Borderland: Narcosis with Vincent 'Rocco' Vargas

Today's guest is Will Grant. He is the BBC's Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondent, based in Mexico City. Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original. Chapters (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:24) Bukele vs. Haiti's Gangs (00:07:14) Can Mexico Copy El Salvador's Crackdown? (00:12:11) On the Ground After El Mencho's Death (00:20:43) From Cop to Cartel Boss (00:26:57) Will CJNG Fracture? (00:31:21) The Intel Behind the El Mencho Operation (00:37:03) What Americans Get Wrong About Mexico (00:44:40) Daily Life in Cartel Territory (00:49:20) Reporting in One of the World's Deadliest Places (00:52:53) Do Cartels Shape Media Coverage? (00:56:48) Populism and the Strongman Appeal (01:02:33) Where to Find Will Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6w9YAIljxWKXsetl10w9Qp?si=08204ab97bfb4972 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hels Apffel is an investigative correspondent, Florida State Guard Public Affairs Sergeant, journalist who works with groups including The GOAT Initiative, an organization that tracks smuggling and security threats on the southern border, and is the Editorial Producer at America Now. Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:03) How the GoTo Initiative Collects Intel at the Border (00:02:48) Special Interest Aliens (00:04:14) Agencies That Passed on the Intel (00:08:13) The Gap Between Federal Agencies (00:13:29) Cartels and Smuggling Fees (00:15:08) Illegal Marijuana Grows in California (00:23:16) JVR Energy Park Near San Diego (00:26:08) Missing Migrant Children (00:33:17) Outro Sponsors: Firecracker Farm Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katarina Szulc joins Vince 'Rocco' Vargas to discuss her latest investigation into foreign fighters in Ukraine, cartel paramilitary groups, the state of trafficking, and the law enforcement wars on cartels. Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters: (00:00:00) Cartels Recruiting Foreign Fighters From Ukraine (00:07:45) Are Cartels Really Threatening to Kidnap Federal Agents? (00:13:21) Colombian Mercenaries & the Los Zetas Playbook (00:21:41) US Drones & Lethal Boat Strikes in Latin America (00:31:00) How Cocaine Moves Now: Ports, Shipping Containers & Tunnels (00:35:50) Shield of the Americas & Latin American Autonomy (00:38:45) What's Next Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Dudley is the co-founder and co-director of InSight Crime, a think tank focused on organized crime in the Americas. Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original. Chapters: (00:00:00) Brazil's Organized Crime Landscape: PCC and Red Command (00:07:15) Marcola, the PCC's Leadership, and the 2006 São Paulo Shutdown (00:10:41) How the PCC Compares to Mexican Cartels (00:15:05) PCC's Global Partners, U.S. Presence, and $1B Crypto Laundering (00:20:05) Red Command, the Amazon Cocaine Corridor, and Tren de Aragua in Brazil (00:26:10) Ideology, Criminal Governance, and the U.S. Terrorist Designations (00:35:40) CJNG After El Mencho and Why the Kingpin Strategy Fails Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pierre Rausini is an author, former Los Angeles trafficking kingpin, and cartel expert. To learn more about Pierre's drug case and arrest, check out: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/drug-kingpin-who-ordered-slayings-gets-40-year-2759011.php?cmpid=gsa-sfgate-result To learn more about Pierre's story, check out: Devil Exposed: A Twisted Tale of Drug Trafficking, Corruption & Murder in the City of Angels. Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original. Chapters: (00:00:00) The $25M Reward and the Failure of the Kingpin Strategy (00:02:54) Juan Carlos Valencia: Family Lineage and Rise to Power (00:09:41) CJNG Money Laundering and Why Jalisco Is Different from Sinaloa (00:16:17) Paramilitary Wings and the U.S.-Directed Mexican Special Forces (00:23:49) Billionaire Financiers, La Plaza System and CIA Operations in Mexico (00:30:05) Sinaloa Civil War and Who Comes Out on Top (00:35:08) How to Actually Take Down the Cartels: Protection Networks, Finances, Choke Points Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices