The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 10th, 2025: China Seethes As Panama, US Sign New Security Agreement & Russian-American Ballerina Freed In Latest Prisoner Swap
Thu, 10 Apr 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, tensions between America and China over the Panama Canal are heating up, as the U.S. inks a new defense and security pact with Panama, and China accuses Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of "spreading rumors and sowing discord" in the region. Later in the show, a Russian-American ballerina who had been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year was released from Kremlin custody on Thursday in the latest prisoner swap with the United States. 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 Jacked Up Fitness: Go to https://GetJackedUp.com and use code BAKER at checkout to save 10% off your entire purchase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is causing the tension between the US and China over the Panama Canal?
It's Thursday, the 10th of April. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, tensions between America and China over the Panama Canal are heating up. as the U.S. inks a new defense and security pact with Panama, and China accuses Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of, quote, spreading rumors and sowing discord.
Later in the show, a Russian-American ballerina who had been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year was freed by the Kremlin on Thursday in the latest prisoner swap with the U.S. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Tariffs aren't the only serious point of contention currently between the U.S.
and China, as tension builds over the Trump administration's push to exert more influence on the Panama Canal. Chinese Communist Party officials are now accusing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of deliberately attempting to sow discord in the region.
The latest flare-up came during a trip by Hegseth to Panama earlier this week, where he met with Panamanian leaders in the hopes of strengthening ties to counter what he described as China's quote, malign influence in the region. Now, after a day of meetings, Hegseth announced Wednesday that the U.S.
Chapter 2: What are the details of the new US-Panama defense and security pact?
and Panama had officially signed a new defense and security pact that outlines plans for increased military cooperation between the two nations while reaffirming Panamanian sovereignty over the strategic trade passage. That's according to a report from Fox News.
Officials said the, quote, memorandum of understanding aims to boost military coordination on areas of engineering, security, and cybersecurity to push back against foreign interference. It also seeks to establish a cost-sharing model to cover services provided to U.S. warships and auxiliary vessels operating in the waterway, with the goal of keeping it cost-neutral.
While the broad framework represents some progress for the U.S. regarding President Trump's stated goal of reasserting dominance over the Panama Canal, we should stress that the language of the agreement remains exceedingly vague. Officials with the Panama Canal Authority emphasize that the agreement is simply a starting point for more cooperation that will, quote, be developed in later stages.
But there are currently some conflicting reports about how comprehensive the framework will be. Hegseth claimed on Wednesday that U.S. and Panamanian officials were finalizing a document that would grant U.S. warships and auxiliary vessels priority toll-free passage through the canal.
But Panamanian officials have not confirmed such a deal, and Panama's president has previously pushed back against the concept of granting the U.S. special privileges in the strategic waterway. Still, it appears slow but steady progress is being made to bolster military ties between the U.S. and Panama. As a further show of partnership, the U.S.
is preparing to deploy the Comfort, that's a Navy hospital ship, to the region in the coming weeks. Now, Hegseth's visit provoked a fierce reaction from China, as you might imagine, which the Trump administration has long accused of working to capture the Panama Canal.
During his trip, Hegseth repeatedly warned that China's military presence in the Western Hemisphere is becoming too large and vowed to, quote, take back the strategic waterway from Chinese influence. On Wednesday, Hegseth said, quote, "'Make no mistake, Beijing is investing in operating in this region for military advantage and unfair economic gain.
They operate military facilities and ground stations that extend their reach into space. They exploit natural resources and land to fuel China's global military ambitions.'" He added that the U.S. and Panama must work together to, quote, prevent war by robustly and vigorously deterring China's threats in this hemisphere, end quote. He also made it clear that the U.S.
was committed to taking steps to counter China's control over port infrastructure in Panama. It's an issue that has been in the spotlight since Trump returned to office. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, U.S.
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Chapter 3: How has China responded to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's visit to Panama?
All right, coming up next, a Russian-American ballerina who had been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year was released from Kremlin custody on Thursday in a prisoner swap with the U.S. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Have you heard about the Maha movement? Of course, I'm talking about the Make America Healthy Again movement.
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of the US-China trade war on Panama Canal tensions?
Her detention became a flashpoint in U.S.-Russia relations. Moscow claimed the donation funded the $51 donation, might I add, funded tactical gear, medical kits, and even ammunition for Ukrainian fighters, dollars going a long ways, a charge that American officials, of course, labeled wildly disproportionate.
Complicating matters further, the donation was made while Karelyna was on American soil, raising legal and moral questions about Russia's reach. Her boyfriend, Chris Van Heerden, summoned up the outrage in blunt terms, stating, quote, she didn't do this in Russia as a Russian citizen. She did this in America as an American citizen. The man that Moscow received in return is Arthur Petrov.
He's a German-Russian dual national and is accused of something, well, far more consequential, helping orchestrate a clandestine smuggling network that funneled US-made microelectronics to the Russian military via shell companies. Now, those components were later recovered from damaged Russian weapons on the Ukrainian front lines.
Petrov was arrested in Cyprus back in 2023 and extradited to the U.S. FBI Assistant Director James Smith called his case a prime example of Russia's efforts to circumvent Western export controls after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who led the back-channel talks alongside a senior Russian intelligence official, told the Wall Street Journal, quote, Today, President Trump brought home another wrongfully detained American from Russia. The exchange occurred in Abu Dhabi.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the development early Thursday, stating, quote, American Senya Karelina is on a plane back home to the U.S. For the Trump administration, the deal marks a continuation of its assertive approach to hostage diplomacy.
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Chapter 5: Who is the Russian-American ballerina released in the latest prisoner swap?
As we covered here on the PDB in February, President Trump secured the release of Mark Fogel, a longtime American teacher in Moscow, who'd been held since 2021 over a small amount of prescribed marijuana. Approximately 10 Americans remain imprisoned in Russia, including Stephen Hubbard, who's enduring a near seven-year sentence for allegedly serving as a mercenary in Ukraine.
That's a claim that his family firmly denies. The U.S. designates him as wrongfully detained. For now, the Associated Press reports Karelyna will touch down on American soil later Thursday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, while the Trump administration continues to push for the release of the other Americans still held in Russia.
Chapter 6: What is the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement mentioned in the episode?
And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Thursday, the 10th of April. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, well, you know what to do. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow.
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.