CCP Terror Plot, Mercenaries in Haiti

417: Palantir Surveillance, Blackwater 2.0, China

Morning lords,

Hope the week is going well — substantial amount to cover today and I’ve got a meeting in an hour and a half — so going to crank through this morning’s letter.

Episode 31 of Risk On is live, in this episode I cover global news from the last 5-7 days and we speak with BowTied Bills, a former FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) engineer who left the corporate world to start his own successful businesses. Great episode for those of you who want some insight into how to start something while you have a 9-5 job.

The geopolitical side of things is certainly heating up. Just this week we had:

• News that Erik Prince (the founder of PMC company Blackwater) is being tapped to help fight gangs in Haiti with 150 operators

• Two Chinese nationals were caught with smuggling a dangerous crop-destroying fungus into the United States

• PLTR 0.00%↑ has come under fire for recent deals struck with the Trump administration to monitor data on US citizens

• A massive travel ban put into place by Trump on high risk countries across the world

Right before clicking publish on this episode this morning news broke that Chinese state media is reporting that President Trump and Chinese President Xi are set to hold trade talks. Should be a volatile end to the week for markets, we will continue posting the real time updates in the discord for those who want to join - it’s free and all are welcome.

As of 9:05am it looks like a short term pump might be coming — hope you scooped up the names we covered in our buy the dip posts over the last several weeks.

Private Military Contractors to Haiti

Erik Prince, the infamous founder of Blackwater, has landed in Haiti with a new mission: break the gang grip on Port-au-Prince, Haiti and target their strongholds.

Haiti’s transitional government has tapped Prince to organize a force of Haitian-American veterans and mercenaries, alongside drone deployments aimed at rooting out gang control of the capital. The move has sparked fierce debate—some see it as the only way to stabilize a country in free-fall, while others warn it’s a risky gamble that could backfire, especially given Blackwater’s checkered past in the GWOT (Global War on Terror).

Personally I am all for letting PMCs loose to track down lunatics like the cannibal BBQ we learned about.

Erik Prince’s track record in hostile countries is solid despite the hiccup in 2007 at Nisour Square in Baghdad, sometimes you have to do things off the books

For those unfamiliar here’s a recap of sorts of Blackwater’s past efficacy and history:

• Operational Capabilities: Blackwater, now known as Academi, was highly effective at rapid deployment, force protection, and private security tasks — claiming to have never lost a VIP under their protection. Its contractors were well-trained, disciplined, and often worked in the most volatile environments, including Iraq and Afghanistan

• Criticism and Oversight: Despite their capabilities, Blackwater faced intense criticism for their heavy-handed tactics and several incidents of civilian casualties, most notably the 2007 Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad that ended up being a media shitstorm and eventually contributed to the PMC company getting shut down. These controversies fueled perceptions of unaccountability and eroded trust with both local populations and international observers

• Bottom Line: They were good at delivering security quickly but struggled with long-term stability and winning hearts and minds. Critics argue their presence often inflamed tensions rather than resolving them

Erik Prince himself is a strong proponent of using private military companies (PMCs) to stabilize conflict-ridden regions. He argues that these groups can respond more quickly and effectively than traditional government forces, sidestepping bureaucratic delays and political constraints. Prince sees PMCs as a way to provide security, training, and logistics in places where local authorities or international efforts fall short.

To put that in plain terms — if countries or interest groups need deniability or if something is too sensitive for conventional forces to handle, this type of thing makes sense.

He’s been vocal about his belief that private security forces can bring order and improve outcomes in areas of chaos, though mainstream softos and pundits have raised questions about the accountability and ethics of this approach. In the context of Haiti, his philosophy points to a rapid, forceful intervention—supporting local security forces through training and resources to combat gang violence and institutional instability.

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Chinese Terror Plot

This week, federal authorities charged two Chinese nationals with smuggling a dangerous crop-destroying fungus into the United States, heightening concerns around national security and agricultural biosecurity.

The fungus, Fusarium graminearum, is known to cause Fusarium head blight, a disease that devastates cereal crops like wheat, barley, maize, and rice. It produces a toxin called vomitoxin, which can lead to serious health issues in both humans and livestock.

The USDA estimates that this pathogen causes about $1 billion in annual losses in U.S. agriculture, a devious method to potentially upend US agricultural production, take out our cattle, and make many people sick.

Prosecutors allege Liu tried to sneak samples of the fungus into the country via Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Although he initially denied knowledge of the samples found in his backpack, he later admitted he planned to use them for research at a University of Michigan lab where Jian worked (great cover story).

I spend a good amount of time documenting Chinese espionage efforts in the US. Our friends

Vermilion China

put out excellent analysis on this as well. The threat has gotten too big to ignore and this latest attempt comes as scrutiny is growing on universities like Harvard where CCP linked individuals have been active in past years.

As concerns about foreign influence intensify, Harvard University has faced scrutiny over connections with individuals and entities tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This comes on the heels of recent federal charges against two Chinese nationals for smuggling a dangerous crop-destroying fungus into the U.S.

FBI Director Kash Patel pointed to the incident as further evidence of the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to infiltrate U.S. institutions and compromise key areas like agriculture.

One Chinese student, chosen as a Harvard commencement speaker, faced backlash for her family’s links to a CCP-affiliated NGO. Another case involved Charles Lieber, a former Harvard professor convicted of lying about his ties to China’s Thousand Talents Program.

Harvard has also drawn criticism for partnerships with Chinese universities linked to the Chinese military and for training programs involving the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a group sanctioned for human rights abuses.

In response, the U.S. government has imposed visa restrictions on Harvard’s international students and revoked the university’s ability to enroll foreign students, citing national security concerns. These developments highlight the tension between national security and academic collaboration in higher education in the US. We know our universities have been infiltrated, we know the Chinese have purchases farmland near US military installations.

Will the Trump admin make strong moves to beat back this wave of subversion by the CCP?

I sure as hell hope so — the reality is there’s likely hundreds if not thousands of similar moles and agents all across the US.

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Travel Ban

It’s good to see the Trump administration making moves to address national security in the wake of higher profile espionage/violence in the past several weeks.

On June 1, 2025, a man attacked a peaceful walk in Boulder, Colorado, that was organized to raise awareness for Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The attacker, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, used Molotov cocktails and a homemade flamethrower to target participants, injuring 15 people, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor.

Soliman, an Egyptian national who had overstayed his U.S. visa, had reportedly been planning the attack for over a year and expressed clear antisemitic motives, saying he wanted to target "Zionist people" and showed no remorse. He now faces a federal hate crime charge as well as multiple state-level attempted murder charges.

The attack has heightened concerns about the rise of antisemitic violence in the U.S., prompting calls from community leaders and officials to take stronger action to protect Jewish communities and confront hate in all its forms. The conversation around the rise in antisemitism is growing in the US — just this week Barstool Sports’ founder Dave Portnoy absolutely lost his shit on one of his employees on a podcast after someone drove by his pizza review saying “f*ck the jews”.

Platforms like X are exploding with discourse and arguments related to antisemitism in the US and across the globe.

The Trump administration is making strong moves re: foreign policy in an attempt to address a rise in extremism across the US.

Yesterday Trump signed a proclamation banning entrance into the United States for individuals from over a dozen countries last night, citing concerns related to national security, in the wake of the with the countries including:

- Afghanistan

- Burma

- Chad

- Republic of the Congo

- Equatorial Guinea

- Eritrea

- Haiti

- Iran

- Libya

- Somalia

- Sudan

- Yemen

Trump said last night at the White House:

"We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen... That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya, and numerous others."

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Palantir - Big Brother 2.0?

We all love gains on PLTR 0.00%↑ but are cool with a future in which they have access to data on all Americans?

Recently, Palantir Technologies has come under fire for its growing role in government surveillance initiatives, especially under the Trump administration. The company has landed major federal contracts to build systems that combine data from the IRS, Social Security Administration, and Department of Homeland Security into a centralized database of American citizens.

This development has sparked privacy and civil liberties concerns akin to the ones we saw in the aftermath of 9/11 when Bush and Co rolled out programs like the CIA’s PRISM. Palantir’s advanced software tools, like Foundry and its AI platform, allow for large-scale data analysis and predictive modeling that some fear could enable government overreach.

Critics argue that this level of surveillance echoes tactics used by authoritarian regimes and they may be right, but here’s the thing.

You’re out of your mind if you don’t think a grand system doesn’t already exist — we are too far gone.

I promise you that we already have a social credit type system, that assigns a threat level to each person in this country based on their language online, online activity, purchases, political affiliations, movements, and more. Cat is out of the bag but it seems like Palantir is moving to take the reigns on this new era of surveillance and capability.

Even some of Trump’s supporters have expressed unease about the potential misuse of personal data. Palantir, meanwhile, insists that its software has robust privacy protections and denies any illegal data collection practices — I love PLTR but this is bullshit lol.

Still, the debate continues about how to balance national security with the protection of individual freedoms, especially in an age when AI tech is moving faster than people can comprehend.

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BlackRock Crypto Update

For my crypto kings — big update this week to pay attention to — BlackRock has made a significant move, unloading roughly $561 million in Bitcoin while picking up about $69 million in Ethereum. What do they know?

This reallocation, coupled with outflows from BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), hints at a potential shift in strategy—possibly setting the stage for a broader alt season and a strong Ethereum rally if market conditions or regulatory updates turn favorable. I highly suggest your read the last three crypto posts in our archive if this is something you want to be positioned for.

Ultimate Crypto Guide 2025

Short one today — we will be back early next week with new pieces on crypto plays and some more recent thoughts on globalism, populism, and the growing threat of terror in 2025.

Enjoy the rest of the week and talk soon. Make sure to check out the discord and our X to stay on top of events into the weekend.

Andy

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Disclaimer - I am a former trader, enterprise sales rep, and current entrepreneur with a monkey brain. Nothing I say should be considered formal financial advice or life advice, these are my opinions - always do your own research and diligence before