The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations

Episode Date: February 20, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, Hamas provoked international outrage with a barbaric display as they returned the bodies of four deceased hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest captives taken during the 7 October 2023 terror attack, parading their coffins in front of a crowd of cheering spectators who shouted anti-Israel taunts. Later in the show, the Trump administration moves to designate Tren de Aragua, MS-13, and a number of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in their latest crackdown on transnational crime. 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. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Ramp: Get $250 when you join Ramp. Go to ramp.com/PDB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Thursday, 20 February. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get brief. First, Hamas provoked international outrage with a barbaric display as they returned the bodies of four deceased hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest captives taken during the 7 October 2023 terror attacks, parading their coffins in front of a crowd of cheering spectators in Gaza who shouted anti-Israeli slogans. Later in the show, the Trump administration moves to designate TDA, MS-13, and a number of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in their latest crackdown on transnational crime. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We'll begin in Gaza, where Hamas turned the release of four deceased Israeli

hostages, including a mother and her two young children, into a bizarre and barbaric spectacle. As we've been tracking on the PDB, Chmass announced earlier this week that they would be returning the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest captives taken during the 7 October attacks. Hamas decided to use the somber moment to stage a propaganda ceremony, inviting local Ghazans and militants to spectate and broadcasting the scenes across Arab television channels. That's according to our report from the Wall Street Journal. The Iranian-backed terror group built a stage where they displayed four coffins containing

the remains of Shiri Bebas, a 33-year-old mother, taken on 7 October, along with her two sons, Ariel and Kifir, who were just four years old and nine months old when they were kidnapped by Hamas, as well as 83-year-old Oded Lipschis, a peace activist. On the backdrop of this stage was a banner with photos of all four victims. Above that was a bloody picture of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu depicted as a vampire, with an inscription that read, quote, War Criminal Netanyahu and his army killed them with missiles and Zionist warplanes. Coffins also had a picture of each victim with text reading,

date of arrest October 7, 2023, along with a photo of Netanyahu over which was written, quote, The Killer. There was also a banner that threateningly read, quote, the return of the war equals the return of your prisoners in coffins, as well as a placard that said, quote, we never forgave nor forgot, end quote. As the coffins were placed on stage, crowds of spectators cheered and shouted anti-Israeli taunts. Among the crowd were reportedly Palestinian prisoners recently released in the current hostage ceasefire deal, and they were supposed to be exiled from Gaza under the terms of the agreement. Among those spotted was Muhammad Abu Woda, who orchestrated a 1996 bus bombing that killed more than 40 Israelis. The remains were then

transferred into the custody of officials with the International Committee of the Red Cross, though the transferer was complicated by Hamas' display. On Wednesday, ahead of the Andover, the Red Cross, called for privacy and dignity in the release, saying, quote, we must be clear, any degrading treatment during release operations is unacceptable. When Hamas made it clear on Thursday that they intended to turn the transfer into a depraved spectacle, officials with the humanitarian group initially refused to participate. But Hamas subsequently threatened not to transfer the slain hostages at all. While Red Cross workers initially attempted to shield the remains from view with large white screens, an official eventually signed Hamas documents on the stage in

Kan Yunis put an end to the ordeal. The Red Cross then transferred the bodies to the custody of IDF and Shinbet forces within the Gaza Strip, who brought the remains back to Israel for official identification. Upon arriving in Israel, the coffins were wrapped in Israeli flags, and a rabbi recited Psalm 83. In a statement, Nenjahu said, quote, we embraced the families and the heart of the entire nation is torn. My own heart is torn, so is yours. And all of the world's heart should be torn because this demonstrates who we are dealing with, what we are dealing with, with such monsters, end quote. Hamas's actions even provoked outrage in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, the country's highest Muslim religious authority, condemned Hamas's barbarity, saying,

quote, what we saw today in Gaza is a disgrace to Islam, an act of blasphemy against Allah, and a end quote. All four the victims had been taken during the brutal seven October attacks from a cabots in southern Israel and spent 503 days in Hamas captivity. Many Israelis had clung to hope that Shiri Bibas and her two sons might still be alive, but those hopes were dashed on Thursday. Israeli officials are currently examining the remains of the victims and a forensic lab in Tel Aviv, though for now, the exact circumstances of their deaths remain unclear. Up next, the Trump administration moves to designate TDA, MS-13, and a number of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

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Welcome back to the afternoon Bolton. The U.S. State Department has officially designated eight transnational crime syndicates, including the Seniloa cartel and the Venezuelan gang Trenneragua, or TDA, as foreign terrorist organizations, all part of the White House's ongoing crackdown on transnational crime. The move follows President Trump's executive order signed on its first day in office, which instructed federal agencies to prioritize the classification of violent criminal syndicates as foreign terrorist organizations. The order set a 14-day deadline for Secretary of State Marker Rubio to coordinate with top national security officials, including the Secretaries of Treasury and Homeland Security,

the U.S. Attorney General, and the Director of National Intelligence to develop a framework for these designations. Acting on that directive, Rubio issued a public notice in the Federal Register on Thursday, declaring that these groups pose a, quote, unusual and extraordinary threat to national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. The designation was made under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It's a legal mechanism that expands federal authority to target these organizations with severe penalties. Among the eight groups named as MS-13, the notoriously violent gang with deep roots in the U.S. and Central America, the designation grants sweeping powers to federal agencies, particularly the Department of the Treasury, to impose sanctions,

freeze assets, and enforce travel bans on members and affiliates. The Order also invokes the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, framing the issue as a national emergency. It states unequivocally, quote, it is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command and control structures. Experts say the designations could redefine America's approach to combating cartel-driven violence. Joseph Humair, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society,

told Fox News that the move is a fundamental shift in how the United States combats organized crime. Humeyer stated, quote, Trump just put all of them on notice, adding, quote, this said, we know you're here, we know you're up to no good, and we're going to come after you, end quote. While the long-term impact remains to be seen, the move provides law enforcement with a broader set of legal tools to financially and operationally dismantle these crime groups within America's borders. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 20 February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And as you've no doubt heard from your friends and family, to listen to the show ad-free,

well, become a premium member of the president's daily brief simply by visiting PDB premium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.