The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 23rd, 2024: Cartel Ties To Mexico's President & Navalny's Death Triggers Sweeping Sanctions On Russia

Episode Date: February 23, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     A bombshell New York Times report revealed U.S. law enforcement officials have spent years investigating Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his close associate’s ties to drug cartels, but dropped the inquiry to avoid damaging U.S.-Mexico relations. The Biden administration announced Friday sweeping new sanctions against more than 500 Russian people and entities in response to the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Friday, 23 February. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, a new report revealed the U.S. has spent years investigating the President of Mexico's potential ties to drug cartels, but that they dropped the investigation to avoid damaging U.S.-Mexico relations. Also, the Biden administration announced Friday's sweeping new sanctions.

against more than 500 Russian people and entities in response to the death of opposition leader Alexi Navalny. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Trouble is brewing between the U.S. and Mexico after a bombshell New York Times report revealed U.S. law enforcement officials had investigated Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or often known as Amlo,

and his close associates ties to drug cartels. The report published on Thursday said U.S. authorities spent years investigating aids and confidence of AMLO, based on allegations that those close to him had taken millions of dollars from drug cartels and criminal gangs. Three separate sources told the New York Times that their investigation had yielded evidence that top aides to AMLO, among others, had established relationships with powerful cartel operatives. The investigation, however, was ultimately closed because U.S. officials had, quote, little appetite to pursue allegations against a top U.S. ally, particularly given the difficult border crisis situation. Now, it should be noted that investigators never found evidence of direct ties between Amlo himself and criminal elements. We should also stress that much of the information came from informants, and as you may suspect, information from informants

can oftentimes be difficult to corroborate and occasionally may prove to be false. Still, some of the alleged findings raised significant concerns. One informant, for example, said a top aide for the Mexican president met with a senior leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel just ahead of the 2018 election that brought Amlo to power. Another informant said top aides received $4 million from the Zetas cartel following Lopez Abador's victory in 2018. In another example, it hits closer to home for the Mexican leader. An informant said drug cartels were in position.

possession of videos showing Amlo's sons picking up drug money. Now, a furious Amlo categorically denied all the allegations as, quote, slander and called on the U.S. government to issue a formal response. He added that the situation will not affect Mexico's current relationship with the U.S. At a news conference, however, the Mexican president said, quote, does this diminish the trust the Mexican government has in the United States? Time will tell, end quote. When you rework that quote, just ever so slightly, it comes out as, do the allegations that top aides of mine may have been involved with drug cartels diminish the trust the Mexican government has in the U.S.?

See, it's all in how you string the words together, I suppose. The report marked the second time this year that AMLO has been hit with allegations of cartel corruption. An investigation published by ProPublica in January alleged that drug cartels helped fund his first presidential bid back in 2006. He also has categorically denied those claims. On a more disturbing note, the head of the report's publication on Thursday, Amlo doxed the New York Times journalist behind the story at a press conference, publicly disclosing the reporter's name and cell phone number, along with the address of the New York Times

Bureau in Mexico. It's a serious problem. The information was displayed on a large screen during the press conference, and that Mexican president also read the reporter's personal contact information aloud. A spokesman for the New York Times responded to the incident saying, quote, this is a troubling and unacceptable tactic from a world leader at a time when threats against journalists are on the rise, end quote. Yeah, that's putting it diplomatically. By Thursday evening, Mexico's Freedom of Information Body announced that they had launched a formal investigation into the matter. We should note that Mexico ranks 153rd, out of 179 countries on Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index.

The group says 46 journalists have been killed in Mexico since Amlo's term began in 2018. Now, again, the allegations from the informants haven't been corroborated, but it wouldn't be the first time that the U.S. has made a real politic decision to essentially look the other way when a foreign leader is somehow benefiting from association with or protection of narcotics traffickers and criminal elements in their country. Honduras is a good example. Former President Juan Hernandez is facing trial in New York City currently on drug trafficking and weapons charges, and rumors and allegations continue to swirl around the current Honduran president's family, including President Castro's husband, former president Mel Zelaya,

that they have associated with and protected drug cartels as the cartels move gear into the United States. Coming up after the break, the Biden administration unveiled sweeping new sanctions against Russia, following the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. We'll discuss the implications for Russia's war machine in Ukraine. I'll be right back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon.

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since the war began in Ukraine. However, based on the impact or lack thereof of earlier sanctions, many are already skeptical of the material impact that these new sanctions will have on the Putin regime. The sanctions, which were announced to coincide with the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, came as a response to the tragic death of Putin's leading critic and opposition leader Alexei Navalny last week. The sanctions target more than 500 Russian individuals and entities, impacting major financial institutions, energy producers, manufacturers, and Russia's military industrial sector, and that's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

They also specifically target Russian officials linked to Navalny's death. U.S. officials claim the latest actions will help to strangle their economy and defense sector, making it more difficult for the Putin regime to sustain their war efforts against Ukraine. President Biden said Friday, quote, They will ensure Putin pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home. if Putin does not pay the price for his death and destruction, he will keep going, and the costs to the United States, along with our NATO allies and partners in Europe and around the world, will rise, end quote.

Now, the sanctions came from the U.S. Treasury Department, the State Department, and the Commerce Department, building on sanctions issued last year against more than 200 individuals and entities. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, said Friday, quote, Russia's economy and military industrial base are showing clear signs of weakness, in part due to the actions that we, along with our partners and allies around the world, have taken to support Ukraine's brave defense, end quote. Now, it's a bit of an odd statement from Yellen in that reporting indicates that the Kremlin's cash account is healthier now than it was two years ago or prior to the war, and it does seem as if the Russian war machine

has recently taken the upper hand in the battle in Ukraine. As we discussed earlier this week on the BDP, despite the rhetoric from the Biden administration, the sanctions so far ultimately amount to a symbolic slap on the wrist for Russia and highlight the limited diplomatic options available to the U.S. to counter Russian aggression in Europe. That's not to say that the sanctions will not make life more difficult for those targeted. U.S. and European sanctions against the Putin regime have disrupted their ability to move money throughout the international banking system and have made it more difficult for their military to restock missiles, munitions, and equipment on the front lines in Ukraine. Still, Russia's economy has proved resilient to Western sanctions, with Moscow

focusing on exports to sustain their $2.2 trillion economy. As we covered Wednesday on the BDB, a recent CNN report revealed that the Putin regime is actually flush with cash, thanks in large part to India, who alone purchased some $37 billion worth of Russian crude, over the past year. Notably, this helped Russia avoid the worst impacts of Western sanctions by having India replaced lost buyers in the West. It's worth noting also that a significant amount of that oil purchased and then refined by India eventually makes its way to the U.S. and EU. The U.S. wasn't alone this week in targeting Russia, as the European Union also issued their own round of sanctions, banning nearly 200 people in businesses that have aided Russia's

war effort from doing business within the European bloc. The UK also hit Russia with sanctions, focusing on companies critical to maintaining the Putin regime's ammunition supply chain. I suppose, really, the question here is, why did the West wait for Navalny's death before implementing these latest sanctions? I mean, the goal, one would think, is to aggressively shut off revenue streams for Russia. So why wouldn't the US and EU have laid on all these various sanctions earlier? Well, the only real way of impacting Russia is to actually reduce their ability to sell oil, not half measures with price caps for oil sales, actually working with global partners and

others to get as close to zero as possible. Without significant oil revenues, Putin cannot afford his military adventurism. Now, not to oversimplify, but there are a couple of problems with this. First, we really have no leverage with China, Iran, or even India. and they have stepped up to replace any losses that Russia had felt by the existing energy-related sanctions. And second, as we've discussed on the BDB, there's a domestic political consideration here. With a difficult election looming in November and dismal poll numbers, the last thing the White House and Democratic strategists need to see are rising gas prices in the U.S. Any legitimate, effective effort that would actually dramatically slow Russian oil sales would have a

negative lagging impact on gas prices, particularly since the Biden administration has made clear their domestic war on fossil fuels. Once again, allowing poll numbers and domestic political concerns to shape national security and foreign policy decisions, that isn't a good look. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, 23 February. 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 tomorrow with another weekend edition of the PDB mailbag. It's where we dip into the large barrel of postcards and letters and emails and texts from all the terrific listeners and try to answer your questions.

We, if you're interested, keep the barrel in the PDB snack room, which doubles as the Office for Carl the Talking Intern. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi-vehicle discount, safe driver discount, new vehicle discount, storage discount, legacy. How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usa.com slash auto discounts. Restrictions apply.