The President's Daily Brief - December 3rd, 2025: Gaza Militias Declare War On Terror Group & Juan Orlando Hernández Walks Free

Episode Date: December 3, 2025

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A new strategy appears to be emerging in Gaza, as clan-based militias step into areas where Hamas is barred from operating. We’ll break down who these groups are, why they’re rising now, and whether they represent the first real alternative to Hamas’ rule. Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández — convicted of working alongside drug traffickers — is now a free man. We’ll explain what we’ve learned about the lobbying behind his pardon. New reporting from The New York Times sheds light on the controversial double strike against a drug-trafficking boat, with officials saying Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the first attack — but not the strike that killed survivors. And in today’s Back of the Brief — Prime Minister Netanyahu receives a rare brushback from President Trump after Israeli strikes in Syria. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief True Classic: Upgrade your wardrobe and save on @trueclassic at https://trueclassic.com/PDB#trueclassicpod DeleteMe: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to https://joindeleteme.com/BRIEF and use promo code BRIEF at checkout. Lean: Visit https://BrickhouseSale.com for 30% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. your eyes and ears on the world stage. And yes, I am still on the road. And no, despite the wallpaper and apparent poshness of my current digs, I am not staying at Windsor Castle. But thanks for asking. All right, let's get briefed. First up, a new development appears to be taking shape in Gaza. Clan-based militias are stepping into areas where Hamas is barred from operating. We'll explain who these groups are, why they're emerging now, and how they could become the first real alternative to Hamas rule. Later in the show, Juan Orlando Hernandez, you've heard me talk about him before,

the former Honduran president convicted of working alongside drug traffickers is now a free man. We'll tell you what we've learned about the lobbying behind his pardon. Plus, new reporting from the New York Times on that double strike against a drug trafficking boat, officials say Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the first attack, but not the strike that killed the survivors. And in today's back of the brief, Prime Minister Netanyahu gets a rare chastising from President Trump after strikes in Syria. But first, today's PDB spotlight. A new development is unfolding inside Gaza, one that hasn't gotten much attention, but may represent the first credible attempt to build an alternative to Hamas from within the Gaza's itself. Now, as you know, I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to the grand plans for the day

after in Gaza. We've heard a lot of theories, a lot of diplomatic wishcasting, and a lot of arm twisting about who should run Gaza once Hamas is gone if they leave. Now, most of that optimistic planning falls apart once it comes into contact with reality. But what's happening now is different, because it isn't coming from a policy paper or a Western capital. It's emerging from the ground inside gossip from Palestinians who have decided that they are done being ruled and abused by Hamas. A number of reports are shedding light on a network of armed militias forming across the strip. These aren't large armies or political parties. They're smaller, localized groups, often clan-based, sometimes tied to former Palestinian Authority security

officers who are openly hostile to Hamas and operating in areas where Hamas technically is in allowed to function. And that's the key. These groups are working inside what's known as the Yellow Zone. That's territory under Israeli military control, where Hamas is banned from carrying weapons or running its shadow government. In theory, this zone was supposed to keep Hamas out. In practice, Hamas still tries to use the area for extortion, checkpoints, and intimidation. But now, these new militias are stepping into that space. One of the most outspoken leaders is a man named Shoki Abu Naysera, based in Eastern Khan Yunus. He's a former Palestinian Authority, or PA security officer, with decades of military experience, and he's not shy about his views.

He told reporters, the ceasefire has been a, quote, kiss of life for Hamas, because while the world focuses on aid trucks, Hamas is busy regrouping, reorganizing, re-arming, and reasserting control. Then there's Ashraf Almansi, operating a militia in northern Gaza. He's to tied to former PA security personnel, people who remember a time before Hamas seized power in 2007 from the Palestinian Authority. They've seen what Hamas rule is done to Gaza's economy and civil society, and they're trying to provide basic security in areas where Hamas has either withdrawn or been pushed out. Further south, you have a figure named Yasser Abu Shabab, near Rafah, with deep tribal and Bedouin roots. We actually talked about him here on the PDB before. He and his

group initially emerged while the war between Hamas and Israel was still raging. These various clans have long histories of resisting Hamas's attempts to control their territory and impose their ideology on the communities. They're now organizing more formally, acting as a kind of neighborhood security force with weapons, patrols, and a public stance against Hamas. Now, taken together, these groups and a few others form a loose chain along the length of Gaza from the north near Bait Lachia down through Gaza City and Kan Yunus, all the way to Rafa. They're separated by clan structures and geography, but united by one thing, a rejection of Hamas.

It isn't a controlled uprising, by any means, it's not an army, and it's definitely not a guaranteed solution to Gaza's long-term governance crisis. But for the first time since the 7th of October attacks on Israel, we're seeing something that looks like an organic alternative to Hamas. one with weapons and local legitimacy, and the ability to operate where Hamas is supposed to be absent. And Israel appears, at least for the time being, willing to tolerate, or at least not interfere with, these groups. That alone makes this worth watching, because if these militias succeed in holding territory, even small pockets of it, they begin to form what Hamas fears most, a rival power center inside Gaza made up of Palestinians who don't see Hamas as liberators, but as oppressors.

Think of early stage awakening councils, like what we saw in Iraq when Sunni tribes turned against al-Qaeda. I'm not saying this is the same thing, or that it will follow the same trajectory. As I said earlier, I am a cynic, and there are plenty of ways this can go sideways. Militias can fight each other. They can be corrupt. Hamas could assassinate their leaders, Israel could change strategy, or these groups could simply lack the cohesion needed to govern anything larger than a neighborhood. But as a strategy, as a way to slowly squeeze Hamas out of territory and create the beginnings of a non-Hamas governing class inside Gaza, well, it's a potentially viable scenario, and that makes it worth monitoring.

So as the ceasefire continues and Hamas tries to rebuild, keep an eye on the people who operate in Gaza's yellow zone. They're signaling to Hamas and the world that they're not. tired of being ruled by a terror group. And if their movement grows, Hamas's biggest threat may not come from air strikes or IDF ground operations, but from Palestinians who have simply had enough. All right. Coming up next, a friend of the drug cartels is officially pardoned by President Trump. Hmm. And a new report from the New York Times sheds more light on that controversial double strike against a narco-trafficking boat in the Caribbean back in early September. I'll be right.

back. Hey, Mike Baker here. PDB host and of course, fashion icon. Now, I want to tell you about a great clothing company, and that would be True Classic. Look, the guys at True Classic started with a simple mission to bring premium, comfortable clothing to the masses, because looking and feeling great shouldn't come with a designer price tag. And clearly, the people agree. True Classic has sold over 25 million shirts to more than get this, 5 million customers, and in the process have rocked up over 200,000 five-star reviews. This brand is all about helping guys show up every day with confidence and purpose. Their shirts fit where they should. They feel incredible. I can guarantee that, and they don't break the bank. You get that tailored look without sacrificing comfort or blowing

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After nearly two years in federal prison serving a 45-year sentence, President Trump's pardon is official, wiping away a kidnapping. conviction that prosecutors said covered years of corruption, aiding and abetting cartels, bribes, and tons of cocaine trafficked into the U.S. But free is a relative term here. Hernandez doesn't have his passport and he doesn't have legal status in the U.S. And according to his attorney, he couldn't leave the country even if he wanted to. There's no indication the government plans to deport him, but there's also no clarity on where he'll go or what his next steps will be.

His future is, for now, very much in limbo. Now, this is all a follow-up to what we covered last week, when President Trump first announced his intention to grant a full and complete pardon to Hernandez. Now that it's official, well, we're getting a clearer picture of how this happened. According to new reporting from Axios, this wasn't some spontaneous act of mercy. Behind the scenes, there was a sustained lobbying campaign

carried out by Hernandez's family, by his allies, and most notably by longtime Trump confidant, Roger Stone. And one element of that campaign was, reportedly, a letter that Hernandez wrote from federal prison. In that letter, he addressed the president as, Your Excellency, praised Trump's leadership, and portrayed himself as a victim of a politically motivated prosecution. Stone reportedly took up the cause, well, undoubtedly for a handsome fee, pushing the message inside Trump's orbit and lobbying, the president to view Hernandez as a wronged ally rather than a corrupt politician who spent

years enabling cartel shipments into the U.S. From the outside, the whole thing looks less like a reconsideration of evidence, which by the way was solid, and more like an influence operation, one that, of course, ultimately now is paid off. And I'll be straightforward here. This pardon makes a mockery of the administration's claims to be conducting a war on drugs and defending America against cartels. You can't credibly warn the Sinaloa cartel or any other cartel, or announce new drone strike authorities, or talk about hard power along the southern border, and then turn around and pardon a foreign leader convicted in a U.S. court of helping traffickers move cocaine north by the tons. Those two actions can't be squared. The conflict is, well, let's call it glaring. And that's a

statement of fact. It's not partisan politics. These cases matter. These, these, messages that they send matter. And whether it's foreign partners, DEA teams on the ground or families who've watched illicit drugs tear through their communities, partnering someone like Hernandez raises real questions about consistency and priorities. Now, could Hernandez still face consequences back home in Honduras? Well, absolutely. Honduran politics are incredibly volatile, and his return, if it happens, could cause a political earthquake. But for now, he remains inside the U.S. technically free, yet with nowhere to go and no clear path forward. We'll keep following this, because the implications stretch far beyond this individual pardon. They touch on credibility and deterrence

and how the U.S. signals its commitment to taking on transnational crime. Now, one question we'll be looking to answer here is what entities, or who, paid for Roger Stone's lobbying effort, and who else was involved. The good news here is that lobbying records, who paid what to which lobbying firm, well, those are publicly available. If someone, in this case, Stone, was indeed lobbying the president

on behalf of a foreign entity or foreigners, he'll need to have been properly registered as a lobbyist, and those financial transactions are required to be public records. We'll let you know what we find. Speaking of the war on drugs, I wanted to return to that September 2nd double-strand strike on a narco boat. Initial reporting from the Washington Post claimed Secretary of War Pete

Hegeseth ordered the follow-up strike that killed survivors. But New York Times reporting, citing multiple officials, now says there's no firm evidence that he gave that order. It appears the reality is not what the Post first reported. When we first covered the Washington Post account here on the PDB, we walked through the basic timeline. On the 2nd of September, U.S. forces hit a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean, disabling the vessel, but leaving two drug runners alive in the water. American forces circled back and fire

it again, killing the survivors, and sinking the boat. What the administration did not spell out at the time of the initial strike was the second blast and the fact that survivors were in the water. That silence gave the report from the Washington Post room to frame the

follow-up strike as something darker. According to its reporting, Hexseth allegedly told commanders to make sure no one survived, and Special Operations Command Admiral Frank Bradley ordered the second strike to fulfill that verbal directive. The political storm built quickly, of course. Republicans and Democrats alike demanded answers with Armed Services Committees launching an investigation promising, quote, vigorous oversight. That's the buzzword in Washington, D.C., vigorous oversight. The question was, did this mission amount to a war crime by executing shipwrecked drug runners that

no longer posed a threat on explicit orders from Washington. That's where the latest reporting matters. According to the New York Times, five U.S. officials who spoke separately and on the condition of anonymity said Hegsseth did issue and execute order ahead of the 2nd September attack to engage the boat with lethal force, kill the people on board, and destroy the vessel and its cargo of drugs. But those same officials draw a crucial distinction that contradicts the Washington Post's claim. They say Hegeseth's directive did not specifically address what should happen if a first missile failed to accomplish every objective.

The officials also say the Secretary of War's order was not a response to surveillance footage showing survivors in the water, and that he issued no further instructions to Admiral Bradley as the mission played out. In other words, yes, this was a lethal strike, and yes, the written order called for killing the traffickers and destroying their cargo. But the idea that Hegsetz saw survivors and told commanders to return and execute two men is exactly what these officials say did not happen. Instead, Admiral Bradley ordered the initial missile strike and then follow-up strikes that killed the survivors and sank the disabled boat. Two officials told the New York Times that Heg-Seth gave no oral directive at the pre-mission meeting that went beyond the written execute order. Those officials questioned whether the surviving individuals were even Bradley's intended target in the follow-up strike. strikes, arguing the damaged vessel and its cargo remained a threat and a lawful military objective,

especially if another cartel boat might have come to retrieve it. At the White House, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said HECSeth authorized Admiral Bradley, quote, to conduct these kinetic strikes and insisted that Bradley, quote, worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed, and the threat to the U.S. was eliminated. Hegsseth echoed that stance on social media. saying he stands by Admiral Bradley's, quote, combat decisions on the 2nd of September mission

and every strike since. Congress, meanwhile, is proceeding with its reviews. Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will lead a full investigation. On the House side, the Armed Services Committee, under Representative Mike Rogers, is preparing oversight, and Admiral Bradley is set to deliver a classified briefing later this week. All right.

Coming up in the back of the brief, President Trump delivers a rare public warning to Prime Minister Netanyahu over Israel's actions in Syria. I'll have those details when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take just a moment of time to talk about your security, specifically your online security, right? And I want to tell you about a great company called Delete Me that's all about keeping you safe online. Delete Me makes it easy, quick, and safe to remove your personal data online at a time when surveillance, and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. Look, Delete Me sends your regular personalized privacy reports showing what information they found, where they found it, and what they've removed.

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emphasized that Israel needs to keep a, quote, strong and true dialogue with Damascus, and signaled that Washington invested real political capital in Syria's post-Assad recovery. And by pointing back to Al-Sharah's recent visit to the White House, Trump made it clear he sees a path for Syria's future, one that depends on cooler heads and fewer skirmishes along its border with Israel. That's why the timing of the president's posts mattered. Last week, an Israeli raid, which left 13 Syrians dead, wasn't just another border skirmish. It was the deadliest Israeli operation in Syria since Israel seized Syrian territory a year ago,

and it sharpened the politics around the country's transition. Since former Syrian strong man Assad's overthrow last December, Israeli troops have held a 155-square-mile stretch of southern Syria that was once monitored by UN peacekeepers under the 1974 disengagement agreement. Israel argues the move was temporary and necessary and a preemptive shield to keep terrorists from rushing into the vacuum left by Assad's fall. But the international community counters that Jerusalem is just capitalizing on the chaos, pointing to the status of the Golan Heights as evidence that temporary lines can turn permanent. Inside and around that zone, Israeli forces have continued military operations, from targeted raids

on suspected terrorists to hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military sites. Jerusalem is also pushed for a wider demilitarized belt reaching south of Damascus, and that's a demand that the new Syrian government says is a red line. Even so, both sides are feeling out what a calmer future could look like. Al-Sharah, the former al-Qaeda commander turned Syrian president, has been engaged in direct talks with Jerusalem on a potential security agreement. While the mistrust runs deep, Trump's message signals that the U.S. wants both sides to focus on stability, not escalation. Netanyahu insists that he's open to an agreement but won't budge on Israel's security red lines, such as the demilitarized belt. He said Israel remains, quote, determined to defend our communities on our

borders and block any attempt by terrorists to establish themselves along the border. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Wednesday, the 3rd of December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And I hope that if you haven't already, that you'll take a couple of minutes to check out and subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can find that, of course, on YouTube. Well, that makes sense. At President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin.

Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.