The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 4th, 2025: Mexico's Cartel Crackdown & China's Retaliatory Tariffs
04 Feb 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, we’ll begin in Mexico, where authorities are beginning to crack down on the country’s violent drug cartels following President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Then, after President Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports, China announced sweeping retaliatory tariffs of their own targeting key American industries, sparking fears of a new trade war. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
It's Tuesday, 4 February. 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, we'll begin in Mexico, where authorities are beginning to crack down on the country's violent drug cartels following President Trump's pressure campaign on Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum.
Then, after President Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, Xi Jinping's government has announced sweeping retaliatory tariffs of their own, targeting key American industries and sparking fears of a new trade war. But first, our afternoon spotlight. It looks like we might be seeing the first signs of a cartel crackdown by Mexican authorities, at least near the US southern border.
Late Monday, Mexican law enforcement announced the arrest of cartel leader Ricardo Gonzalez Sauceda, better known as El Ricky or Mondo R. He was taken into custody in Nuevo Laredo, a key cartel stronghold sitting right across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas. Now, El Ricky, just 27 years old, was the leader of Cartel del Noreste, one of the most violent and aggressive Mexican drug cartels.
If you're not familiar with them, CDN, as they're known, is an offshoot of the once-dominant Los Zetas Cartel. Now, the Zetas were notorious for their paramilitary-style operations and extreme brutality, and CDN, well, they've carried on that legacy. This group doesn't just control drug routes, they fight for them, often engaging in open battles with Mexican security forces and rival cartels.
Their methods, well, they include mass executions, beheadings, and direct attacks on law enforcement. CDN is one of the main cartels currently running smuggling operations into the United States, moving fentanyl, weapons, and people across the border. Their operations don't just stay in Mexico.
CDN's influence extends deep into Texas, contributing to the fentanyl crisis and increasing cartel-related violence in U.S. border cities. El Ricky had two outstanding arrest warrants for attempted homicide, and he's also linked to extortion, murder, and attacks on Mexican federal forces. And his arrest, well, it didn't go over quietly.
Within hours of his capture, Nuevo Laredo erupted in violence. Reports came in of gunfights throughout the city, cartel gunmen blocking highways, and vehicles set on fire to disrupt security forces. The U.S. consulate in Nuevo Laredo quickly issued a security alert, warning all American personnel to shelter in place as the violence escalated.
Now, obviously, the timing of this arrest, well, it's not random. It happened just hours after President Trump put heavy pressure on Mexico's new president, demanding she take stronger action against the cartels. As we reported yesterday, Sheinbaum, the president, agreed to deploy 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the border, a move that came less than 48 hours after Trump imposed tariffs on Mexico.
Trump has agreed to delay the imposition of those tariffs for at least a month. So, the question now is, is this the beginning of a real crackdown on cartel operations, or is it just kabuki theater, a political maneuver to satisfy Washington? Mexican authorities have made high-profile arrests before, only to see those cartels bounce back even stronger.
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