The President's Daily Brief
December 26th, 2025: Cuba Is On The Verge Of Total Collapse & Fighting Erupts In Syria
26 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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It's Friday, the 26th of December. Oh, happy Boxing Day. And welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Cuba is teetering on the edge as a U.S. oil blockade aimed at Venezuela cuts fuel supplies to Havana, plunging the island into blackouts and shortages and a growing exodus.
I'll have those details later in the show. The Trump administration orders nearly 30 Biden appointed U.S. ambassadors home, creating major gaps in the diplomatic corps, even as the White House pushes diplomacy abroad.
Plus, instability appears to be growing inside Syria, with gun battles in Aleppo breaking out even as talks continue over folding Kurdish forces into the regime's security apparatus. And in today's Back of the Brief, here's one. Kim Jong-un cuts the ribbon on a luxury resort, pitching high-end tourism in one of the most isolated countries on Earth.
Yeah, I hadn't had that on my travel plans, but I'm going to rethink those travel plans. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. Today's story comes from the Wall Street Journal, reported by the paper's South American bureau chief, Juan Ferrero, and it's a reminder that in geopolitics, pressure applied in one place often lands somewhere else entirely. As we've been tracking, the U.S.
has been stepping up efforts to choke off Venezuela's illicit oil trade, targeting tankers, pressuring shipping companies, and enforcing sanctions designed to squeeze Maduro's regime. The goal is, well, fairly straightforward. Cut off a major revenue stream that keeps Caracas afloat.
But those efforts are having a powerful secondary effect, perhaps one the administration didn't fully intend, but also one that perhaps is somewhat welcoming. And that effect is pushing Cuba's economy and its regime to the brink of total collapse. Even in the best of times, Cuba's economy lives on a knife's edge.
It produces very little energy of its own, relies heavily on imports, and has long depended on subsidized oil from allies to keep the lights on. For years, that lifeline came from Venezuela, cheap crude shipped in exchange for Cuban doctors and intelligence and security support and political loyalty. Now that oil from Venezuela is drying up. As U.S.
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Chapter 2: What are the current issues facing Cuba amid the U.S. oil blockade?
Young people see no future and are willing to risk dangerous journeys to escape.
And this isn't just about economic mismanagement, though there's plenty of that Cuba's system has always depended on an external benefactor or benefactors When the Soviet Union collapsed, the island plunged into what it called the, quote, special period marked by hunger, blackouts, and, frankly, desperation Venezuela later filled that void Now, as Caracas itself is squeezed, Cuba is once again exposed
What's notable here is how closely Havana's fate is tied to Maduro's survival. Cuba has invested deeply in Venezuela, providing intelligence assistance, internal security expertise, and political backing. That relationship helped keep Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, in power during years of unrest. The Cuban officials are scrambling now to manage the fallout.
They're rationing electricity. They're urging patience. They're blaming sanctions and external forces. But there's little they can do to replace the lost fuel quickly, and no obvious ally is waiting in the wings to step in at scale. For Washington, this raises an uncomfortable question.
The pressure campaign against Venezuela is meant to weaken an authoritarian regime and limit its influence in the region. But that same pressure is now accelerating a humanitarian and economic collapse just 90 miles from Florida. A collapse that could trigger even larger migration flows, strain regional partners, and deepen instability across the Caribbean.
This isn't an argument for propping up Havana, of course, or easing pressure on Maduro. It's a reminder that sanctions and blockades don't operate in isolation, in a bubble. They move through ecosystems of dependency and alliances and unintended consequences. Cuba's economy has always survived on borrowed time and borrowed fuel. Now, it seems, both are running out.
And the Wall Street Journal reports the island isn't just struggling, it's nearing a breaking point, caught in the cross-currents of a regional pressure campaign that may be reshaping the map faster than anyone planned. Coming up next, the Trump administration orders nearly 30 U.S. ambassadors home, thinning the diplomatic ranks worldwide.
And there's growing instability inside Syria as gun battles erupt in Aleppo amid talks to absorb Kurdish forces into the regime's security apparatus. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, as the new year approaches, let me take just a moment of your time to talk about your financial goals, right? A very important subject.
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