The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 24th. 2025: FBI: Maduro Weaponizing Gangs Against America & Trump Unloads on Putin & Zelensky
Thu, 24 Apr 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, in a shocking report, the FBI has alleged that some top Venezuelan government officials have been facilitating the migration of members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua into the US. Later in the show—Russia unleashes a massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight, killing at least 12 people. It marked the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year, and came just hours after peace talks between Washington and Kyiv appeared to fall apart. 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 TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250. Plus, for a limited time enjoy 5% off on almost everything site-wide excluding subscriptions and B-stock. Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold StopBox: Get firearm security redesigned and save with BOGO the StopBox Pro AND 10% OFF @StopBoxUSA with code PDB at http://stopboxusa.com/PDB #stopboxpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What alarming report did the FBI release about Venezuela?
It's Thursday, the 24th 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, in a report that speaks volumes about the nature of the Venezuelan government, the FBI has alleged that some top Venezuelan government officials have been facilitating the migration of members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua, known as TDA, into the U.S. We'll have those details.
Later in the show, Russia unleashes a large-scale missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight, killing at least a dozen people. It marked the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year and came just hours after peace talks over the conflict appeared to fall apart. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
Chapter 2: How is the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua involved in U.S. security?
As the Trump administration continues to turn up the heat against the violent Venezuelan gang Trendaragua , We're learning that the criminal group has been reportedly receiving major assistance from leaders in their home nation.
A damning intelligence assessment from the FBI reveals that key Venezuelan government officials have, quote, likely been facilitating the migration of TDA gang members directly into the U.S. The FBI's assessment concludes that the regime of dictator Nicolas Maduro has been essentially using TDA as a proxy force to sow chaos on American streets and undermine public safety throughout the U.S.
A senior official with the Trump administration shared the disturbing findings exclusively with Fox News, which reviewed unclassified portions of the agency's report on the Venezuelan government's covert dealings with TDA. As a reminder, the group was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the White House earlier this year.
The official told Fox News, quote, These findings should shock Americans, but not the law enforcement community. They reflect the sentiments of numerous other intelligence assessments across multiple agencies, end quote.
Chapter 3: What are the implications of the FBI's findings on Maduro's regime?
The assessment was reportedly based on information gleaned in recent months from domestic law enforcement operations against TDA as the Trump administration works to dismantle the criminal enterprise.
While details of the report remain classified, the FBI warns that over the next six to 18 months, Venezuelan government officials will likely attempt to leverage their relationship with TDA leaders in America to threaten, abduct, and kill Venezuelans living in the U.S. who are vocal critics of the Maduro regime.
The FBI said they also expect similar efforts to target dissidents in countries throughout South America. In addition to using the group to destabilize the US, the Maduro regime is allegedly also targeting Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia.
We should note that the findings do clash with a classified assessment from the National Intelligence Council that was leaked to the Associated Press last week. That claimed that there was no coordination between TDA and the Venezuelan government.
But Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard blasted the AP report, saying the officials who leaked it, quote, twisted and manipulated the classified assessment to convey the exact opposite findings in an attempt to undermine President Trump's domestic security agenda.
An official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, who spoke anonymously to Fox News, confirmed the FBI's assessment, saying the intelligence was, quote, robust and accurate. They said their office has determined that TDA leadership has a cozy relationship with the Venezuelan government, which gives sanctuary to violent gang members.
They added that senior Venezuelan officials are actively, quote, aiding and abetting their crimes and terrorist activities against the U.S. by enabling them to thrive.
The official likened the Maduro regime's embrace of TDA to failed states in the Middle East like Syria and Libya or the Taliban in Afghanistan, which have welcomed terrorist groups with open arms and use them as proxies to stoke regional discord.
A White House official told Fox News, quote, Nicholas Maduro is a Marxist dictator who hijacked a once prosperous Venezuela and brought in nothing but total economic collapse and gang takeover. He crumbled Caracas, now overrun with drugs and violence, and wants to do the same across the US by sending his most violent and dangerous criminals into the US communities.
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Chapter 4: How did Russia's recent missile attack impact Ukraine?
Crucially, the president pointed out that the document does not require Kiev to recognize Russia's land grab, just that Washington DC would. Vice President J.D. Vance drove the point home in remarks Wednesday, calling the current offer the final one and warning that the U.S. would, quote, walk away if it wasn't accepted.
Trump echoed the ultimatum, telling Ukraine it could either agree to peace now or risk, quote, fighting for another three years before losing the whole country, end quote. Now, despite the administration's escalating pressure campaign, the diplomatic process has stalled.
On Wednesday's PDB Afternoon Bulletin, we reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials skipped planned talks in London after it became clear that Kyiv was seeking to revisit an earlier U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
A source close to the Ukrainian delegation told Axios that the latest American offer is viewed in Kyiv as lopsided, granting Russia strategic victories while offering Ukraine only vague guarantees. According to another source, Rubio's withdrawal from the London summit was a direct result of that growing divide.
Meanwhile, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, is slated to meet with Russian President Putin on Friday. Moscow, while signaling openness to freeze the war along current front lines, has balked at a key component of the U.S. deal, the proposed deployment of peacekeepers on Ukrainian soil.
So far, the latest round of diplomacy is, well, shaping up like so many before it, mired in ultimatums, walkouts and no halt in the hostilities. Now, a key problem here is that the Trump administration is basically asking, almost demanding, that Zelensky give in to Putin's demands in order to get a peace deal signed.
Now, regardless of what you think of Zelensky, if you were in his shoes, you'd likely also not be inclined to want to give in to the invading country's key demands. The Trump administration is approaching this negotiation from a domestic politics perspective, not a geopolitical perspective. Their goal is to make good on campaign talk about quickly securing a peace deal.
And in that context, well, you can understand why they've drawn up a proposal that leans so heavily in Russia's favor. They just want to get a deal done. They're not looking at the conflict and support of Ukraine in a traditional East versus West perspective. The problem is, everyone else is. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Thursday, 24th of April.
If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, 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. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, I know you know this, but I'm going to repeat it.
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