed on the PDB, this is just the latest controversy to stem from India's

alleged assassination program. U.S. and Canadian officials have in the past publicly accused India of involvement in murder plots in both countries. A fatal attack in Canada on a prominent Sikh activist last year was linked to India by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September, that caused a major diplomatic rift between the two countries. Shortly after, in November, the U.S. foiled a conspiracy to assassinate a Sikh separatist in New York City and issued a stern warning to the Indian government

over their alleged involvement. Now, I, for one, am surprised that they didn't stop their operations immediately. Stern warnings usually do the trick. As a reminder, India considers many members of the Sikh movement to be terrorists and has criticized nations with significant Sikh populations like Canada and the UK for their perceived leniency towards these groups. All right, shifting our focus to the border crisis. Law enforcement is sounding the alarm. On the influx of Venezuelan migrants linked to the country's notoriously violent gang, Trenda-Aragua. CPP officials said earlier this week that they're seeing large numbers of gang

members cross over the poorest U.S. border in recent months, infiltrating cities throughout the country. Members of Trenda Aragua are known to be particularly dangerous, regularly engaging in drug trafficking, sex crimes, and murder, according to a report from News Nation. Now, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens pointed to a number of recent encounters that underscore the growing threat. Last month, agents apprehended a Venezuelan National affiliated with the gang at the Texas border, but Owens noted that most appear to slip through the cracks. Last Friday, for example, a Venezuelan National and confirmed member of the gang was arrested by ICE agents in New York City on felony charges of grand larceny. He had previously been released without bail in March

by New York City authorities for illegally squatting in homes and threatening residents with a firearm. Another confirmed member of the gang was arrested in Chicago last month after participating in a drive-by shooting. He had reportedly entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 through Eagle Pass, Texas. That's a focal point of the current border crisis and showdown between the federal government and the states. Rolando Vasquez, an immigration lawyer, assisting Venezuelan migrants, told news nations, quote, that Trenta Aragua is operating in all of our cities at this point. They're everywhere, end quote. Republican senators Mark Arrubio and Rick Scott, along with 19 other senators and representatives,

sent a letter in March, urging the Biden administration to officially designate the Trenda-Ragua gang as a transnational criminal organization. However, there hasn't been any movement on the issue from the White House. The letter asked, quote, how many more innocent victims will have to suffer before we fully recognize and address the grave threat Trenda-Iraga gang members cause to the peace, stability and the national security of our nation, end quote. As we regularly cover here on the PDB, the U.S. border crisis is a public security and national security crisis as migrant crossings continue at a record pace. The CBP is already closing in on one million migrant apprehensions for the 2024 fiscal year and we're essentially only halfway through at best. That would put them on track

for more than 2 million apprehensions by the end of the year, the third consecutive year of hitting those record numbers. Border Patrol Chief Owens has previously called the situation a, quote, national security threat, and for that, Chief Owens is today's PDB's statement of the obvious award winner. He noted that criminal gangs and terrorist networks continue to take advantage of the crisis to slip into the country undetected. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, President Biden faces political heat amid record migrant crossings as the president considers unilateral action to shut down the border. I'll be right back. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new elixir collection featuring three perfume intense scents,

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and independents. It makes you want to meet those three out of the ten who approve of the way he's doing things. It's perhaps in response to these numbers, and by that I mean, it is in response to these poll numbers that Biden is now saying that his administration is examining whether or not he has the power to shut down the border through executive order. Apparently it's a confusing issue over at the White House. In an interview that aired on Tuesday evening, Biden told Univisions Enrique Acevedo, quote, some are suggesting that I should just go ahead and try it. And if I get shut down by the court, I get shut down by the court, end quote. Well, why not? His student loan executive action efforts show that he doesn't care what the courts say. He might as well give it a go

with the border. At least then somebody would be doing something. Biden didn't reveal any specific policies that he was considering. It was reported back in February of this year that he was considering executive action that would beef up asylum standards and shut down the border when illegal crossings exceeded a certain threshold. However, that plan was reportedly put on the back burner after a brief drop in migrant encounters resulted in less intense media coverage of the crisis, not to mention after immediate pushback from his progressive base, many of whom threatened pulling their support if he took what they considered to be any Trump-like actions regarding the border. Biden also took the opportunity to pass blame for the current situation, that's shocking,

blaming the former president for killing the bipartisan border legislation that died in the Senate earlier this year. So the White House wants you to believe that the current chaos at the border isn't the result of Biden policies over the past three years. It's just down to the Republicans blocking a bill over the past eight weeks. Of course, now Trump made extensive use of executive authority at the border during his presidency, directing border wall construction, increasing the number of border patrol agents and immigration enforcement personnel, and enforcing the remain in Mexico policy. Those are all things that President Biden could do now. Perhaps it will just take lower poll numbers in order for him

to leap into action. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Thursday, 11 April. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.