In 2010, a police chief in New Mexico made the following quip to me right before he was arrested: "In the US, one crooked cop is a crooked cop. Two crooked cops fill a jail cell."
He was arrested for criminal conspiracy. Weapons trafficking to the south. Of course.
What would worry me is the appearance of successful long-term criminal conspiracies inside the federal bureaucracy. Is there any sign of that?
Hey Noel. Was that the case of Columbus with the gun trafficking? Yes, that was interesting. That is fascinating you talked to him.
There is certainly some murkiness inside federal agencies when it comes to drug traffickers, and more to come on that. Broadly, what I have found though is less direct narco money going to the federal bureaucracies than a mix of strategic alliances (CIA) or a dubious path of paying and dealing with gangsters to arrest other gangsters (DEA and FBI). I think a lot of the good agencies recognize there are issues such as these they are up against. Best there friend.
It was! I was writing a business school case on organized crime and who better to interview? Big shot eastern prof coming on down ...
I might have the same issues with the DEA and FBI trying those strategies that you do, but they don't worry me the way that a breakdown in internal enforcement would worry me. Americans don't have to worry about long-term criminal conspiracies inside law enforcement -- even the New Orleans PD got busted. If that stays true, then I'm not worried. But if that changes, then we're screwed.
I'd be interested to see the business school case of organized crime. So you are saying the worry is networks of high ranking federal bosses being on cartel payrolls like they are in Mexico? I certainly think there is a big challenge of cartels growing in the US and expanding their corruption networks. Let's see what shows up. Cheers.
I think the level of corruption in the United States is more varied then Mexico and is more then just cartels paying cash to federal officials. That type of old fashion bribery is certainly evident in the expansion of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in the south east areas of the United States. The Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky investigation into that expansion should have been a wake-up call to many people. It was
not and received no reaction from any politician, party or government agency. The expansion of the Sinaloa cartel into Southern California and making it the hub of all drug trafficking in the United States did not occur without key law enforcement assistance, politicians ignoring the problem and newspapers saying the problem is overly exaggerated. Anyone living in that area would wonder why certain drug operations were tolerated in the city while other smaller groups were busted. Large marijuana farms ignored in the mountains even by federal law enforcement but very small farms raided and proclaimed as an example of the success of the battle against drugs. Drug tunnels existed for years from Mexicali to El Centro and Tijuana to Imperial Beach or especially to Otay Mesa. We knew if a tunnel was discovered by law enforcement that somebody did not get paid.
The corruption of federal agencies including the CIA, FBI and DEA is more complicated and it does involve the mix of strategic alliances dubious in the extreme. The CIA , though is an agency in its search to evade the straitjacket of federal funding and to further promote its version of the policies that are not official government policies, has immersed itself into the drug empire to fund its illegal projects. From its earliest days after World War II to finance its desires for underground anti-communist shock troops in Eastern Europe, the CIA arranged for Lucky Luciano to bring poppies from Southeast Asia to France to be converted into heroin, shipped to Cuba and distributed and sold in the United States to finance these illegal anti-communist armies. Sound familiar. This is exactly what the CIA did with crack cocaine to finance the Contras in Nicaragua. CIA's heroin dealing in Vietnam had the political purpose of supporting the anti-communist Hmongs in Laos but it also offered a huge supply of alternative money to federal funding which resulted in personal and agency corruption. Afghanistan is the same story. The money was too tempting and you can find other examples world wide of political goals and aspirations corrupted by drug money to the point that these organizations are not any different then the drug dealers themselves.
Looking at the FBI's involvement with the Mafia and the DEA's investigation of the death of Kiki Camarena and involvement with the Sinaloa cartel makes one doubt the idea of agencies with good causes using the wrong instruments especially since the instruments of laundering drug money, our financial system here in the United States and London have never been truly attacked by law enforcement and our political leaders. Oh, some banks were fined, never criminally prosecuted but the amount of the fines is window dressing and chump change compared to what they have made.
Yes, totally agree on the CIA complicity with drug trafficking. I still figure it was more likely simply strategically convenient but it was big enough and in so many spheres to impact the whole history of the drug trade. And there are still ongoing issues there. Also, totally agreed about the worrying rise of the Jalisco Cartel in the U.S. and the lack of response by politicians. That was a good report by the Courier-Journal. This is a big issue that needs more coverage.
Corruption in the ranks of departments under the control of Homeland Security affect primarily the citizens of the United States but the corruption that is not publicized enough has been the cartel penetration within the United States military with bribery and actual US servicemen who are members of cartels. This has resulted in huge illegal shipments of military arms back into Mexico which has facilitated the violence in Mexico. Gun shows in the United States cannot provide the volume of weaponry that the military can provide nor the types of very explosive firepower that only the military can provide. Beware of the politicians who only advocate the closing of gun shows and gun shops and encourage the legalization of drugs. They maybe trying to legalize their own personal corruption or the agents controlling them.
Hey there Tom. Thanks for the comment and that is a great area to look at. Active and former U.S. servicemen are worth a lot to the cartels. All best there friend.
I spent five years as a federal law enforcement officer on the SW Border in El Paso, TX working with DOJ Office of Inspector General (OIG). We worked prison cases, Civil Rights and corruption cases as they related to 'dirty' Border Patrol Agents and INS Immigration Inspectors. It was a game of cat and mouse with the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization (VCFO). I've written several stories about this work in my new book "A Cop's Son: One G-Man's Fight Against Jihad, Global Fraud and the Cartels," including "The Dirty Dog Handler." Thanks for presenting these topics as only you can!
Hi there Kenneth, Great to hear from you here. That sounds fascinating and I will look out for the book. It would be great to talk more with you about this as well. The VCFO was certainly a huge network that helped turn Juarez into a slaughterhouse but we don't hear enough about how it operated north of the border. All best there friend and keep in touch.
Yes, there have been agents at those checkpoints in from the border paid to wave the drugs through. These cases put a bad stain on the force and make you think back on every encounter. All best there and keep in touch PinHead
The honeypots are real. It's no big deal at all for the Cartels. Agents are members of their communities and it's simple enough to ID them and put these women in their paths or at their elbows whenever they might go out at night. It can be very subtle-- if they don't respond to certain bait, or aren't the type to go fast-- the girl breaks it off and they put her in someone else's path. Long story short, there's no shortage of guys who wind up on the hook as you describe.
Thanks and great for that insight Matt. Yeah, it is certainly a powerful weapon along with the cash. I heard some interesting stories about how an agent would have a confidential informant who was a "12" and a "neck breaker" and suddenly she would be the agent's lover - and it all wall went wrong from there. All best Matt and keep in touch.
The Cartels learned tradecraft from Militarized aspects of the CIA. The ‘school of the America’s is their template for conducting terror operations in dealing with competition-governments those who resist them.
I think the majority of agents are honest and professional, but their are systems that could be placed to reduce corruption. Annual polygraph tests, random checks of agents banking records, or a system at each port of entry that gives supervisors the authority to randomly have agents stop vehicles. There seems to be more smart innovation by the cartels, and it’s law enforcement that is reactive. This is one reason the war on drugs is a failure.
Yes great point Bobby X. I think they can certainly do better - although it still brings in to question about the whole strategy. This should be in the mix of the conversation though. All best there friend and good to hear from you.
I would argue that War on Drugs is a raging success if looked through the optics of these parameters;
1. annual budget increases for Federal, State, City & County Law Enforcement funding
2. Circuit Courts intake of Drug Court programs-cases
3. Urinalysis industry is a billion dollar enpire!the contracts alone have scaled up 200% in the last 25 years alone.
4. Drug Detox & aftercare Treatment programs are booming!
5. Parole & Probation offices invest funding into making post prison supervision condition’s completely impossible to be compliant within! Hence parole violations over & over & over for “dirty” UA’s(dirty-way to shame)
6. AA & NA Cults work hand to handcuff with Parole Boards when by name alone they are supposed to be ANONYMOUS programs.
Athletes at the national or international level, are subject to doping control and can be tested anytime or anywhere(24/7/365). You can be tested by relevant National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs), International Federations (IFs) and Major Event Organizations (MEOs). When you are selected for doping control, you have a series of rights and responsibilities. Getting over on these tests requires inside intel-$$$
Hey Grillo, on Aug 25 th on Public( Substack )there was an interview with Sam Quinones on fentanyl causing modern American homelessness that they tried to mention you in reference to your reporting and botched the name.. heads up
In 2010, a police chief in New Mexico made the following quip to me right before he was arrested: "In the US, one crooked cop is a crooked cop. Two crooked cops fill a jail cell."
He was arrested for criminal conspiracy. Weapons trafficking to the south. Of course.
What would worry me is the appearance of successful long-term criminal conspiracies inside the federal bureaucracy. Is there any sign of that?
Hey Noel. Was that the case of Columbus with the gun trafficking? Yes, that was interesting. That is fascinating you talked to him.
There is certainly some murkiness inside federal agencies when it comes to drug traffickers, and more to come on that. Broadly, what I have found though is less direct narco money going to the federal bureaucracies than a mix of strategic alliances (CIA) or a dubious path of paying and dealing with gangsters to arrest other gangsters (DEA and FBI). I think a lot of the good agencies recognize there are issues such as these they are up against. Best there friend.
It was! I was writing a business school case on organized crime and who better to interview? Big shot eastern prof coming on down ...
I might have the same issues with the DEA and FBI trying those strategies that you do, but they don't worry me the way that a breakdown in internal enforcement would worry me. Americans don't have to worry about long-term criminal conspiracies inside law enforcement -- even the New Orleans PD got busted. If that stays true, then I'm not worried. But if that changes, then we're screwed.
I'd be interested to see the business school case of organized crime. So you are saying the worry is networks of high ranking federal bosses being on cartel payrolls like they are in Mexico? I certainly think there is a big challenge of cartels growing in the US and expanding their corruption networks. Let's see what shows up. Cheers.
I think the level of corruption in the United States is more varied then Mexico and is more then just cartels paying cash to federal officials. That type of old fashion bribery is certainly evident in the expansion of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in the south east areas of the United States. The Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky investigation into that expansion should have been a wake-up call to many people. It was
not and received no reaction from any politician, party or government agency. The expansion of the Sinaloa cartel into Southern California and making it the hub of all drug trafficking in the United States did not occur without key law enforcement assistance, politicians ignoring the problem and newspapers saying the problem is overly exaggerated. Anyone living in that area would wonder why certain drug operations were tolerated in the city while other smaller groups were busted. Large marijuana farms ignored in the mountains even by federal law enforcement but very small farms raided and proclaimed as an example of the success of the battle against drugs. Drug tunnels existed for years from Mexicali to El Centro and Tijuana to Imperial Beach or especially to Otay Mesa. We knew if a tunnel was discovered by law enforcement that somebody did not get paid.
The corruption of federal agencies including the CIA, FBI and DEA is more complicated and it does involve the mix of strategic alliances dubious in the extreme. The CIA , though is an agency in its search to evade the straitjacket of federal funding and to further promote its version of the policies that are not official government policies, has immersed itself into the drug empire to fund its illegal projects. From its earliest days after World War II to finance its desires for underground anti-communist shock troops in Eastern Europe, the CIA arranged for Lucky Luciano to bring poppies from Southeast Asia to France to be converted into heroin, shipped to Cuba and distributed and sold in the United States to finance these illegal anti-communist armies. Sound familiar. This is exactly what the CIA did with crack cocaine to finance the Contras in Nicaragua. CIA's heroin dealing in Vietnam had the political purpose of supporting the anti-communist Hmongs in Laos but it also offered a huge supply of alternative money to federal funding which resulted in personal and agency corruption. Afghanistan is the same story. The money was too tempting and you can find other examples world wide of political goals and aspirations corrupted by drug money to the point that these organizations are not any different then the drug dealers themselves.
Looking at the FBI's involvement with the Mafia and the DEA's investigation of the death of Kiki Camarena and involvement with the Sinaloa cartel makes one doubt the idea of agencies with good causes using the wrong instruments especially since the instruments of laundering drug money, our financial system here in the United States and London have never been truly attacked by law enforcement and our political leaders. Oh, some banks were fined, never criminally prosecuted but the amount of the fines is window dressing and chump change compared to what they have made.
Yes, totally agree on the CIA complicity with drug trafficking. I still figure it was more likely simply strategically convenient but it was big enough and in so many spheres to impact the whole history of the drug trade. And there are still ongoing issues there. Also, totally agreed about the worrying rise of the Jalisco Cartel in the U.S. and the lack of response by politicians. That was a good report by the Courier-Journal. This is a big issue that needs more coverage.
Corruption in the ranks of departments under the control of Homeland Security affect primarily the citizens of the United States but the corruption that is not publicized enough has been the cartel penetration within the United States military with bribery and actual US servicemen who are members of cartels. This has resulted in huge illegal shipments of military arms back into Mexico which has facilitated the violence in Mexico. Gun shows in the United States cannot provide the volume of weaponry that the military can provide nor the types of very explosive firepower that only the military can provide. Beware of the politicians who only advocate the closing of gun shows and gun shops and encourage the legalization of drugs. They maybe trying to legalize their own personal corruption or the agents controlling them.
Hey there Tom. Thanks for the comment and that is a great area to look at. Active and former U.S. servicemen are worth a lot to the cartels. All best there friend.
I spent five years as a federal law enforcement officer on the SW Border in El Paso, TX working with DOJ Office of Inspector General (OIG). We worked prison cases, Civil Rights and corruption cases as they related to 'dirty' Border Patrol Agents and INS Immigration Inspectors. It was a game of cat and mouse with the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization (VCFO). I've written several stories about this work in my new book "A Cop's Son: One G-Man's Fight Against Jihad, Global Fraud and the Cartels," including "The Dirty Dog Handler." Thanks for presenting these topics as only you can!
Hi there Kenneth, Great to hear from you here. That sounds fascinating and I will look out for the book. It would be great to talk more with you about this as well. The VCFO was certainly a huge network that helped turn Juarez into a slaughterhouse but we don't hear enough about how it operated north of the border. All best there friend and keep in touch.
Please let me know when you are in the LA area, coffee...maybe even lunch on me!
That sounds fantastic. I definitely will do. Thanks much and best there.
Driving from TX to AZ & back, for many years, BP often harassing cars, & waving thru the trucks... Made me wonder.
Yes, there have been agents at those checkpoints in from the border paid to wave the drugs through. These cases put a bad stain on the force and make you think back on every encounter. All best there and keep in touch PinHead
The honeypots are real. It's no big deal at all for the Cartels. Agents are members of their communities and it's simple enough to ID them and put these women in their paths or at their elbows whenever they might go out at night. It can be very subtle-- if they don't respond to certain bait, or aren't the type to go fast-- the girl breaks it off and they put her in someone else's path. Long story short, there's no shortage of guys who wind up on the hook as you describe.
Thanks and great for that insight Matt. Yeah, it is certainly a powerful weapon along with the cash. I heard some interesting stories about how an agent would have a confidential informant who was a "12" and a "neck breaker" and suddenly she would be the agent's lover - and it all wall went wrong from there. All best Matt and keep in touch.
The Cartels learned tradecraft from Militarized aspects of the CIA. The ‘school of the America’s is their template for conducting terror operations in dealing with competition-governments those who resist them.
Yes, a lot of dark secrets about what was taught in the School of the Americas. We need more of them to see the light.
I think the majority of agents are honest and professional, but their are systems that could be placed to reduce corruption. Annual polygraph tests, random checks of agents banking records, or a system at each port of entry that gives supervisors the authority to randomly have agents stop vehicles. There seems to be more smart innovation by the cartels, and it’s law enforcement that is reactive. This is one reason the war on drugs is a failure.
Yes great point Bobby X. I think they can certainly do better - although it still brings in to question about the whole strategy. This should be in the mix of the conversation though. All best there friend and good to hear from you.
I would argue that War on Drugs is a raging success if looked through the optics of these parameters;
1. annual budget increases for Federal, State, City & County Law Enforcement funding
2. Circuit Courts intake of Drug Court programs-cases
3. Urinalysis industry is a billion dollar enpire!the contracts alone have scaled up 200% in the last 25 years alone.
4. Drug Detox & aftercare Treatment programs are booming!
5. Parole & Probation offices invest funding into making post prison supervision condition’s completely impossible to be compliant within! Hence parole violations over & over & over for “dirty” UA’s(dirty-way to shame)
6. AA & NA Cults work hand to handcuff with Parole Boards when by name alone they are supposed to be ANONYMOUS programs.
So
Yes, a lot of budget. I hand't thought about the Urinalysis industry but that is one to look up.
I
Athletes at the national or international level, are subject to doping control and can be tested anytime or anywhere(24/7/365). You can be tested by relevant National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs), International Federations (IFs) and Major Event Organizations (MEOs). When you are selected for doping control, you have a series of rights and responsibilities. Getting over on these tests requires inside intel-$$$
This industry has become incredibly expansive..
Once you’re in there, you’re in there like swim wear.
I like that phrase!
Hey Grillo, on Aug 25 th on Public( Substack )there was an interview with Sam Quinones on fentanyl causing modern American homelessness that they tried to mention you in reference to your reporting and botched the name.. heads up
Thanks for the heads up Alex. I dont mind how my name is pronounced! It's a strange one people say this way and which way. All best there friend.