The President's Daily Brief
December 19th, 2024: Syria’s Drug Empire Collapses & ISIS Prison Crisis Looms
19 Dec 2024
In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: Fallout from Assad’s collapse in Syria has reportedly upended the Middle East’s most profitable drug empire, revealing the massive trade that fueled war and social crises across the region. U.S. officials sound the alarm over a ticking time bomb in Syria: thousands of ISIS fighters still held in makeshift prisons, a security nightmare waiting to unfold. A violent gang crackdown in Colorado—police bust a kidnapping and torture plot at an apartment complex overrun by Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua syndicate. And in today’s Back of the Brief: Ukraine unveils a cutting-edge laser weapon, reportedly based on UK prototypes, that could soon be targeting Russian jets. 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 Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
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It's Thursday, 19 December. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And look at that. I'm back off the road after a few weeks in Europe and the Middle East. Here I am back in the compound, bringing you the PDB in full VistaVision and surround sound stereo. So let's get briefed.
We'll start the show with more fallout from the Assad regime's collapse in Syria, which has reportedly upended the Middle East's most profitable drug empire, pulling back the curtain on a massive trade that fueled war and social crises across the region. Later in the show, U.S. officials sound the alarm over what they're referring to as a ticking time bomb in Syria.
Thousands of ISIS fighters, remember them, still held in makeshift prisons, a security nightmare waiting to unfold. Plus, a violent gang crackdown in Colorado in the United States. Police break up a kidnapping ring at an apartment complex overrun by Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, or TDA, syndicate.
And in today's back of the brief, Ukraine unveils a cutting edge laser beam weapon reportedly based on UK prototypes that could soon be targeting Russian jets. And yes, I did say laser beam. Apologies to Austin Powers fans. But first, today's B2B spotlight.
The downfall of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad has exposed a sprawling, multi-million dollar drug smuggling network that helped prop up his regime and fuel addiction and unrest, of course, across the Middle East.
Since Assad's overthrow on December 8th at the hands of Islamist rebels, dozens of industrial-scale manufacturing and trafficking facilities producing an amphetamine-based stimulant have been uncovered. all parts of a side hustle orchestrated by the Assad regime that pulled in an estimated $2.5 billion annually.
The massive financial windfalls helped Assad offset the impact of crippling international sanctions during the height of the Syrian civil war and, of course, enrich regional allies like Hezbollah, who helped facilitate the trade. That's according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The drug in question is called Captagon.
It's a methamphetamine-like substance that has soared in use throughout the region since 2018, particularly in the Arab Gulf states. Over the years, smugglers have trafficked hundreds of millions of these pills, which are now, unfortunately, wildly popular with civilians across the socioeconomic spectrum.
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