PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 10th, 2025: China Seethes As Panama, US Sign New Security Agreement & Russian-American Ballerina Freed In Latest Prisoner Swap
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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 "malign influence" in the region.

Now, after a day of meetings, Hegseth announced Wednesday that the U.S. 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 "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 "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, "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. asset firm BlackRock is pursuing a deal to take over control of two ports anchoring both ends of the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong-based company. Though the deal is at risk of falling apart at this point after China

opened an antitrust investigation into the matter. Hegseth warned that China could use their holdover port infrastructure to conduct surveillance activities across Panama and undermine U.S. interests, though Panamanian officials have consistently downplayed the threat from the CCP. Hegseth bluntly declared Wednesday that, quote, "...the U.S. will not allow China to threaten the canal's operations."

Well, as you can imagine, leaders in China didn't take too kindly to the statements. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry hit back on Wednesday saying Hegseth had "maliciously attacked China, was engaging in a form of diplomatic blackmail, and was 'spreading rumors and sowing discord' in an attempt to sabotage China-Panama cooperation." The spokesman continued, "Everyone knows who wants to control the Panama Canal. The U.S. side should take a look in the mirror to see who really threatens the security

and development of other countries."

The war of words over Panama comes as relations between the US and China continue to deteriorate. As we covered earlier on the PDB, the US and China are now engaged in a fierce trade war with the US, placing a 125% tariff on Chinese goods on Wednesday and China countering with an 84% tariff on American products. So far, it doesn't appear that either side plans on backing down anytime soon.

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. It's all about inspiring people to make fitness a priority.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. In a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia on Thursday, Russian-American Senya Karelyna was released from Kremlin custody despite tensions remaining fraught between the two countries. As listeners of the PDB know, this is a story that we've been tracking for quite some time. For background, Karelyna, a dual citizen and former ballet dancer, was arrested while visiting family in Russia in January of 2024.

She was later sentenced to 12 years in a Russian penal colony on charges of treason, all stemming from just a $51 donation that she made to a Ukrainian charity on the day that Russia launched its full-scale invasion back in 2022.

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, summed up the outrage in blunt terms, stating, "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 U.S.-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, "American Senya Karelyna 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. 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.

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.

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