The President's Daily Brief - March 7th, 2024: Houthi’s Fatal Blow, Haitian Anarchy, & Zelensky’s Drone Scare

Episode Date: March 7, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A deadly new phase in the Gulf of Aden: Yemen's Houthi rebels mount a lethal attack on a commercial ship. Turmoil in Haiti reaches a new peak as the Prime Minister seeks refuge in the United States amid rising chaos. A narrow escape for Ukrainian President Zelensky after a Russian drone explosion near his motorcade in Odesa. New York's battle against crime intensifies, with Governor Hochul deploying the National Guard and state police for subway security checks. 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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You talking to me? Kayak, got that right. This podcast is sponsored by Blackout. coffee. Start your day off the right way with a delicious cup of American-made Blackout Coffee, family-owned, premium coffee, fresh-roasted, and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackout coffee.com, promo code PDB for 20% off your first purchase. It's Thursday, 7 March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Today's top story takes us to the Gulf of the Gulf of the Gulf of the United States.

of Aden, where tensions have once again ratcheted up. The Iranian-backed Khuti rebels in Yemen have attacked yet another commercial ship, and for the first time since beginning their constant assault on commercial shipping, there are multiple fatalities. Later in the show, the situation in Haiti continues to intensify with the country's prime minister arriving on American soil as his nation descends into anarchy. Plus, a close call for Ukrainian president, Zelensky as a Russian drone detonates just yards from his motorcade during a visit to the coastal city of Odessa. And finally, in today's back of the brief, New York Governor Kathy Hokel is set to deploy 1,000 National Guard troops and state police to perform bag checks in New York

City's subway system. This move is in response to the surge in violent crime in some of the city's busiest transit stations. But first, today's PDB spotlight. It was only a matter of time, but Houthi attacks on commercial shipping off the coast of Yemen have finally turned deadly. According to the British Embassy in Yemen's capital of Sanaa, an attack carried out by the group on Wednesday killed at least two sailors on a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden. The attack took place at around 3.30 a.m. Eastern time, when an anti-ship ballistic missile

struck a Liberian-owned bulk carrier called the True Confidence near Yemen, after the militant group issued a warning to the vessel to leave the area. The full extent of the damage to the ship still remains unclear, but the crew was forced to abandon the ship and deploy lifeboats. The crew was later rescued by ships from the U.S. and Indian navies. Now, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike. A spokesperson delivered a statement on Wednesday saying, quote, the targeting operation came after the ship's crew rejected warning messages from the

Yemeni naval forces, end quote. During a briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the deaths were, quote, sadly inevitable. Miller told reporters, quote, the Houtis have continued to launch these reckless attacks with no regard for the well-being of innocent civilians who are transiting through the Red Sea, and now they've unfortunately, and tragically killed innocent civilians. To date, the Houthis have launched more than 45 missile and drone attacks against commercial and U.S. and coalition naval vessels operating in the Red Sea. This latest attack came a day after a U.S. Navy destroyer shot down drones and a missile that had been launched towards a warship. It looks like the Houthis have been busy this week

also multitasking, because in addition to their continued attacks on global shipping, they also continue their efforts to disrupt vital infrastructure. On Monday, officials revealed that three cables under the Red Sea that provide global internet and telecommunications were cut. A Hong Kong-based telecommunications company that operates some of the lines said the cuts affected some 25% of digital traffic flowing through the Red Sea. Now, this isn't the first time that the Houthis have targeted the underwater lines. We reported on a similar attack that took place late last month. for their part the hootis have denied targeting the cables we had nothing to do with anything instead blaming the disruptions on british and u.s military operations Now, if nothing else, these latest actions by the Iran-backed militants show that coalition efforts

to rein in the group have not been successful. And that last sentence, well, that was today's PDB statement of the obvious. The limited counterstrikes on Houthi facilities and weapon systems have clearly done nothing to deter their activities. And as we've mentioned a few times in the past here on the PDB, if the Iranian regime and the IRGC instructed the Houthis to cease and desist, Well, they would. But the Iranian leadership hasn't felt any pain for the actions of their proxies. And so there's little to no likelihood that things will change in the short term. All right, before we go to break, I do want to thank everyone who's signed up for the President's Daily Brief Premium membership,

which we launched earlier this week. If you want to listen to the show, add free, and get access to exclusive member content, you can sign up at PDB Premium.com. coming up next. We examine Haiti's escalating crisis as the prime minister lands in the U.S. seeking aid amid spiraling gang violence back home. Also ahead, a narrow escape for Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Mitsultakis when a Russian drone explodes mere yards from their motorcade in Odessa.

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participating stores only while supplies lastly out for full terms. Welcome back. I want to return to our coverage of Haiti. which was plunged into violence over the weekend after gangs launched highly coordinated attacks on law enforcement and state institutions, burning down at least eight police stations and releasing thousands of hardened criminals from two prisons. The government declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday to address the violence, but the gangs have since largely taken over the Haitian capital, with police retreating from the city's downtown area. Complicating matters,

the violence broke out while the embattled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henri was out of the country on a diplomatic trip to Kenya. As Haiti was already mired in violence, Ulri was in Kenya to sign an agreement authorizing a Kenyan-led UN mission of a thousand police officers to Haiti to help try and restore order. Gang leaders cited Henri's deal with Kenya as a catalyst for their violence, claiming Henri would wield any foreign police aid as a personal tool to maintain his grip on power. On Wednesday, they promised civil war if Henri does not resign. Now, amid the chaos, Henri had planned to return to Haiti via the U.S. and the Dominican Republic, but he was diverted to Puerto Rico on Tuesday for unknown reasons.

He can't fly directly to Haiti as gangs have taken control of the country's international airport. U.S. officials reportedly called Omri mid-flight. to pressure him to step aside to allow a transitional administration to take the reins. U.S. diplomats hope this could quell the violence and eventually allow elections to be held, something that hasn't taken place in Haiti since 2016. U.S. officials were quick to push back against reports saying that they asked Al Reid to resign, and they poured cold water on rumors that the U.S. was considering deploying troops to Haiti. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said,

Wednesday, quote, we are urging him to expedite the transition to an empowered and inclusive governance structure, which the U.S. hopes would make way for an international force to help Haitian national police fight the armed gangs. Now, to fully understand the situation facing Haiti, it's worth quickly revisiting just how Henri ended up in such a precarious position. Henri was tapped to become prime minister by former Haitian president, Gauvinel Mouis, just two months. before Moise's assassination in July of 2021. After a power struggle, Henri took control of the government without an election, leaving many, of course, to question his legitimacy.

Critics also say he's utterly failed to deal with the country's myriad crises and reneged on his promise to hold elections in 2023. Under his reign, gangs have expanded their control of the country, with roughly 80% of the capital estimated to have been under their control even before the outbreak of violence this weekend. Since the gang revolt began, the UN estimates that roughly 15,000 people have been displaced from their homes. The situation is extremely difficult, as Haitian authorities are severely outnumbered. As we discussed on Monday here on the PDB, there are over roughly 200 gangs operating in the country and only approximately 10,000 police

officers to deal with them. All right. Shifting our focus to the war in Ukraine, a missile strike by Russia on Wednesday came shockingly close to hitting a convoy, carrying the Ukrainian president and the Prime Minister of Greece. President Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis were touring the Black Sea port city of Odessa on Wednesday when a Russian ballistic missile struck just 500 meters from their convoy, killing at least five civilians, according to a CNN report. An unnamed source would acknowledge, of the incident told CNN that the leaders felt the missiles impact and saw a mushroom cloud of smoke rising nearby. Addressing the incident at a press conference on Wednesday an unshaken Zelensky

said, quote, you see who we are dealing with. They don't care where they strike, whether they are military, civilians, international guests, it doesn't matter to these people, end quote. While speculation was rife that the strike may have been targeting Zelensky, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian army said the incident was in no way related to his visit. They said the strike was likely targeting port infrastructure in the city. Now, Odessa serves as the hub for Ukraine's Navy, which frankly has been embarrassing the Kremlin's Black Sea Fleet since the war began, sinking up to a third of their warships. The city is also critical to Ukraine's export of grain, which Russia has been trying to undermine since their invasion. Now Zelensky had been finishing up a tour

the war-torn city with the Greek Prime Minister when the air raid sirens went off. Mitsotakis told reporters, quote, as we were getting into our cars, we heard a big explosion. I think that for us is the best, most vivid reminder that there is a real war going on here. Every day there is a war which not only affects the front, the soldiers, it affects our innocent fellow civilians. End quote. While Zelensky is no stranger to the dangers of active combat zones, Wednesday's strike was certainly his closest known brush with death.

Okay, coming up in the back of the brief, Governor Kathy Hokel of New York announces a substantial security boost for New York City's subway system, deploying 1,000 National Guard Troops and State Police for bag checks amid a spike in violent crime at key transit hubs. I'll be right back. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day,

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Hockel said during a press conference on Wednesday, quote, no one heading to their job or to visit family or to go to a doctor's appointment should worry that the person sitting next to them possesses a deadly weapon, end quote. The move is part of a five-point plan to combat rising crime on New York. city's subway system. The plan also includes the installation of surveillance cameras inside conductor and train operator cabs and banning anyone convicted of an assault on transit from the system for three years. Now, maybe it's just me, but you would have thought that the city would have already been doing those things. The head of the NYPD's transit division said arrests in

New York City's subway system are up 45% this year, 45% and 3,000 arrests. were made in the subway system in just the first two months of the year. Many of them, of course, repeat offenders. Now, there have been a number of high-profile violent attacks in recent days, including against a subway conductor who was randomly slashed in the neck just late last month. Yeah, yeah, the New York City subway system. As Frank Sinatra sang, if you can survive there, you can survive anywhere. Okay, I may have gotten the lyrics wrong, but at least I did it my way. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, 7 March. Just a reminder to check out our Premium membership.

As a member, you'll get an ad-free version of the show, as well as other membership perks, and you can check that out by heading over to pdb premium.com. 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. Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill. Yeah, we've been hearing that a lot.

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