CrashOut Podcast

I look at the bombshell indictment of governor Rubén Rocha on drug trafficking charges. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CrashOut talks to Danny Gold and Sean Williams at The Underworld podcast about the five dumbest ever crime stories. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Ghaleb Krame was working in the security department in Tamaulipas, he arranged to go for a breakfast in a prestigious restaurant in state capital Ciudad Victoria. However, he canceled at the last minute, which was lucky as gunmen came and sprayed it up. He soon learned he had a price on his head. This is only one of many intense incidents in Krame’s crazy life that spirals through security, intelligence, academia and consulting, not only in his homeland of Mexico, but in Europe and the Middle East, where his family hails from. He went as a teenager to Lebanon and learned to shoot with the Syrian army and after September 11 was a valuable asset in the UK. His unorthodox life contributes to making him one of the most interesting and outspoken former officials on Mexican security. While many here in Mexico understandably try to avoid the subject of cartels and crime, Krame digs deep into it. He recognized the cartel use of drones early and now foresees the development of AI drone swarms. He analyzes how sicarios operate as irregular armed forces. Like with any guest, I don’t agree with everything Krame says, and may disagree strongly on certain points, but he is a fascinating thinker and in this episode we get into a range of subjects including the death of El Mencho (or is he really dead, Krame asks), the CIA agents (or officers!) in Chihuahua, the shooting at Teotihuacán, a divided country under Morena (he is a big critic), and hope for a less violent Mexico. I recommend listening through as the convo gets more intense as we go on. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I look at the case of the CIA agents who died on Sunday in Mexico. For more info, go to: www.crashoutmedia.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk with Ángel Hernández about the many narco trials he is covering in the U.S., including Rafael Caro Quintero, Nicolás Maduro and Ryan Wedding. For more info and to support, go to www.crashoutmedia.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gustavo Grav has spent years documenting the cholos of the Mexico City urban area and brings us great photos and video. See a full photo essay and more info at: www.crashoutmedia.com See more of Gustavo's work at: www.gustavograf.com and on   / gustavograf_  Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

While El Mencho has been buried in a golden casket, we are yet to see a photo of his corpse (those that have been circulated have been found to be fake). When I went to the cabins where Mencho’s was captured I found some curious details that didn’t add up, including .50 caliber shells inside a room with no visible damage to the walls or windows. There could of course be a non-nefarious explanation. But without a real disclosure of what happened, there are many questions around “the last stand of El Mencho.” For more info, go to: www.ioangrillo.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In huge news, the Mexican army with U.S. intelligence killed El Mencho, boss of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the operatives unleashed terror across Mexico. For more info, go to: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Those who follow Venezuela will remember news of the militias that took to the streets in the days following the U.S. operation to nab Nicolás Maduro, raising fears of a Beirut-like situation of armed neighborhoods. While these militias, known as colectivos, returned to their bunkers as Delcy Rodríguez consolidated power, they remain a wild card in the volatile Venezuela situation. The fleeting news reports only scratched the surface and gave little info about how powerful these Chavista colectivos are and where that might stand in post-Maduro Venezuela. But a friend of CrashOut, Martín “Marty” Markovits, spent years filming with crews in Caracas, producing an incredible documentary about them.In this convo, I talk with Marty about the history of the colectivos, who gave them their guns and how difficult it would be to disarm them. He also describes a scene which his main character didn’t want in the film about a meeting between colectivos and ELN guerillas. For more info and to support the podcast, go to www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Osiel Cárdenas, head of the Gulf Cartel, has eyes like the devil, former DEA Agent Mike Chavarria says, describing when he debriefed him after his extradition. “Looking in his eyes was like looking into a dark abyss,” he says. Osiel’s rival Armando “Maradona” Valencia, meanwhile, is an intellectual. He was always looking slick when Mike met the narco in safe locations and he began negotiations for a potential surrender. Azul is widely believed to be dead but Mike has heard info he could have escaped to the Seychelles. I have talked to many current and former DEA agents over the years but Mike is one of the most fascinating. He was not only at the center of a dozen crazy cases, especially in a violent crazy period in Mexico, but he joins the dots to chronicle the bloody cartel history and has been using this knowledge to pen books, including “Junior: A Son of the Gulf Cartel,” which you can find here. On this episode of the CrashOut Podcast, Mike breaks down how he went undercover to bust dope, his secret meetings with narcos, suspecting Mexican security chief Genaro García Luna before his conviction for cocaine trafficking, and Trump’s new war on drugs. It’s a nuts ride through a painful era. Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Reports have come out alleging that Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez coordinated with Washington before the special force attack on Caracas to seize President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. The result is a strange hybrid of Venezuela’s socialist government still in place and now working with (or rather under) President Donald Trump. It’s not the only curious and confusing feature of the “regime decapitation.” The CIA is now openly praising working with Rodríguez and it leaked a report saying that opposition leader María Corina Machado didn’t have the support (before she gave her Nobel peace prize to Trump). Can the Chavista government stay in power or is this a temporary situation? What really motivated Trump to take out Maduro and when did he make the call? I get deep into the historic events with great journalist and friend Juan David Rojas, “our man in Miami,” (or close by in South Florida) in this latest episode of the CrashOut Podcast. You can find more of Juan’s work in various outlets, including Compact Magazine, at his own Substack, Social Democracy With Populist Characteristics, or on X at @rojasrjuand. To find out more, go to www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The growth of the National Liberation Army or ELN, a sprawling guerilla force of 6,500 combatants shifting between Venezuela and Colombia, has hardly got any attention in the United States. Yet it’s just one of various explosive stories from the Colombia-Venezuela border, where spies, gangs, and insurgents are adjusting to the new political situation after U.S. special forces took out Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Here I cut together video from a week reporting in Cúcuta and in the countryside north of the city, so you can see with your own eyes the dirt smuggling paths, border barrio of Venezuelan refugees, Colombian armored vehicles, contraband gasoline and more colorful scenes. It’s a CrashOut guerrilla podcast, but while it has a jagged edge style we go deeper than in the snappy cable news lives. Check out more at: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This was a crazy and freaky experience. Check out more on: www.crashoutmedia.comOr support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ioangrilloSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As U.S. military forces pile up in the Caribbean, pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to run, the obvious comparison comes up with the 1989 invasion of Panama to take out dictator Manuel Noriega. This makes perfect timing for a remarkable new book by journalist Cillian Dunne about Noriega through the eyes of his right hand man, and as Cillian says “attack dog,” Carlos Wittgreen. A young writer from Dublin, Cillian gained extraordinary access to Carlos and to his trove of documents, right before Carlos died a few months ago. The story of Noriega is fascinating and complex, how he was a CIA and DEA asset yet also worked with the Medellín Cartel, how he played off Washington and Cuba, and had a personal dispute with George H. W. Bush who took him down with a shower of bombs and rock music. Carlos is at the center of this drama while leading his own crazy life in the shadow world, getting training from the United States and Mossad and ending up in a Peruvian prison. Sometimes the world chooses you to tell these surreal stories, and it did with Cillian, who makes a great guest on the CrashOut Podcast and takes us down some jaw dropping avenues. You can find Cillian's book and info at: https://www.therighthandmanbook.com/ Check out more on Ioan Grillo and CrashOut Podcast at: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of El Chapo, pled guilty to drug trafficking in a federal court in Chicago on Monday, and signed a plea agreement in which he confessed to kidnapping Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada (referred to as Individual A) and flying him to the United States to hand into U.S. justice. Any reader of CrashOut knows we have been deep into this story all the way (check out the archive), and I break down what was revealed with Joaquín Jr’s confession. The saga of the Mayo kidnapping itself is coming to an end, but the war it provoked in Sinaloa rages on as bad as ever. Find out more at: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It was tough day in Mexico City on Saturday of protests, riots, vandalism, and arrests that highlighted some difficult divisions in Mexico. I went into report and got a good dose of gas myself. Here is the story. (Above for the video or below for the audio). For more info, go to: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's hard to keep up with the pace of U.S. missile strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. When I began recording this it was 10 hits and 43 dead since September When I finished the edit a day later, it was 14 and 57 dead. This is new territory in the war on drugs. Or is it all about regime change in Venezuela? I break it down in this episode of CrashOut Podcast. For more info, go to: www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The U.S. military on Sept. 2 used a missile to hit a boat of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members accused of moving drugs in international waters and killed the eleven people on board. This follows the designation of Tren de Aragua as terrorists and a directive by President Donald J. Trump for the military to go after such “narco-terrorist” targets. While it may not be the top story in the news, it’s a major development that takes us into new rough waters in the drug war but it could also be the build up to a further U.S. attack on Venezuela. I break it down in this video, question if it went down as Trump said it did, and look at where this leads. For more info go to www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada pleads guilty in New York. For more info, go to www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Medellin Cartel rose in the 1980s by flooding the United States with cocaine, providing dope to dance floors in Miami all the way to crack houses in Los Angeles. Forbes magazine once estimated the tidal wave of powder made the cartel’s top trafficker Pablo Escobar $9 billion and its No. 2, Carlos Lehder, another $2.7 billion. While these numbers are likely major over-estimates of how much individual narcos actually keep, the cocaine trade certainly served up billions of dollars to Colombia, fueling an armed conflict involving the cartels, army, leftist guerillas and right wing paramilitaries that tore the South American nation apart and left a lot of families weeping. Escobar gained an infamy alongside Al Capone and later El Chapo as the most well-known mobsters of all time. But Lehder was also a fascinating character. He personally piloted planes and had his own private island in The Bahamas, which he used as a trampoline to bounce blow state side. The son of a German, he was portrayed by Netflix Narcos with a swastika tattoo as a Neo-Nazi narco. And he went on to become the star witness against the Panamanian dictator General Noriega, who was a CIA agent and an ally of Medellin Cartel before the U.S. invasion of Panama took him down in 1989. So when I recently got a message that I would have a chance to interview Lehder, who is now free and back in Colombia after a 33-year stint in prison, I scrambled to get there as quick as I could. The man I discovered was more humble and less boastful than you might expect, but then decades in a cell including four years in solitary, changes you. He has written a memoir of “Life and Death of the Medellin Cartel,” which you can find here and provides a revealing first-hand account to understand the period. We spoke for hours in what I believe is Carlos’ first English language interview. He goes into fascinating details about how the Medellin Cartel really functioned, its relationship with guerillas and paramilitaries, and how they owned governments and supplied the U.S.-backed Contra rebels. He also gets personal about what years in solitary does to your brain. I’m proud to say this episode show cases an important testimony that helps understand the history of the eighties in the Americas, while its also intriguing to see the man behind the myth. Get your tea or beer, zap it on and soak it up.For more information and to support, go to www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Friday, Mexican troops shot dead Jorge Humberto Figueroa, a paramilitary commander of the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Here is my update news report. For more info and to support the show, check out: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

While all eyes are focuses on the U.S. southern border with Mexico, the United States has a northern border that is almost three times as long. I talk with journalist Katarina Szulc about cartels in Canada and how fzntanyl crosses south from there. For more on this and other stories and to support the podcast, please go to www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two weeks on from the macabre discovery of the training and alleged extermination camp of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the case continues to shake Mexico. But is there hope it will ever be resolved and justice will be delivered to the families of loved ones lost? Katarina Szulc and I go through all we know about the camp and the worrying developments.For more, go to www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Sunday, a U.S. flight packed with alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang flew to El Salvador to be sent to one of the world’s most feared prisons - despite an attempt by a U.S. judge to halt it. The measure fits in with a more radical approach to fight gangs and cartels across the Americas, but will face a legal fight as many of the measures of President Trump will. For more stories, got www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A list of nine cartels and gangs was leaked to the New York Times of those that are supposedly going to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump White House. In this CrashOut Chronicle video, I go through who they are, how we got here and what impact the terrorist designation will have. Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With on-the-ground reporting and analysis, I look at the brutal battle in Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel between the Mayos and Chapitos. Since it exploded in September, it has caused over 1,000 deaths and disappearances and shows no sign of stopping. Thanks to Omid Visua for editing. For full video, other reports and to support my work, please go to www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk with journalist Guillermo Galdos about his latest documentary on the submarines full of cocaine that cross the Atlantic. For more stories and to support, go to: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk to Max Daly about his decades covering drxgs in the UK and his work as international drugs editor for Vice. Check out more on his work and books at: http://www.maxdaly.com/ Check out of my stuff at: www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I look at the security strategy of new Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum. For more info, check out: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ken Behr was a major smuggler of marijuana and cocaine into South Florida from the 1970s to the 1990s. When he finally got caught, he made a deal and worked undercover for the DEA for two years. He reveals all in his new book, "Confessions of a Marijuana Mercenary," which he talks about in this fascinating interview. For more info, go to: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk to anthropologist Angela Garcia about the "anexos" in Mexico City that keep dozens of so-called addicts locked up in a single room for years using harsh methods such as chaining them to the wall. She has written about these for her new book, "The Way That Leads Among The Lost." I also talk to her about addiction in the New Mexico where she is from and any hopes of breaking the cycle.For more stories and to support my work, go to: www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sometimes you find a story that just blows you away and makes you wonder how you hadn’t heard it before. Patrick Winn’s new book “Narcotopia” did just that in painting the first detailed portrait of the Wa State, an Asian territory the size of Belgium that is effectively run by a drug cartel. Wa State is officially in Myanmar but is self governed with its own army, supplied by Beijing. It churns out heinous quantities of crystal meth that floods the Asian markets, except China. There has been surprisingly little response to China having this client narco state, but then the United States also used to work with drug traffickers in this Golden Triangle to unsuccessfully fight against North Vietnam and before that against the government in Beijing itself.  I’ll let Patrick tell you the rest in this episode of the CrashOut Chronicles podcast. To find out more on CrashOut and support the podcast, go to: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk with bad ass journalist Hollie McKay who reported in Afghanistan about how the opium was trafficked massively under the Allied occupation and how the Taliban destroyed it.You can check out Hollie's Subtsack on:  https://holliesmckay.substack.com/To read more CrashOut stories and support the Chronicles go to: www.crashoutmedia.com   Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I get into the seismic detention of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. For my full story please go to: https://www.crashoutmedia.com/p/exclu... You can also see more of my pieces and support my work at: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mexico's first female president smashes the election 2024Check out: www.crashutmedia.com Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In another tragic case, three surfers - two Australian and one American - took a trip to Baja California and didn’t make it back; their bodies were found in a well with bullet wounds. Baja California authorities were quick to find them and arrest suspects. But questions remain. How did they get to the alleged perpetrators? If it was a robbery why was the vehicle of the surfers burned out. To support my work, please go to www.crashoutmedia.comOr https://buymeacoffee.com/ioangrilloSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In Baltimore, Maryland, I interviewed teenage killer turned anti violence activist Tyree "Colion" Moorehead. In 2022, Colion was himself shot dead by a police officer while assaulting a woman and having a knife drawn. For more of my work, check out: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk to Margarito Flores, who along with his brother trafficked more than 60 tons of cocaine for the Sinaloa Cartel. They then became cooperators and gathered evidence that was used to indict more than 50 traffickers, including El Chapo. He is now working giving classes to law enforcement on the workings of cartels and trying to make a difference. Check out more on him at: kingpintoeducator.com or dynamicpolicetraining.comTo read more of my work and support this podcast go to: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I look into the crazy new allegations dropping Mexico. To look into the issues further and support my work please go to: www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

 I talk to journalist Ben Westhoff about his work covering the overdose crisis and gun violence. To support this podcast and my work, you can go to: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ioangrillo or www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk to Christian Cipollini about California’s Homegrown Sicario: El Mano Negra. You can read the story on the years of interviews with El Mano Negra at: www.crashoutmedia.com You can also support my work at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ioangrilloSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Luis Chaparro and I talk to Deborah Bonello about her investigation into the cartel queenpins and her book Narcas. You can support this podcast on: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ioangrillo Or subscribing to: www.crashoutmedia.com Also check out Deborah's Substack at: https://dbonello.substack.com/ and her book at: https://www.amazon.com/Narcas-Secret-... Check our Luis' YouTube channel at: @luischaparro And his Substack at: https://www.lchaparro.com/Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Journalist Luis Chaparro got an exclusive interview with the narco known as El Plaga. The thing is El Plaga was meant to be in Mexican prison but he says he is on the streets. You can read the story on El Plaga here - https://www.crashoutmedia.com/p/narco-el-plaga-gives-me-an-interviewSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk with Luis Chaparro on his interview with narco turned informant Dámaso López Serrano, alias Mini Lic. To read the full story on Mini Lic go to www.crashoutmedia.comSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk with fellow narco journalist Luis Chaparro about the crime bosses in his hometown of Ciudad Juarez from La Nacha to the Lord of the Skies and rise and fall of the Juarez Cartel Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talked to fellow crime journalist Niko Vorobyov about the situation right now in Russia, with the protests, war, oligarchs and crime bosses. Check out Niko's work on: @Lemmiwinks_III https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Niko-Vorobyov-ebook/dp/B0818Q395QSupport the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On February 15, 2011, members of the Zetas drug cartel attacked two agents from ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. One of them, Jaime Zapata, was killed. The other, Victor Avila, survived. Here he tells his story.Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is an interview I conducted in 2019 with former Mexican President Felipe Calderón for my book Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartel.  I am releasing the audio of the interview today to coincide with the release of the book, which you can find from all good booksellers, in print, kindle or as an audio book. I interviewed former President Calderón, who ruled Mexico from 2006 to 2012, especially to ask about his attempts to fight firearms trafficking from the United States, and how much he knew about Fast and Furious - a botched operation by the ATF to follow firearms being smuggled by the cartels. However, the interview also goes into detail about former President Calderón's crackdown on drug cartels, the accusations of corruption, the death of his Interior Secretary in a mysterious plane crash and much more. Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is a debate with my friend and fellow writer Malcolm Beith, author The Last Narco, about whether the War on Drugs, which turns 50 last year, will change under Biden-Harris. I argue that there is hope and opportunity for a deescalation. He argues they will ramp it up.Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Following the arrest of ex Mexican defense minister General Cienfuegos, I have a very late night chat with Mike Vigil, who served decades in the DEA, going undercover with traffickers. He was the longest serving agent in Mexico and also went to Central America and Colombia and arrested major traffickers. He reveals fascinating details about arrest of Cienfuegos and his time working with the Mexican security forces.Support the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.