Borderland: Narcosis with Vincent 'Rocco' Vargas

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

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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

Video Chapters:
(00:00) Cartels Recruiting Foreign Fighters From Ukraine
(07:45) Are Cartels Really Threatening to Kidnap Federal Agents?
(13:21) Colombian Mercenaries & the Los Zetas Playbook
(21:41) US Drones & Lethal Boat Strikes in Latin America
(31:00) How Cocaine Moves Now: Ports, Shipping Containers & Tunnels
(35:50) Shield of the Americas & Latin American Autonomy
(38:45) What's Next

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Stephen Dudley is the co-founder and co-director of InSight Crime, a think tank focused on organized crime in the Americas.

Video Chapters:
(00:00) Brazil's Organized Crime Landscape: PCC and Red Command

(07:15) Marcola, the PCC's Leadership, and the 2006 São Paulo Shutdown

(10:41) How the PCC Compares to Mexican Cartels

(15:05) PCC's Global Partners, U.S. Presence, and $1B Crypto Laundering

(20:05) Red Command, the Amazon Cocaine Corridor, and Tren de Aragua in Brazil

(26:10) Ideology, Criminal Governance, and the U.S. Terrorist Designations

(35:40) CJNG After El Mencho and Why the Kingpin Strategy Fails

Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original.

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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.

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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

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