Thanks For Supporting Guerrilla Journalism

A spring shout to subscribers

Mar 25, 2024

This video above was from a trip I made to the Mexican state of Chiapas in December, reporting on stories on the cartel war there and rise of the Chamula mafia. I was with a local driver in an old car with no plates, which was discreet. And such a low-fi outfit is a cheap way to move.

This stands in contrast to TV productions I have worked on where there are big budgets. In an extreme example, I appeared in a documentary series where they had a team of security just to film in Mexico City. And with the whole crew in nice hotels, their daily running costs hit five figures.

Newspaper reporting has always been cheaper than TV. Yet there was an old style of foreign correspondents who still managed to run up crazy bills and lived in big houses like diplomats. That is cool if you have the funding. But amid the collapse of media outlets, it’s important to remember that we don’t need that to do journalism. Some situations such as wars are still very expensive to cover. But in many cases, you can report guerrilla-style and still dig up fascinating stories.

Thanks to all the supporters, this is what I am doing. And I can say from my heart that you are getting bang for your back in funding a more cost-effective journalism. CrashOut has now topped 6,000 subscribers but the stories reach many more people. For example, a cartel map I published in January got made into a video that has clocked 2.5 million views.

However, it’s still a hardcore of stars who are paid subs making this happen. So if you are feeling it and want to become part of the CrashOut family then a simple flick of the button and in a few secs you are on board.

I read all the wonderful notes sent by you paid subs. Here is a little sample:

"Ioan is providing vital reporting on very important, yet underreported phenomena that more people - and especially more Americans - should know about."

"I support your work because there isn't much good journalism on the topics you cover in mainstream media institutions. Getting good info on the border, migration and cartel stuff is difficult."

"Es importante conocer las historias que presenta Ioan para tener una esperanza de que se va a poder controlar el crimen organizado."

I’m now putting out three products here on CrashOut. First, there’s the main stories in English, the bread and butter of the Stack. These include pieces by myself and guest writers like the great Luis Chaparro, Christian Cipollini and Benjamin T. Smith.

Secondly, I publish stories in Spanish. I’ve brought in the talented Hugo López Araiza Bravo to work on these so it reads in pleasant flowing Castilian. These should be in your mail under CrashOut Español.

Thirdly, I’m releasing episodes of the CrashOut Chronicles podcast. It’s mostly interviews so far (including an ep with Margarito Lopez that has been heard by over 60,000 people in all formats) and some edited videos like this one on the Ecuador gangster uprising. I’m also working on proper narrative eps so stay tuned.

Not everything is for everyone. Most of you prefer to read in English but some prefer Spanish. A lot of us are into podcasts but they are not everybody’s cup of pulque. In the future, I might figure out a way of you selecting the sections you want, but for now you all get the whole feed. If this is annoying anyone, please yell.

There’s been plenty shaking in the world of organized crime and drugs and reverberating here on CrashOut this first quarter. I’ve followed up on how cartels operate in the United States itself, an under-covered issue. Christian gives us new revelations about the American-born sicario, El Mano Negro in Central California. I look at the biggest case of cartel spillover talking to retired agent Steve Duncan on the case of “Los Palillos.” And the Chicago twin Margarito explained how you can move 60 tons of coke for the Sinaloa Cartel then flip on El Chapo and survive.

South of the border, I stepped up analysis of the Mexican Cartel War, looking at the question of how much of the country is governed by the mafias, and what is the murder map of Mexico. And Ben developed his ideas on cartels and protection rackets into this ground-breaking essay I was proud to publish.

With the record-breaking number of migrants, I looked at the return of mass kidnapping and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. And following up on a story I published last year, I got new information on an alleged murder plot of a Mexican journalist on the Dark Web.

I’m featured in (and helped produce) a documentary on the massacre of Mormons in Sonora in 2019 that will come out on April 11; it’s a brutal but I think revelatory watch. And I’ve got plenty of stories to blast you with as we roll into the second quarter.

So welcome to the spring, which is already blazing heat here in Mexico City while there are ominous warnings of a water shortage. Loving all your comments on the stories, and they teach me a lot, especially from contributing stars such as Mike Hampton and Tom Johnston.

Stay well, stay present, and stay tuned friends.