Evening! Wrap up your Monday with SOFREP’s Evening Brief, delivering essential updates on defense and global affairs for June 9, 2025. The US sanctioned two of El Chapo’s fugitive sons and offered $10M rewards for their arrest over fentanyl trafficking. Construction on the Coast Guard Museum is moving ahead for a 2025 opening despite delays. Israeli-backed gunmen killed 14 Palestinians at a Gaza aid site run by the GHF, fueling criticism of the system. Iran reportedly accessed Israeli nuclear research data, raising global concerns. Poland canceled a Black Hawk helicopter deal to reassess military needs. Russia launched its largest drone strike yet again on Ukraine amid renewed offensives and ongoing POW swaps. US-China trade talks resumed in London to prevent tariff escalation.
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US Sanctions El Chapo’s Fugitive Sons, Offers $10M Rewards
The US Treasury Department on Monday imposed sanctions on Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar—two fugitive sons of jailed Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman—and announced reward offers of up to $10 million each for information leading to their arrest or conviction.
Both men are believed to be in Mexico.
Sanctions also targeted the “Chapitos” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel and a Mazatlán-based network accused of trafficking fentanyl, extortion, and money laundering. The Chapitos are considered a primary source of fentanyl entering the United States.
El Chapo, convicted in 2019 and serving a life sentence in the US, led a drug empire that smuggled massive quantities of cocaine and other narcotics over a 25-year span. His other sons, Joaquin Guzman Lopez and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, are in US custody; federal prosecutors recently dropped the death penalty against Joaquin in a Chicago case.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action fulfills President Trump’s directive to dismantle violent drug cartels.
Evening! Wrap up your Monday with SOFREP’s Evening Brief, delivering essential updates on defense and global affairs for June 9, 2025. The US sanctioned two of El Chapo’s fugitive sons and offered $10M rewards for their arrest over fentanyl trafficking. Construction on the Coast Guard Museum is moving ahead for a 2025 opening despite delays. Israeli-backed gunmen killed 14 Palestinians at a Gaza aid site run by the GHF, fueling criticism of the system. Iran reportedly accessed Israeli nuclear research data, raising global concerns. Poland canceled a Black Hawk helicopter deal to reassess military needs. Russia launched its largest drone strike yet again on Ukraine amid renewed offensives and ongoing POW swaps. US-China trade talks resumed in London to prevent tariff escalation.
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US Sanctions El Chapo’s Fugitive Sons, Offers $10M Rewards
The US Treasury Department on Monday imposed sanctions on Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar—two fugitive sons of jailed Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman—and announced reward offers of up to $10 million each for information leading to their arrest or conviction.
Both men are believed to be in Mexico.
Sanctions also targeted the “Chapitos” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel and a Mazatlán-based network accused of trafficking fentanyl, extortion, and money laundering. The Chapitos are considered a primary source of fentanyl entering the United States.
El Chapo, convicted in 2019 and serving a life sentence in the US, led a drug empire that smuggled massive quantities of cocaine and other narcotics over a 25-year span. His other sons, Joaquin Guzman Lopez and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, are in US custody; federal prosecutors recently dropped the death penalty against Joaquin in a Chicago case.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action fulfills President Trump’s directive to dismantle violent drug cartels.
In February, the administration designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a foreign terrorist organization due to its role in the fentanyl crisis, which kills tens of thousands of Americans annually.
US Coast Guard Museum Set for 2025 Opening Despite Delays and Funding Gap
Construction of the long-awaited National Coast Guard Museum in New London, Connecticut, is finally advancing, with officials targeting a 2025 opening despite earlier delays and a funding shortfall.
Wes Pulver, president of the Coast Guard Museum Association, confirmed that foundational work is underway, with rebar being laid and steel framing expected to begin in July.
The $150 million, 89,000-square-foot, six-story museum will be the first national museum dedicated to the US Coast Guard (USCG ). The facility will feature themed decks on safety, security, and stewardship, an atrium with a Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter, a simulation center, and a memorial terrace. The USCG training ship Eagle will dock nearby as a key attraction.
Roughly 70 percent of the budget is earmarked for construction, with funding coming from federal contributions ($50 million), private donations ($52 million), and an expected loan to cover a potential $48 million gap. The association hopes to raise an additional $10–15 million to reduce borrowing. If a loan is used, the museum will be leased to the Coast Guard rather than gifted outright until the debt is paid.
Monday’s front page: Construction set to begin on the Coast Guard Museum. https://t.co/i6SJciDlIj pic.twitter.com/UbGddGjykK
— The Day (@thedayct) June 9, 2025
Site prep faced setbacks due to uncharted underground utilities, prompting a reordering of work and the installation of vaults for long-term access. The project includes a state-funded $20 million pedestrian bridge linking the museum to a parking garage and transportation hubs, with construction bids due June 30.
City leaders see the museum as central to downtown revitalization.
New London Mayor Michael Passero said the anticipated crowds from the museum’s opening are spurring efforts to fill vacant properties and expand infrastructure, with a garage expansion planned to add 400 parking spaces.
“We’ve had some delays, but I’m confident we’ll be turning a museum over to the Coast Guard next year,” Pulver said.
Israeli-Backed Gunmen Fire on Gaza Aid Seekers, Killing 14
Israeli forces and allied local gunmen opened fire on Palestinians heading to a US- and Israeli-backed food distribution center in Rafah early Monday, killing 14 people and injuring at least 99, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and hospital officials.
Witnesses said the gunmen retreated into Israeli military positions after the crowd threw stones in response to the shooting.
The incident is the latest in a wave of violence linked to the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) food aid system, which replaced the United Nations-run distribution network last month. Since then, at least 127 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to reach aid sites.
Israel says the new system bypasses Hamas, but the UN and major aid organizations have rejected it, citing safety concerns and lack of capacity.
Witnesses said gunmen from a local militia known as the Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, attempted to organize the crowd before firing on them. Israel has previously acknowledged supporting armed groups opposed to Hamas. GHF denies working with the Popular Forces, which aid groups accuse of looting aid convoys.
GHF later closed the Rafah site, citing “chaos.”
🚨Israeli forces killed 14 more hungry Palestinians on their way to collect food at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution points today.
Among the dead was a woman, Hanan, who had been trying to feed her children and family. Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos:… https://t.co/EzM89XSXO0 pic.twitter.com/tIqyDMbu9u
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) June 9, 2025
The shooting comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where nearly 2 million Palestinians rely almost entirely on aid after Israel’s military campaign and blockade devastated local food production.
The war, which began on October 7, 2023, has killed over 54,900 Palestinians and displaced around 90 percent of the population. Israel launched the campaign after a Hamas-led attack killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
With direct peace talks yielding little progress, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists Israel will maintain indefinite control over Gaza even if Hamas is defeated, including plans for voluntary emigration—a proposal widely condemned as forced displacement.
Hamas maintains it will only release remaining hostages in exchange for a full ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal.
IAEA Chief Confirms Iranian Claim Involves Israeli Nuclear Site, Heightening Tensions
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed Monday that the alleged Iranian seizure of Israeli nuclear documents appears to involve the Soreq Nuclear Research Center—marking the first acknowledgment of the breach outside Tehran.
Grossi noted that Soreq, a civilian research facility south of Tel Aviv, is monitored by the IAEA under item-specific safeguards, unlike Israel’s unmonitored Dimona site believed to support its undeclared nuclear weapons program.
Iran’s intelligence minister claimed over the weekend that Tehran had obtained a trove of sensitive Israeli nuclear documents, though no evidence was provided.
Iranian officials also suggested the data haul included material related to the US, Europe, and other nations, allegedly acquired through infiltration.
Israel has not commented, but recent arrests of suspected Iranian agents inside the country have raised security concerns.
The office of Israel’s prime minister had no immediate response on the remarks by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, who spoke during a news conference in Viennahttps://t.co/EpGqZa8jzN
— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) June 9, 2025
The revelation comes amid renewed nuclear tensions, with Iran enriching uranium near weapons-grade levels and poised to reject a US proposal for reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
Western nations are expected to bring a resolution against Iran before the IAEA Board of Governors this week, which could lead to a referral to the UN Security Council and potentially trigger a “snapback” of international sanctions.
Iran’s claim may be a retaliatory narrative to counter Israel’s 2018 operation that extracted a massive archive of Iran’s nuclear documents and helped justify the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.
With the authority to reimpose UN sanctions set to expire in October, Western powers are facing a narrowing window to pressure Tehran diplomatically.
Poland Halts Black Hawk Helicopter Purchase to Reassess Defense Priorities
Poland’s Armament Agency announced Monday it has terminated the procurement process for 32 S-70i Black Hawk utility helicopters as the government reevaluates its military needs in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine and Russia’s evolving capabilities.
Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Beja clarified that the decision was driven by operational assessments and not tied to the cancellation of any existing production contract, which he confirmed was never signed.
The process had involved preliminary negotiations with PZL Mielec, a Polish manufacturer owned by Lockheed Martin, which produces the Black Hawk under its Sikorsky subsidiary.
Lockheed Martin responded by reaffirming the Black Hawk’s value to Polish forces and expressed its commitment to ongoing cooperation, citing its 1,700 employees at PZL Mielec and the broader role the company plays in Poland’s defense industry, including the production of F-16s.
Wiceminister @pawelbejda: Chciałbym Państwu powiedzieć, że wbrew temu, co niektóre media piszą i co mówią niektórzy politycy z obecnej opozycji – nie zerwaliśmy żadnego kontraktu, jeżeli chodzi o śmigłowce S-70i. Zostało przeprowadzone postępowanie, które zostało zamknięte.… pic.twitter.com/VJB2Jg220n
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) June 6, 2025
The Black Hawk decision comes as part of Poland’s larger defense modernization program. Warsaw has recently committed to acquiring 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters and 32 Leonardo AW149 multirole helicopters.
The Polish Armed Forces are also prioritizing the acquisition of a new helicopter trainer to support training for Apache and AW149 crews.
The move underscores Poland’s shift in defense planning to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving security environment on NATO’s eastern flank.
Mass Drone Assault Hits Ukraine Amid New Russian Offensive, POW Swap Continues
Russia launched 479 drones and 20 missiles at Ukraine overnight, marking the largest aerial attack of the war, Ukraine’s air force said Monday.
The barrage targeted central and western regions, with air defenses intercepting 277 drones and 19 missiles. Ukrainian officials reported only 10 projectiles hit their targets, injuring one person. The claims remain unverified.
The assault coincides with renewed Russian offensives in eastern and northeastern Ukraine and follows an unprecedented Ukrainian drone strike on Russian airbases earlier this month.
Ukraine also claimed a special operations strike on two Russian fighter jets at the Savasleyka airfield in Nizhny Novgorod. Russia responded with retaliatory strikes, including one on a Ukrainian airbase in Dubno.
NEW: Kremlin officials and the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on June 8 that Russian forces reached the Donetsk-Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border and are conducting offensive operations into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast — an oblast that Russia has not illegally declared as… pic.twitter.com/epu5xOsygb
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) June 8, 2025
Despite the intensifying violence, Russia and Ukraine conducted another prisoner exchange Monday.
Though exact numbers were not disclosed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the swap included wounded troops and young soldiers. Families gathered in northern Ukraine, anxiously awaiting news.
Officials said many returned prisoners were in poor health after prolonged captivity. Over 200 Ukrainian POWs are confirmed to have died in Russian custody since the invasion began.
Our people are home.
Ukrainians are returning home from Russian captivity. Today, an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days.
Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25. The process… pic.twitter.com/tEmJctz5ON— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 9, 2025
Talks in Istanbul between both sides have produced minimal results beyond the prisoner and body exchange arrangements. Disputes continue over the return of fallen soldiers, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of withholding names of over 1,000 Ukrainian dead.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign inside Russia continues. Russia said it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight across seven regions. Two drones struck an electronic warfare facility in Chuvashia, over 600 kilometers (373 miles) from Moscow.
The Kremlin maintains its attacks are aimed at military targets, though UN reports say Russian strikes have killed over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians.
Zelenskyy warned that the battlefield situation remains “very difficult,” and called for urgent Western military support, particularly in air defense systems. With no breakthroughs in peace talks, both sides appear locked in a prolonged and brutal summer phase of the war.
US-China Trade Talks Resume in London to Preserve Fragile Truce
Top US and Chinese officials met in London on Monday in a renewed effort to stabilize a fragile truce in the ongoing trade war that has disrupted global markets.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng led Beijing’s delegation, which included Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, in discussions with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at Lancaster House.
The talks follow a 90-day suspension of most mutual tariffs agreed on May 12 during Geneva negotiations. However, tensions remain high over issues including advanced semiconductors, Chinese student visas, and rare earth mineral exports—critical to the auto and tech sectors.
US Trade Delegation started the second face to face talks today. This time in London. #US #China #Trade (Trade Delegation shots from US Treasury) pic.twitter.com/2vpVn0unPg
— Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) June 9, 2025
China recently imposed export licensing requirements on seven rare earth elements, sparking international concern over supply chain disruptions. Beijing signaled over the weekend it is working to address the shortages, which have alarmed US and European industries.
US economic adviser Kevin Hassett expressed optimism for a breakthrough on the rare earth issue.
President Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone last week to reset the dialogue, announcing on social media that talks would resume in London. The British government, while not directly participating, hosted the talks and welcomed the effort, reaffirming its support for free trade.
The negotiations may continue Tuesday as both sides attempt to navigate contentious issues and prevent further economic escalation.
Sources: News Agencies, The Associated Press
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