The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Tue, 11 Feb 2025
In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: The U.S. military has ramped up surveillance of Mexican drug cartels, with nearly 20 spy plane flights in the past two weeks. Is this just intelligence-gathering for Mexico’s military, or is something bigger in the works? President Trump reignites a trade battle from his first term, announcing plans to impose a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel imports. As the ceasefire in Gaza faces new obstacles, the IDF targets Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, raising tensions along its northern border. And in The Back of the Brief, President Trump escalates his crackdown on former officials, revoking security clearances for key members of the previous administration—and signaling that more could be on the way. 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
Chapter 1: How is the U.S. using spy planes against Mexican drug cartels?
It's Tuesday, 11 February. 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. Today, we'll begin with reports that the U.S. military has ramped up its surveillance of Mexican drug cartels with spy planes conducting nearly 20 flights in the past two weeks.
Later in the show, President Trump reignites a trade battle from his first term, announcing his plans to impose a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel imports. Plus, as the ceasefire in Gaza faces new obstacles, the IDF hits Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, threatening the fragile peace along its northern border.
And in the back of the brief, President Trump escalates his crackdown on former Biden administration officials, revoking security clearances for key members of the previous administration and signaling that more could be on the way. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. In a move that's likely to send a shiver down the spine of cartel leaders, at least if they're paying attention, the U.S.
military has significantly increased its surveillance operations along the southern border and beyond. Over the past two weeks, American spy planes have conducted at least 18 missions, and that's a dramatic increase as the Pentagon has historically flown only about, well, one surveillance mission a month around the U.S.-Mexico border.
Among the aircraft spotted, Navy P-8 Poseidons, Air Force RC-135 rivet joints, and even a U-2, a U-2, a legendary high-altitude reconnaissance plane designed during the Cold War. Now, the P-8s, typically used for anti-submarine warfare, are equipped with powerful radar systems capable of tracking movements on land as well as at sea.
The RC-135, well, that specializes in signals intelligence, intercepting communications from the ground, potentially including cartel radio chatter and encrypted messaging. Meanwhile, the U-2, with its ability to fly above approximately 70,000 feet, can capture high-resolution imagery of vast areas, providing an unmatched bird's-eye view of cartel strongholds and trafficking routes.
Their mission? Well, their mission is pretty straightforward. Gathering a range of intelligence, signals, imagery, and movement data on cartel activity, far beyond what traditional law enforcement surveillance can achieve. These flights have spanned Texas, Arizona, and California, with some even looping around Mexico's Baja Peninsula and passing near cartel strongholds like Sinaloa.
Former military officials note that while the U.S. has long conducted aerial surveillance along the border, the current intensity is unprecedented. So the big question, what is the intelligence gathering for? One possibility, the U.S. is gathering intel to pass along to the Mexican military, helping them to target cartel operations.
That would make sense from a joint liaison military operation perspective. As we reported here on the PDB, 10,000 Mexican troops have been deployed to the border in recent days as part of what they've dubbed Operation Frontera Norte or Operation Northern Border.
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Chapter 2: What are the specifics of Trump's new tariffs on aluminum and steel?
But he also warned that violence is likely to escalate if direct confrontation occurs. For now, the Pentagon insists that military personnel remain in a support role, and there are no confirmed reports of active U.S. operations inside Mexico. But the sheer scale of this surveillance push does raise questions about what comes next. All right.
Coming up after the break, President Trump reignites a trade battle from his first term with new tariffs on aluminum and steel, while the IDF targets Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, putting new pressure on the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the PDB.
President Donald Trump is reigniting a trade battle from his first term in the White House, announcing his plan to implement a sweeping 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum in a bid to bolster domestic metal industries.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump made his position clear, stating, quote, any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff, aluminum too, end quote. Now, the measure effectively revives the trade policies he introduced in 2018, when he slapped a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum.
Those duties, aimed, well, primarily at China's overproduction, initially applied to all countries, but were later softened through a patchwork of exemptions. Now, the question is whether Trump's latest move will replace or supplement the existing tariffs. What is certain, however, is that the decision will likely drive up costs for manufacturers and consumers who rely on these materials.
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Chapter 3: How is China responding to Trump's tariffs?
China wasted no time in responding. Beijing unveiled a new round of retaliatory tariffs this week, slapping 10 to 15 percent duties on American exports, including crude oil, liquefied natural gas and farm machinery.
The countermeasures, first disclosed last week, are part of China's broader response to the Trump administration's decision to levy a blanket 10% tariff on Chinese goods, and that's an effort that Washington framed as economic pressure to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
It's important to note that China remains the world's primary supplier of precursor chemicals used by Mexican cartels to manufacture the deadly synthetic opioid. Beijing's foreign ministry swiftly condemned the tariffs on Monday, calling for, quote, dialogue and consultations based on equality and mutual respect. Oh, that's nice. Urging Washington to abandon its tariff strategy.
But China's response extends well beyond tit for tat tariffs. Beijing, in a calculated escalation, launched an antitrust probe on Google, blacklisted two additional U.S. firms, and tightened its grip on rare earth exports. And that's important. Material is essential to global technology and defense supply chains.
China dominates the rare earth industry, controlling the lion's share of mining and refining operations. If Beijing moves to further restrict exports, well, the ripple effects could be severe, disrupting American industries that depend on these critical materials. For now, China's response has been measured, but some see it as a warning shot.
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Chapter 4: What is the significance of rare earth materials in the U.S.-China trade tensions?
The head of China economics at Moody's Analytics put it bluntly, stating, quote, It is China saying we don't want to make the situation worse, but can make it troubling if this escalates further. During Trump's first term, China responded proportionally to tariffs, matching U.S. duties on imports dollar for dollar. This time, however, interestingly, the imbalance, well, is stark. The U.S.
tariffs now target approximately $450 billion in Chinese goods, whereas China's countermeasures impact just $15 to $20 billion in American exports. The standoff comes at a precarious time for the world's two largest economies. China is grappling with a deepening real estate crisis, mounting debt and deflation.
In the U.S., analysts warn that escalating tariffs could fuel inflation, potentially forcing a recalibration of strategy in Washington. However, Trump remains defiant, threatening tariffs beyond China, including Taiwan and Europe. The question now is whether Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will engage in direct talks.
While the White House initially anticipated a call between the two leaders, Trump later stated he was in, quote, no hurry to speak with Xi. Without a diplomatic resolution, the standoff does risk spiraling into a prolonged, unpredictable trade war that, frankly, neither side can fully predict.
OK, turning now to Lebanon, where Israeli fighter jets launched a series of airstrikes Sunday, striking Hezbollah terrorist positions, including a tunnel in the Beqaa Valley used to funnel weapons between Lebanon and Syria. In a statement, the Israeli Defense Forces, the IDF, said the tunnel had previously been targeted and vowed to prevent its restoration and use.
Along with the tunnel, Israeli warplanes hit Hezbollah weapons depots and rocket launchers in other areas, which the IDF described as posing a, quote, "...immediate threat to Israel's security." These latest strikes come on the heels of airstrikes Saturday when the Israeli Air Force targeted a Hezbollah weapons manufacturing site in the Bekaa Valley, reportedly killing six people and injuring two.
Lebanese state media also reported Israeli airstrikes just 12 miles from the Israeli border and in Baalbek, more than 60 miles inside Lebanese territory. The IDF has framed these operations as a direct response to Hezbollah's continued terrorist activity, despite the ceasefire agreement that was reached back in November of 2024.
That deal, which ended more than a year of hostilities, including two months of full-scale war, required Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Latani River, roughly 18 miles from Israel's border. It's important to note that despite the ceasefire, Israel retains the right to conduct strikes on what it deems imminent threats.
Security concerns beyond that, in theory, are supposed to be handled by a monitoring committee made up of representatives from Israel, France, the United States, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
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