Latest / The President's Daily Brief / PDB Afternoon Bulletin | November 9th, 2026: Cartel Commander Captured in Mexico & Polish Tourist Square Attack

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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | November 9th, 2026: Cartel Commander Captured in Mexico & Polish Tourist Square Attack · The President's Daily Brief

0:12
It's Monday,
0:12
the 9th of November.
0:14
Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin.
0:16
I'm Mike Baker,
0:17
your eyes and ears on the world stage.
0:19
All right,
0:20
let's get briefed.
0:21
First up,
0:22
Mexican special forces capture a notorious
0:25
cartel commander following a fierce gunfight,
0:27
using intelligence from the US Drug Enforcement Administration
0:30
to help track down the target.
0:32
Later in the show,
0:33
a gunman opens fire in a crowded Polish square,
0:37
killing 6 people
0:38
and leaving investigators searching for answers
0:41
about what motivated the attacker.
0:43
But first,
0:44
today's afternoon spotlight.
0:46
A major cartel leader is back in custody in
0:48
Mexico following a gun battle with special forces,
0:52
and American intelligence reportedly aided the takedown.
0:55
The operation unfolded Sunday afternoon in Zapopan,
0:57
a city just outside Guadalajara
0:59
in western Mexico.
1:01
Mexican authorities had tracked the suspected cartel commander to a restaurant
1:05
where he was believed to be meeting with other members of his organization.
1:09
Around 2 o'clock.
1:10
Special operations personnel from the Mexican navy approached the building,
1:13
and that's when the shooting started.
1:16
According to Mexican officials,
1:17
gunmen inside the restaurant opened fire on the commandos,
1:20
who,
1:20
of course,
1:21
returned fire
1:22
when the shooting stopped.
1:23
20 suspects were in custody,
1:25
including the operation's primary target.
1:27
His name is Rafael Alvarez Ayala,
1:30
better known as R2,
1:32
just R2.
1:33
The 42-year old.
1:34
is an alleged regional commander in the Jalisco New Generation cartel,
1:38
and that's
1:38
one of Mexico's most powerful and violent criminal
1:42
organizations.
1:42
Now R2 was wounded in the gunfight and taken to a hospital under armed guard.
1:47
One Mexican naval officer was also wounded,
1:50
although authorities say his injuries are not life threatening,
1:53
and there is a US connection to this operation.
1:56
Mexico's security secretary Omar Garcia Hafou
2:00
confirmed that intelligence supplied by the US
2:02
Drug Enforcement Administration helped authorities locate R2.
2:07
Mexican intelligence agencies used that information to track the suspect
2:10
while Mexican naval special forces carried out the raid.
2:14
Now there's no indication that American personnel participated in the gunfight.
2:18
R2 is also facing federal charges in the US.
2:22
Back in August,
2:23
the Justice Department announced an indictment against R2 and his older brother,
2:27
Ramon Alvarez Ayala,
2:29
known as,
2:30
well,
2:30
R1.
2:31
See the pattern?
2:32
Federal prosecutors accused the brothers of overseeing
2:35
an international cocaine and meth trafficking conspiracy
2:38
that operated for nearly two decades.
2:41
They also face a variety of firearms charges.
2:44
If convicted on all counts,
2:46
each brother faces a mandatory minimum of 40 years in prison,
2:50
all the way up to the possibility of two consecutive life sentences.
2:54
R1 was arrested by Mexican authorities back in July.
2:58
Now,
2:58
4 months later,
2:59
his younger brother has been captured as well.
3:02
And this isn't the first time that Mexican authorities
3:04
have gotten their hands on this particular cartel leader.
3:06
He was previously arrested in 2012
3:09
when he and his brother were identified as
3:10
senior operators within the Jalisco New Generation cartel.
3:15
At the time,
3:15
authorities accused him of overseeing criminal cells,
3:18
coordinating drug shipments,
3:19
and organizing violent disruptions across western Mexico.
3:23
R2 eventually regained his freedom after roughly a decade behind bars.
3:27
And according to Mexican authorities,
3:29
apparently he wasn't a reformed criminal.
3:32
He returned to a position of influence within the cartel.
3:36
More recently,
3:36
investigators have linked the brothers' criminal organization
3:39
to one of Mexico's most notorious recent political assassinations.
3:44
Last November,
3:45
Carlos Monzo,
3:45
the mayor of Uruapan in the state of Michoacan.
3:49
was murdered during a public Day of the Dead celebration.
3:52
Monzo had earned a reputation for aggressively confronting organized crime.
3:56
He frequently accompanied police officers on operations and
3:59
publicly challenged the cartels operating in his city.
4:02
On November 1st,
4:04
uh,
4:04
2025,
4:05
he was attending a candle lighting ceremony in a crowded town square
4:09
when a teenage gunman approached and opened fire.
4:12
Monzo was fatally wounded.
4:14
The assassination
4:15
shocked Mexico and triggered an extensive investigation.
4:18
Into the criminal network responsible.
4:21
According to a new investigation published by El Pais,
4:23
authorities eventually reconstructed the murder plot
4:26
using surveillance footage,
4:27
encrypted messages,
4:29
cell phones,
4:29
and a computer hard drive recovered from one of the suspects.
4:33
Investigators identified R1,
4:35
the older Alvarez brother,
4:37
as an alleged mastermind of the assassination.
4:40
Mexican authorities have also linked R2 to the killing,
4:42
although his precise role has not been publicly established.
4:46
And the cartel faction that the brothers allegedly
4:49
controlled over the years was involved in considerably more
4:52
than trafficking drugs.
4:54
Authorities accused the organization of kidnapping,
4:56
extortion,
4:57
murder,
4:57
and attacks on security forces.
5:00
For Washington,
5:01
Sunday's arrest represents another success in
5:03
the campaign against cartel leadership,
5:05
but it also illustrates an important feature of
5:07
the current relationship between the US and Mexico.
5:11
President Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility
5:14
of direct American military action against Mexican cartels.
5:18
Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum
5:19
has opposed unilateral American operations on her country's territory
5:24
while supporting intelligence sharing and
5:26
cooperation between law enforcement agencies.
5:29
The raid in Zapopan demonstrates how that cooperation can work.
5:33
American intelligence helped identify the target.
5:35
Mexican commandos conducted the operation,
5:38
and a cartel commander
5:39
wanted in both countries
5:41
is now in custody.
5:43
All right.
5:44
Coming up next,
5:45
6 people are killed in a mass shooting in Poland as investigators search for a motive
5:50
amid a growing political dispute over the gunman's alleged ideology.
5:54
I'll be right back.
5:56
Hey,
5:56
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Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin.
8:43
A Saturday afternoon in Krakow,
8:45
Poland was shattered by gunfire,
8:47
leaving 6 people dead.
8:49
Police shot and wounded the attacker within minutes,
8:52
but he later died in the hospital.
8:54
Now investigators are piecing together his past
8:56
to understand what led to the attack.
8:59
The shooting began just after 3 p.m. in the main market square in Krakow's old town.
9:03
It's
9:04
one of Poland's most visited tourist destinations.
9:07
It was crowded when the gunman drove into the square
9:09
and began firing from his car at random people,
9:13
police said.
9:14
Municipal guards arrived within 2 minutes.
9:16
1 minute later,
9:17
police officers exchanged fire with the attacker,
9:19
and soon emergency medical teams were on the scene.
9:22
The victims were 2 men and 4 women.
9:24
4 were Polish citizens,
9:26
while the other 2,
9:27
a British man and an Austrian woman.
9:29
At least 16 people were reported wounded,
9:32
including 2 police officers.
9:33
As of today,
9:34
15 remain hospitalized.
9:36
The Krakow province governor.
9:38
Said 14 were in stable condition while one officer
9:40
who helped apprehend the attacker remained seriously injured.
9:44
Prosecutors identified the dead gunman as Mikhail Okzinski,
9:48
a 24-year-old Polish man.
9:50
Their investigation then led to his family's apartment.
9:53
Where the bodies of his father,
9:54
mother,
9:55
and sister were found on Saturday.
9:57
Officials believe Okshinsky
9:59
killed them as well.
10:00
Investigators are still working to establish the full sequence of events,
10:03
and
10:04
they've also recovered a substantial number of weapons.
10:07
A national prosecutor's office spokesman said,
10:09
quote,
10:09
A total of 4 firearms and several 100 rounds of ammunition
10:12
were discovered in the vehicle
10:14
and in the possession of the shooter.
10:16
Officers found another 7 firearms in the family apartment.
10:20
Prosecutors said both the deceased shooter and his father held firearms permits.
10:26
That brings us to the motive,
10:28
where the investigation has become
10:29
caught up in a political dispute.
10:32
Government officials initially suggested Okshinsky
10:34
may have been inspired by far-right ideology,
10:37
but they did not publicly provide details to substantiate that connection.
10:42
The nationalist opposition pushed back.
10:43
The leader of the Law and Justice Party called those claims a blatant lie.
10:48
Prosecutors have described the shooting as an act of terrorism,
10:51
but have not established which ideology,
10:53
if any,
10:54
drove the gunman.
10:55
By Monday,
10:56
a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said investigators
10:58
still did not know what motivated him.
11:01
Inside the suspect's room,
11:02
investigators found a yellow flag featuring a coiled snake in the words,
11:06
quote,
11:07
Don't tread on me.
11:09
Well,
11:09
now some of you may recognize that as the Gadsden flag,
11:12
which dates to the American Revolution.
11:15
The spokesman cautioned against treating it as proof of extremism.
11:18
He said the flag had
11:20
various meanings related to freedom or rebellion
11:22
and is not known as being linked to any form of extremism.
11:26
He also said investigators had found no obvious symbolism
11:30
in the room associated with the shooter.
11:32
Authorities are also examining several emblems on his clothing.
11:35
The Interior Ministry spokeswoman said those had already been partially examined
11:39
and interpreted,
11:40
but officials had not publicly discussed them.
11:43
With those questions still unresolved,
11:44
government officials began urging restraint.
11:47
A spokesman told Polish television,
11:48
quote,
11:48
Until the matter is fully clarified and the
11:50
authorities are in possession of complete information,
11:53
it's best to refrain from making comments,
11:55
even if there are some initial indications,
11:57
end quote.
11:59
Poland's justice minister said investigators would continue examining
12:02
whether Okshinsky acted alone or was inspired by a group.
12:06
He said,
12:06
quote,
12:07
Evidence is being collected,
12:08
but I will not show or disclose it,
12:10
end quote.
12:11
The bloodshed has shocked a country that has
12:14
long viewed itself as safer than Western European neighbors
12:18
that have experienced similar attacks.
12:21
And that my friends,
12:22
is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday,
12:24
the 9th of November.
12:25
Now,
12:25
if you have any questions or comments,
12:26
and I hope you do,
12:27
just reach out to me at PDB@hefirsttv.com
12:31
and to listen to the show ad-free,
12:32
that is a very simple thing to do.
12:34
You just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief
12:37
by visiting PDBpremium.com.
12:40
I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow.
12:42
Until then,
12:43
stay informed,
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stay safe,
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and stay cool.
13:00
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