Latest / The President's Daily Brief / PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 22nd, 2026: Iran's Oil Strategy Backfires & Bukele Threatens Haiti's Gangs

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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 22nd, 2026: Iran's Oil Strategy Backfires & Bukele Threatens Haiti's Gangs · The President's Daily Brief

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It's Thursday,
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the 22nd of October.
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Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin.
0:17
I'm Mike Baker,
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your eyes and ears on the world stage.
0:20
Alright,
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let's get briefed.
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First up,
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a major setback for Iran as the regime's
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efforts to strangle global oil supplies backfire.
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The regime's Arab neighbors are exporting more oil
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than before the war.
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I'll have the details.
0:36
Later in the show,
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Haitian gangs take 4 Salvadoran military personnel hostage,
0:42
prompting a furious response from El Salvador's president,
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who's now threatening military retaliation.
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But first,
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today's afternoon spotlight.
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Updated reporting from the Persian Gulf spells trouble for
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Iran's ongoing efforts to strangle the world's oil supply.
0:59
Despite months of Iranian attacks on commercial shipping,
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more oil is reportedly now leaving the region than before the war began.
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And at the same time,
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while Saudi Arabia and its neighbors are finding ways to get their oil to market,
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Iran's
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own oil exports have reportedly ground to a halt.
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Making matters worse for the Iranian regime,
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new reporting reveals that Iran has exhausted a massive reserve of oil
1:24
that it had been selling to China to keep money flowing into its economy.
1:29
Taken together,
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the developments represent a significant setback for Iran's strategy of
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using the world's energy supply as a weapon against the US and its regional allies.
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All right,
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let's start with the numbers.
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According to the Wall Street Journal,
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citing data from the shipping intelligence firm Kepler,
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oil exports from the Persian Gulf averaged more than
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24 million barrels per day during the week ending October 18th.
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Now that's up from approximately 23.3 million barrels per day
2:00
before the war began in February.
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Those figures exclude Iranian oil.
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It's a significant turnaround from the early days of the conflict when
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Iranian attacks effectively paralyzed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Now,
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before the war,
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roughly 15% of the world's oil and
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liquefied natural gas supplies passed through that narrow waterway.
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Tehran understood that threatening those shipments
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could send energy prices soaring,
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inflict economic pain around the world,
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and potentially pressure Washington into making concessions.
2:31
But the Gulf's major oil exporters
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have spent the intervening months developing ways to keep their petroleum moving.
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Saudi Arabia has expanded shipments through its east-west pipeline,
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transporting crude across the Arabian Peninsula to terminals on the Red Sea.
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The UAE,
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the United Arab Emirates,
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has also increased its use of a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
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Meanwhile,
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an improvised network of tankers has emerged under American military protection.
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Smaller vessels make
3:00
dangerous journeys through the strait,
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often using a US protected corridor along the Omani coast.
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Once they reach the Gulf of Oman,
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they transfer their cargo to larger tankers
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that complete the journey to international markets.
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The system is complicated,
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expensive,
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and dangerous,
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but it is working.
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Before the war,
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only about 17% of the region's oil exports bypassed the Strait of Hormuz.
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Today that figure has climbed above
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40%,
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and shipments passing directly through the strait
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have recovered to more than 80% of their pre-war levels.
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And all of this is happening as Iranian forces have
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intensified their strikes against commercial shipping in recent weeks,
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with at least 18 attacks on vessels reported across the region
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over a two-week period.
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Oil prices also remain elevated,
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reflecting the continued danger to shipping and the
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enormous costs of operating in a war zone.
3:56
But Tehran's ability to prevent its neighbors
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from exporting oil has clearly diminished,
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and that brings us to another development which
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may be even more damaging to the regime.
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While Gulf producers are increasing their own exports,
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Iran is running out of ways
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to get its oil to market.
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Before the blockade began,
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Iran had accumulated a massive stockpile of crude
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aboard a network of so-called shadow tankers,
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many positioned in waters near Malaysia and Singapore.
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At one point,
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those floating reserves totaled approximately 135 million barrels of oil
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worth more than $10 billion.
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That allowed Tehran to continue generating revenue
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by selling oil that had already left the
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country even after new shipments were blocked.
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But according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal,
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that stockpile
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has now been exhausted.
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Shipping analysts say the reserves effectively ran dry by the middle of October.
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And with the American blockade still preventing
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Iranian tankers from replenishing those supplies,
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Tehran's most important source of foreign revenue has been effectively cut off.
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American officials estimate the blockade has
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already cost Iran at least $25 billion
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in lost oil revenue.
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Now that's an enormous blow to a government that
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relies heavily on petroleum exports to finance its operations,
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support its military,
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pay its network of proxies,
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and obtain desperately needed foreign currency.
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Iran's economy was,
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of course,
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already struggling with inflation,
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a weakened currency,
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and mounting financial pressure from the war.
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And while the regime has explored alternative routes to move oil over land,
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those shipments haven't come close to replacing its seaborne exports.
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Iranian officials continue to insist that
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their economy can withstand the pressure,
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and at this point,
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there is no indication
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that the regime is preparing to abandon its demands.
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But the broader picture is becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran.
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Iran attempted to use its geographical position along the Strait of Hormuz to
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inflict economic damage on its adversaries
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and force Washington
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to reconsider its military campaign.
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Instead,
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the US and its regional partners have developed ways to keep oil flowing,
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while the American blockade has largely prevented Iran from selling its own oil.
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Now,
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the danger to international shipping does remain
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substantial both in the Strait of Hormuz
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and the Bab al Mandeb Strait,
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and another major attack could still disrupt the fragile system,
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keeping Gulf exports moving.
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But for now,
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well,
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the numbers do tell a striking story.
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All right.
6:33
Coming up next,
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El Salvador's president Naib Bukele threatens military action
6:38
against Haiti's powerful gangs
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after 4 of his soldiers are taken hostage.
6:43
I'll be right back.
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Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin.
9:33
It has been a while since we've taken a look at the situation in Haiti,
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where heavily armed gangs have spent years terrorizing the population
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and bringing much of the country under their control.
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And despite an international military intervention.
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The security situation remains,
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well,
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difficult at best,
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and I'm being very diplomatic there.
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According to reporting,
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4 El Salvadoran military personnel have now been taken hostage,
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prompting a furious response from El Salvador's president Naib Bukele.
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The incident began on Sunday when 4 Salvadoran servicemen
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were returning to their base after a trip to a local market.
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They were traveling in an armored vehicle through a
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gang-controlled area outside the capital of Port au Prince
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when armed attackers opened fire.
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All 4 Salvadorans managed to escape the vehicle
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but then disappeared in the chaos that followed.
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Other members of the international security force attempted to reach them,
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deploying helicopters and ground units,
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but the gangs continued fighting,
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preventing rescuers from entering the area.
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For several days,
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the men's whereabouts remained unknown,
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and then on Wednesday,
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President Bukele announced that the 4 Salvadorans had been taken hostage.
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He also revealed that his military
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had launched an operation to bring them home
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and warned the kidnappers that a much larger response was coming
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if they failed to release the men alive and unharmed.
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Bukele went further,
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invoking his own government's campaign against organized crime.
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He declared that El Salvador had already defeated its gangs
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and could do the same to Haiti's criminal organizations.
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Bukele has built his presidency around an aggressive
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crackdown on gang violence in El Salvador,
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deploying the military,
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arresting tens of thousands of suspected gang members,
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and dramatically reducing the country's
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once notorious murder rate.
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His methods have attracted considerable
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criticism from human rights organizations,
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particularly over mass detentions and allegations of abuse,
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but
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they've also transformed El Salvador's security situation.
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And made Bukele an enormously popular figure at home.
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Now he's confronting an entirely different criminal threat.
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According to Bukele,
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the hostages are actually aviation technicians deployed
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to Haiti to support medical evacuations and
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other humanitarian operations.
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Their capture
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highlights the danger and chaos facing
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international forces operating in the country.
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For some background,
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Haiti has been trapped in a deepening
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political and security crisis since the assassination of President Jovenel Mois
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back in 2021.
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A mix of gangs have
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exploited the resulting instability,
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carving up neighborhoods,
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controlling important roads,
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extorting businesses,
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and terrorizing civilians.
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Today,
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criminal groups control
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large portions of Port au Prince
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and have expanded their operations into surrounding regions.
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Nearly 1.5 million Haitians
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have been displaced by the violence,
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and efforts to restore order have produced disappointing results.
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The International Gang Suppression Force,
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which replaced an earlier Kenyan-led mission,
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was supposed to bring thousands of additional personnel
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and more aggressive operations against the gangs,
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but the mission remains severely undermanned.
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Just over 2000 personnel have been deployed
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compared with an authorized strength of 5500.
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The US has invested heavily on the international security effort,
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but the
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gangs remain firmly entrenched.
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And now
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the kidnapping of 4 Salvadoran servicemen has exposed another vulnerability.
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An international force specifically deployed to confront Haiti's gangs
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has found itself unable to recover 4 of its own personnel
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from gang-controlled territory.
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Bukele hasn't disclosed the details of his rescue
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operation or identified the gang responsible for the kidnappings
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for now.
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The 4 Salvadorans remain unaccounted for,
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and Bukele is threatening to escalate his military response
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if they're not returned safely.
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And that,
13:28
my friends,
13:29
is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday,
13:32
the 22nd of October.
13:33
If you have any questions or comments,
13:34
just reach out to me at PDB@hefirsttv.com.
13:38
And of course to listen to the show ad-free,
13:40
you can do that.
13:41
Just become a premium member
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of the President's Daily Brief by visiting
13:44
PDBpremium.com.
13:47
I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow.
13:49
Until then,
13:50
stay informed,
13:51
stay safe,
13:52
stay cool.
14:08
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