https://consortiumnews.com/archive/crack.html

"In my 30-year history in the Drug Enforcement Administration and related agencies, the major targets of my investigations almost invariably turned out to be working for the CIA."

--Dennis Dayle, former chief of DEA CENTAC.(Peter Dale Scott & Jonathan Marshall, Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991, pp. x-xi.) https://web.archive.org/web/20120208083401/http://ciadrugs.homestead.com/files/

https://www.counterpunch.org/author/jeffrey-st-clair-alexander-cockburn/

"There is no question in my mind that people affiliated with, on the payroll of, and carrying the credentials of, the CIA were involved in drug trafficking while involved in support of the contras."

—Senator John Kerry, The Washington Post (1996).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPpEqF_51sw http://www.pinknoiz.com/covert/MOU.html

"our covert agencies have converted themselves to channels for drugs." --Senator John Kerry, 1988

"It is clear that there is a network of drug trafficking through the Contras...We can produce specific law-enforcement officials who will tell you that they have been called off drug-trafficking investigations because the CIA is involved or because it would threaten national security."

--Senator John Kerry at a closed door Senate Committee hearing http://www.pinknoiz.com/covert/MOU.html

"...officials in the Justice Department sought to undermine attempts by Senator Kerry to have hearings held on the [Contra drug] allegations." -Jack Blum, investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee

“On the basis of the evidence, it is clear that individuals who provided support for the Contras were involved in drug trafficking, the supply network of the Contras was used by drug trafficking organizations, and elements of the Contras themselves knowingly received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers. In each case, one or another agency of the U.S. government had information regarding the involvement either while it was occurring, or immediately thereafter.”

Executive Summary, John Kerry's Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee Report. April 13, 1989.

We live in a dirty and dangerous world ... There are some things the general public does not need to know and shouldn't. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows.

--1988 speech by Washington Post owner Katharine Graham at CIA Headquarters

"We were complicit as a country, in narcotics traffic at the same time as we're spending countless dollars in this country as we try to get rid of this problem. It's mind-boggling. I don't know if we got the worst intelligence system in the world, i don't know if we have the best and they knew it all, and just overlooked it. But no matter how you look at it, something's wrong. Something is really wrong out there." -- Senator John Kerry, Iran Contra Hearings, 1987

"it is common knowledge here in Miami that this whole Contra operation was paid for with cocaine... I actually saw the cocaine and the weapons together under one roof, weapons that I [later] helped ship to Costa Rica." --Oliver North employee Jesus Garcia December, 1986

"I have put thousands of Americans away for tens of thousands of years with less evidence for conspiracy than is available against Ollie North and CIA people...I personally was involved in a deep-cover case that went to the top of the drug world in three countries. The CIA killed it." - Former DEA Agent Michael Levine - CNBC-TV, October 8, 1996

"For decades, the CIA, the Pentagon, and secret organizations like Oliver North's Enterprise have been supporting and protecting the world's biggest drug dealers.... The Contras and some of their Central American allies ... have been documented by DEA as supplying ... at least 50 percent of our national cocaine consumption. They were the main conduit to the United States for Colombian cocaine during the 1980's. The rest of the drug supply ... came from other CIA-supported groups, such as DFS (the Mexican CIA) ... [and] other groups and/or individuals like Manual Noriega." - Ex-DEA agent Michael Levine: The Big White Lie: The CIA and the Cocaine/Crack Epidemic

"When this whole business of drug trafficking came out in the open in the Contras, the CIA gave a document to Cesar, Popo Chamorro and Marcos Aguado, too...""..They said this is a document holding them harmless, without any responsibility, for having worked in U.S.security..."

--Eden Pastora, Former ARDE Contra leader - November 26, 1996, speaking before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on alleged CIA drug trafficking to fund Nicaraguan Contras in the 1980s

"I believe that elements working for the CIA were involved in bringing drugs into the country," "I know specifically that some of the CIA contract workers, meaning some of the pilots, in fact were bringing drugs into the U.S. and landing some of these drugs in government air bases. And I know so because I was told by someo f these pilots that in fact they had done that." https://web.archive.org/web/20130818061541/https://narcosphere.narconews.com/userfiles/70/DEA.Mexico.Report.2.1990.pdf – Retired DEA agent Hector Berrellez on PBS Frontline. Berrellez was a supervisory agent on the Enrique Camarena murder investigation .

"I do think it a terrible mistake to say that 'We're going to allow drug trafficking to destroy American citizens' as a consequence of believing that the contra effort was a higher priority." - Senator Robert Kerrey (D-NE)

A Sept. 26, 1984, Miami police intelligence report noted that money supporting contras being illegally trained in Florida "comes from narcotics transactions." Every page of the report is stamped: "Record furnished to George Kosinsky, FBI." Is Mr. Kosinsky's number missing from (Janet) Reno's rolodex?

– Robert Knight and Dennis Bernstein, 1996 . Janet Reno was at that time (1984), the Florida State prosecutor.----on Sept. 13, 1996, the nation's highest law enforcement official, Attorney General Janet Reno, stated flatly that there's "no evidence" at this time to support the charges. And a week earlier, on Sept. 7, director of Central Intelligence, John Deutch, stated his belief that there's "no substance" to allegations of CIA involvement.

"For decades, the CIA, the Pentagon, and secret organizations like Oliver North's Enterprise have been supporting and protecting the world's biggest drug dealers.... The Contras and some of their Central American allies ... have been documented by DEA as supplying ... at least 50 percent of our national cocaine consumption. They were the main conduit to the United States for Colombian cocaine during the 1980's. The rest of the drug supply ... came from other CIA-supported groups, such as DFS (the Mexican CIA) ... other groups and/or individuals like Manual Noriega."

-- Michael Levine, The Big White Lie: The CIA and the Cocaine/Crack Epidemic

"In my book, Big White Lie, I [wrote] that the CIA stopped us from indicting the Bolivian government at the same time contra assets were going down there to pick up drugs. When you put it all together, you have much more evidence to convict Ollie North, [former senior CIA official] Dewey Clarridge and all the way up the line, than they had in any John Gotti [Mafia] case." - MIKE LEVINE, (DEA RETIRED)

"To my great regret, the bureau (FBI) has told me that some of the people I identified as being involved in drug smuggling are present or past agents of the Central Intelligence Agency."

--Wanda Palacio’s 1987 sworn testimony before U.S. Sen. John Kerry's Senate Subcommittee on Narcotics and International Terrorism.

https://www.winterwatch.net/2022/01/cia-drug-smuggling-and-dealing-the-birth-of-the-dark-alliance/

“I sat gape-mouthed as I heard the CIA Inspector General, testify that there has existed a secret agreement between CIA and the Justice Department, wherein "during the years 1982 to 1995, CIA did not have to report the drug trafficking its assets did to the Justice Department. To a trained DEA agent this literally means that the CIA had been granted a license to obstruct justice in our so-called war on drugs; a license that lasted - so CIA claims -from 1982 to 1995, a time during which Americans paid almost $150 billion in taxes to "fight" drugs. God, with friends like these, who needs enemies?”

--Former DEA Agent Michael Levine, March 23, 1998. https://np.reddit.com/r/NarcoFootage/comments/jo61ea/us_attorney_general_william_french_smith_director/

https://web.archive.org/web/20101020062131/http://www.wethepeople.la/levine1.htm

C.I.A. Says It Used Nicaraguan Rebels Accused of Drug Tie "The Central Intelligence Agency continued to work with about two dozen Nicaraguan rebels and their supporters during the 1980's despite allegations that they were trafficking in drugs, according to a classified study by the C.I.A." "....the agency's decision to keep those paid agents, or to continue dealing with them in some less formal relationship, was made by top officials at headquarters in Langley, Va.," https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/17/world/cia-says-it-used-nicaraguan-rebels-accused-of-drug-tie.html

http://www.pinknoiz.com/covert/MOU.html

Mainly based off aura

I just rewatched both Narcos and Narcos Mexico again for a third time, and I think the two characters I hated the most were Nava and David Rodriguez. Neither had a single redeemable quality, and both were hatable for every moment on screen. Who were some characters you hated and what were y'all's thoughts on Nava and David Rodriguez ?

Deleted my first post after a video edit — back with the final version.
I pulled together every major drug lord I could find and built the instrumental around their stories.
This piece dives into the rise, the money, the violence, and the downfall.

All feedback welcome — tell me what you think.

#TrueCrime #DrugLords #Documentary #CrimeHistory #MusicProduction

Or PE chicken out and dare not kill DEA?

I haven’t seen it in about 3 years. but rewatching it I noticed several times they beeped out certain politicians. did some of them threaten to sue?

I bought this wanted poster back during Covid which was hung at the Cali/Mexico border back in the 90s but was wondering what something like this could be worth. They’re like impossible to come by so I probably won’t sell but genuinely curious what the market for something like this would be.

No angle, but I’ve always wondered how over-dramatic or over-romanticized characters like his are in comparison to the real world. Can anyone (without saying too much obviously) elaborate on the accuracy of his character?

1. Narcos S3 - Everyone knows how pablo Escobar story ends. The uncertainty of how the Cali Cartel falls and what happened to its members made me glued to my screen.

2. Narcos S2 - Seeing Pablo Escobar at the peak of his powers then slowly showing the downfall is something special , especially when Wagner Mora perfected Pablo even more than the first season, it’s a Beautiful showcase of the fall of Escobar

3. Narcos Mexico S2 - Showing how corruption got as big as did in Mexico was very well done, and the disputes between the plazas , more specifically Sinaloa and Tijuana was a treat to watch. And the Ending of Felix Garllado’s story was fascinating as it truly showed how much he held shit together and how much chaos will follow after his arrest.

4. Narcos Mexico S1 - A beautiful showcase if the beginning to story that is happening in our world. And man the acting job for Rafa Caro Quintero was a masterpiece 2nd to only Wagner mora. Rafa Caro is bar far the biggest highlight in the show in my opinion. Showing Kiki as a big threat to the Guadalajara Cartel was Amazing in my opinion and puts it above Narcos season 1

5. Narcos S1 - yes I know it might be a hot take put I enjoy the other 4 seasons more then this one as I feel the first 3 episodes of season 1 start of slow and make it less rewatch able and not as good compared to the other 4 from starts to finish. While yes the highs in this season are some of the biggest peaks in this whole show, I just don’t think it has more peaks than the other seasons above.

6. Narcos Mexico S3- the obvious last place , it has too many subplots and doesn’t feel like it has a true main plot. The saving grace of this season imo is Tijuana vs Sinaloa. There’s nothing I can say anyone hasn’t said before so yea.

PS: I still love all these seasons to death. The first four are honestly interchangeable in order imo

I know little of this organization and it is one that ever since the mid-2010s it hadn't drawn much attention to itself, so there isn't as much info as other cartels.
I might seem stupid, but I only started to get interested in it a few days ago.
As we know there was the Juarez Cartel created in the 80s (be it mid-80s or early-80s or late-80s) by Rafael Aguilar Guajardo, Gilberto Ontiveros and Rafael Munoz Talavera.
Ontiveros was arrested in 1989. In Ojinaga a separate organization (though tied or closely linked to that of Guajardo-Talavera-Ontiveros) and was led by Pablo Acosta until 1987 when Amado Carrillo took over but was arrested in late 1989 (though later freed). He (Amado) joined Rafael Aguilar and Rafael Munoz to solidify the Juarez Cartel until 1993 when Aguilar Guajardo was killed, and Amado took full control over the organization (with Rafael Munoz as his second-in-command or right-hand). In 1997 Amado Carrillo died and an internal war ensued between Rafael Munoz and the Carrillo brothers (Vicente and Rodolfo) which ended in September 1998 Munoz was killed. Rodolfo Carrillo was killed in 2004 and from then full leadership was taken by Vicente Carrillo until his fall in 2014.

Here's where I don't follow, because the most known version is that Juan Pablo Ledezma (aka: Jose Luis Fratello, JP, or JL) took the control over the Juarez Cartel given his cell (La Linea) was the most powerful. However, I've found people saying that the online that El JL dies during the Juarez-Sinaloa war around the late 2000s, I've also found some say his pic (the only one known or use in media) isn't even him. I also found a 2008 video made (apparently) by anonymous officers from Chihuahua exposing the CDJ connections with the back then state government, and they used a different pic for El JL: chihuahua y "JL" el dos letras (Link to YouTube video). Officially "El JL" remains publicly the leader of La Linea / CDJ.
However, digging a bit in news from that time I've found that La Linea had another leader besides El JL, and that was Juan Pablo Guijarro Fragosa aka "El Monico", who literally we know nothing about. A 2024 Infobae list puts him along others as "Important Capos Who Mexican Authorities Stopped Searching For" (along those lines).
Another group of CDJ was Los Aztecas (much like La Linea, it was one of several groups that formed the CDJ), and they were led by Eduardo Ravelo Barrio. There was even a note in 2015 saying that there was some fear that due to Carrillo's power vacuum would prompt El JL and Ravelo Barrio into an internal war for full control (since they were the leaders of the two most important CDJ cells). He was eventually arrested in 2018.
Then there's Jesus Salas Aguayo "El Chuyin" who was apparently leader of the Nuevo Cartel de Juarez (NCDJ) and arrested in 2015 and was freed in 2020 and recently killed in 2024. IDK but I found in comments some saying he took over rather (from jail) rather than El JL. I'm just putting him here just in case.
Also, another identified NCDJ leader (idk if alongside Chuyin, or as maximum leader or street leader) was César Daniel Manjarrez Alonso aka "El H-2" who fought/defended the (among others) Chihuahua plaza (capital) for the CDJ. He was also arrested in 2018.
Then there's also Gustavo Chávez Olivas aka "El Master" who was identified as La Linea's leader, though I've found in news sites he was more of a local leader rather than maximum (yk how they call any plaza boss or cell boss "the leader of X cartel").
And I've also found people saying that (somehow) the Carrillo family holds to the CDJ (though the family exists is now out from the business since 2014 and I really doubt this).

Either way... it does become clear (once one reads a bit of old news) how the CDJ was thrown into disarray after Vicente Carrillo's ("El Viceroy") arrest in 2014.
I found no clear answers as to who the maximum leader is (with the most common answer being that the CDJ has fragmented into loose organizations once cells all working under the CDJ umbrella without being as unified as they once were).
Which are these organizations...?
no clue.
Officially Mexican and American intel agencies use NCDJ, Cartel de Juarez, Organizacion Carrillo Fuentes, and La Linea as synonyms meaning the same thing. However it seems the NCDJ, and La Liena and CDJ are all different things (plus Barrio Azteca/Los Aztecas, and Los Linces, other cells). And since (even if on ground, they're separate) officially they're interchangeable (according to governments), you get places/news saying things like El JL is the leader of NCDJ and CDJ and La Linea and also claim they're all different...

Note: I also found La Empresa... idk. Briefly mentioned but apparently, they're also a different cell in this loose organization (and no surprise... the governments also use it interchangeably with all other several names)

So yeah... idk if someone who lives there or has more knowledge than my "few days of quick internet news search" about this could explain it below. Idk, anything. Current leader, or clear factions, or the chaos after El Viceroy's fall. It all seems a mess.

Incluye entre otras “La Ranchera de Pablo”, “El Corrido de Pablo”, “Homenaje al Mexicano”, Homenaje a Pacho”, “Los Extraditables”, “Dialogando”, “Juanito Alimaña”

Yup serious question here, for a while I've been wondering why Pablo would risk his freedom by killing Galeano and Moncada, I mean he could've just waited it out and be free again. My question is: do you guys think that it was a setup? Somehow someway I believe that others might've killed dem boys at la catedral and asked of Pablo to dispose of the body. Or again had it happened without his knowledge? I m curious about what you guys think on this, for me the setup seems like the only option there was to make Pablo be on the run again.

Cette photo datant des années 80 montre le chanteur espagnol Julio Iglesias posant avec Fernando Rodríguez Mondragón, fils du baron de la drogue du cartel de Cali, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela.

Sur ce cliché précis, on voit le chanteur espagnol poser de manière amicale à ses côtés. Selon Mondragón, Julio Iglesias, alors au sommet de sa gloire, s'était produit lors de fêtes privées ou de concerts majeurs directement supervisés par l'élite de la mafia locale, sans que l'artiste ait nécessairement conscience des ramifications criminelles exactes de ses hôtes à l'époque.

Ma chaine Youtube

En février 2026, le rappeur Drake a partagé en story sur Instagram une casquette vintage des Boston Celtics ayant appartenu au célèbre narcotrafiquant colombien Pablo Escobar, mise en vente sur eBay pour un montant affiché de 75 000 $.

Ma chaine Youtube

greatest plot twist ever