Borderland: Narcosis with Vincent 'Rocco' Vargas

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

Video Chapters:

(00:00) The $25M Reward and the Failure of the Kingpin Strategy
(02:54) Juan Carlos Valencia: Family Lineage and Rise to Power
(09:41) CJNG Money Laundering and Why Jalisco Is Different from Sinaloa
(16:17) Paramilitary Wings and the U.S.-Directed Mexican Special Forces
(23:49) Billionaire Financiers, La Plaza System and CIA Operations in Mexico
(30:05) Sinaloa Civil War and Who Comes Out on Top
(35:08) How to Actually Take Down the Cartels: Protection Networks, Finances, Choke Points

Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original.

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.
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Scott McGregor is a former Canadian military intelligence operator, intelligence advisor to federal law enforcement, former Senior Intelligence Officer, policy analyst under a provincial Attorney General, and a Senior Fellow and Security Advisor to the Council on Countering Hybrid Warfare.

He is the Founder and Principle Commentator at HybridWar.ca and is the co-author of the book, “The Mosaic Effect: How the Chinese Communist Party Started a Hybrid War in America's Backyard.”

Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original.

Chapters

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:00:58) Scott McGregor's Background

(00:04:08) China Named a Major Drug Producing Country

(00:09:26) The Scope of China's Network in North America

(00:14:16) How Precursors Enter Canada

(00:17:09) Inside Canada's Domestic Super Labs

(00:19:37) Indian Transnational Crime Networks

(00:23:00) Iran, Hezbollah, and Organized Crime in Canada

(00:26:55) Canada's Limited Law Enforcement Capacity

(00:30:15) How Cartels Launder Money Through China

(00:35:47) China's Long-Term Goal for Canada and the U.S.

(00:38:49) Outro

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.

Marek Health:
Visit https://marekhealth.com/ and use code IRONCLAD to receive 10% off.
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Joe Hefferon, a former New Jersey police captain with 25 years experience in law enforcement. Is a writer and investigative reporter, who recently published an incredible deep-dive piece on the arrest of El Mayo and what really happened.

You can check out his piece on his Substack : https://substack.com/home/post/p-213457916

Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original.

Chapters

(00:00) – Cold Open
(05:11) – Cartel Torture Tactics
(07:06) – The El Mayo Extraction: How It Happened
(18:20) – Did the FBI Know? The Cover-Up Questions
(22:29) – Why Joaquin Set Up the Kidnapping
(26:05) – The Pilot's Fate and Extradition
(36:48) – Aftermath: Civil War and 4,000 Dead
(44:46) – Cartels Expanding North and Abroad
(48:16) – Joe's Next Investigation

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.

Marek Health:
Visit https://marekhealth.com/ and use code IRONCLAD to receive 10% off
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guest is Kim Bolan. Kim is an award-winning investigative reporter for the Vancouver Sun, where she has covered gangs and organized crime for over four decades, including the Air India bombing, the Robert Pickton case, and the Surrey Six gangland slaying. She runs the anti-gang blog The Real Scoop and is the author of Loss of Faith: How the Air India Bombers Got Away with Murder. She recently reported on the FBI's Operation Hardball investigation into transnational gangs operating out of Canada.

Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original.

Chapters
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:00:40) Operation Hardball the Bishnoi gang investigation
(00:02:16) The assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
(00:05:11) The extortion campaign targeting the South Asian community
(00:12:48) Ryan Wedding: Olympian turned major trafficker
(00:20:10) Rural drug labs, BC Bud, and the meth/fentanyl economy
(00:26:41) Why Canada isn't the "Next Mexico" yet
(00:30:11) Port corruption and Hells Angels on the docks
(00:34:21) Creative smuggling border crossings and hidden compartments
(00:40:11) Closing thoughts

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.

Marek Health:
Visit https://marekhealth.com/ and use code IRONCLAD to receive 10% off

The Uprising:
From the director of JASON BOURNE, Paul Greengrass brings you THE UPRISING. Andrew Garfield stars as the leader of a ferocious rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II. Set against the true events of the Uprising that helped inspire the legend of Robin Hood, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice.

Only in theaters this Thursday. Get tickets.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vince “Rocco” Vargas sits down with Katarina Szulc to discuss her recent investigation in Tlaxcala, Mexico (which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rXThHW2xeg ), an uptick in violence in Zacatecas, cartels operating Canada and more.

Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original.

Chapters
(00:00:37) Being chased on camera while reporting in Mexico
(00:04:09) The cartel's PR angle and the FTO designation debate
(00:06:33) Claudia Sheinbaum's stress and Mexican political intrigue
(00:12:38) Car bombings and cartel war in Zacatecas
(00:17:10) Hells Angels' role in Canada's drug trade
(00:21:23) Why prosecution fails in Canada
(00:26:42) Record-low border seizures vs. ongoing drug flow
(00:29:22) How smuggling methods have shifted — tunnels, aircraft
(00:37:16) What's next for Katarina

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.

Marek Health:
Visit https://marekhealth.com/ and use code IRONCLAD to receive 10% off
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices