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[♪ ominous music]
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[Mariana Van Zeller] There
are hundreds of people here.
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Everywhere you look.
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You just see groups
of people waiting.
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They're sitting with backpack.
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This was me,
nearly 20 years ago
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on one of my first
international assignments.
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[speaking Spanish] Maria!
I don't believe it!
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How good. How are you?
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[speaking Spanish].
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[Mariana Van Zeller] I was
doing a story about migrants
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trying to make their way
across Mexico and into
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the United States.
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The starting point for
that journey was Tapachula.
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A chaotic little town on
Mexico's southern border,
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where migrants hopped
on board "La Bestia."
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La Bestia, or "The Beast,"
is what migrants called the
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dangerous freight trains they
rode north for days on end.
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The train keeps on jerking.
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So, you, you have to keep a
constant grip on the train,
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and it's hard.
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Back then, all you needed to
reach the border was courage.
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These days, I'm told you
need a whole lot more.
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Wow, this is so crazy.
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This looks nothing
like it used to.
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This was the main train
station, so you'd have
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hundreds of migrants here
every single day, basically
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just hoping to get on
the train to go north.
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The train tracks are no longer
here, but the migrants,
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they still keep coming.
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They have to come
through this, this area.
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Tapachula is still the
first stop in Mexico for
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thousands of migrants,
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but the path north to the
U.S. is now controlled
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by a violent
criminal underworld.
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There's a new beast in town.
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[gunshots]
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[shouting]
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[Mariana Van Zeller]
That's why I've come back.
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To try to get inside the most
profitable migrant smuggling
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machine the
world has ever seen.
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[theme music plays]
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[Mariana Van Zeller] So, this is
the central square in Tapachula.
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The vast majority of the
people that line up,
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that are around here at
the square, are migrants.
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They all have backpacks,
they have bags.
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There are so many, it's crazy.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Years ago,
migrants like these would
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hop ride on the train
and continue north.
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But free rides are apparently
no longer an option.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] But what
happens to the migrants
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who do have money?
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What exactly are
they buying into?
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That's what I want
to understand,
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which is why I'm heading
to meet a man
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I'm told is one of
the key players
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in this new
people-smuggling pipeline.
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I've been hearing about
this guy for over a year now.
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There were a lot of times
where we thought we were gonna
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finally meet him, a
lot of false starts.
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It never happened
until, hopefully, today.
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This is a big boss in
this sort of operation.
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[dog barking]
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[Mariana Van Zeller]
I think we're here.
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Let me know if you
guys see anyone.
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Oh, yeah. Okay.
I see him.
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I think that's him, yeah.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] We're
calling him Jose, but his
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nickname on the street
is "King Coyote",
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coyote being slang for
a migrant smuggler.
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He works mostly with migrants
from South and Central America,
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but has clients
from as far away as India.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Uh-huh.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] I've been
reporting on the underworld
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for nearly two decades.
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This is the first time a
black market operator has
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referred me to their
finance department.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] I was
certain that no one is making
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that kind of money smuggling
anything in Mexico without,
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what you might call,
"permission."
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Wow.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] From
the cartels' perspective,
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I understand the logic
of this new system.
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By allowing these transport
companies to exist,
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it professionalized the
business of people smuggling,
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making it more efficient
and more lucrative.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] I had my
doubts about the rosy picture
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he's painting of his operation,
but I'm eager to learn more.
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And he agrees to connect me
with one of his smugglers.
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A man responsible for
transporting migrants from
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Tapachula, north
towards Mexico city.
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We're heading to meet
this contact and he's been
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incredibly
nervous to talk to us.
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And he's very suspicious
still, so we just,
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for all of our sake,
just, you know,
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make him feel as
comfortable as possible.
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I see him over there.
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So, just put the cameras down
for a second and we can
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pick back up when
he's inside the car.
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Camera down.
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Sure enough, he
doesn't want to talk.
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I have to practically beg
him to get into the car.
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But he finally does.
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I'm eager to hear what it's
like on the frontlines
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of the people
smuggling business.
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[♪ mysterious music]
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[Mariana Van Zeller] This man,
who we'll call Ernesto,
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is part of a new breed
of transport company
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making millions shuttling
migrants across Mexico
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and into to the U.S.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] From there,
he drives them north
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towards Mexico City.
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[Mariana Van Zeller]
It's a bit shocking.
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His boss, King Coyote,
told me they charge
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12 grand per person,
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which seems like a lot
for such inhumane treatment.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Like his
boss, he's quick to
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justify their approach.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] I'm
doubtful about that, but
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I don't press him because
I want to keep him talking.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] This
description of the cartels'
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involvement sounds
more threatening than
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King Coyote's version.
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I want to hear more,
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but I think talk of the
cartels has spooked him.
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He cuts our interview short,
after less than 20 minutes.
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Okay, so we just
dropped off Ernesto.
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The interesting thing that we
weren't able to film is that
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his wife was actually
in the back seat
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in-between the two cameras.
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Apparently, they discussed and
the only way that he'd feel
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comfortable talking to us was
if she was present, as well.
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So, that was interesting.
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These are the trucks
that he says they actually
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transport people in.
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That's exactly it.
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You know, it's really hard
with these interviews,
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we were trying to make him
comfortable, but it's always
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sort of a balance of how much
you push and pushing too much
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will mean we'll lose access.
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So, we're hoping that we can
ask more questions and see
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more of the operation
in the following days.
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But more access to King Coyote's
operation never arrives.
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So, we're stuck chasing access
to other people-smugglers.
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Some with a very
different pitch to migrants.
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We're heading to meet a guy,
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sort of involved in
the migrant trade.
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There's a boat apparently
waiting for us
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to take us to him.
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And they just told us to, you
know, have our eyes wide open,
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ears wide open in this area
because there is a lot of
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cartel presence here.
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[engine rumbling]
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Okay. I see. Yeah.
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There's a boat
coming this way.
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He's, uh, yeah, he's
coming right towards us.
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Yeah, so he's, uh, our guy is
the guy wearing the mask and
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there's a bunch of
people on the boat.
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[Mariana Van Zeller]
It's a little awkward,
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he's not saying anything.
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From the looks of things,
we're wading right into the
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middle of his business.
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[boat engine idling]
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[Mariana Van Zeller] I'm in
Southern Mexico talking to a
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smuggler who's asked
us to call him Pantera.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Despite
the cartels being paid off,
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these boats must run a
gauntlet of armed opportunists.
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[Pantera] Uh-hmm.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Her
entire life's savings,
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spent on a gamble,
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that this little boat will
make it to its destination.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Just like
those who travel by road, the
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boat will take these migrants
north before they are shuttled
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to Mexico City.
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From there, they are stuffed
like any other product into
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18-wheelers, for a
drive to the U.S. border
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that could take
up to two days.
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It's a leg of the journey
that has become synonymous
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with tragedy.
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[CNN Reporter] They have found
50 migrants dead inside a
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truck in San Antonio, what
they now believe to be one of
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the deadliest smuggling
incidents in U.S. history.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] These
migrants sell everything they
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own for the chance to make it
to the U.S., and this is how
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they're treated along the way.
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[speaking Spanish].
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Uh-hm okay,
they're saying they have to go,
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because the sun is going down.
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They have to
start their journey.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] What's
becoming clear is that the
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people doing the actual work
of smuggling migrants,
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people like Pantera and the
transporter I met in the car,
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know the details of their job,
but not much more.
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It's only bosses like
King Coyote that are familiar
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with the actual terms
of this ugly business.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Thinking
back to our conversation,
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what's still unclear is this,
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even if companies
like King Coyote's,
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have learned how
to work with the cartels,
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how could they possibly
move thousands of migrants
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past so many police?
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[Mariana Van Zeller] So this guy
we're meeting is very nervous.
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We were supposed to meet
him at a train station.
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He's moved locations on
us a few times already.
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And it's understandable
why he's nervous.
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He's essentially a whistleblower
who's going to be
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talking to us about corruption
within the government.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] I'm talking
to a federal immigration agent
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turned whistleblower,
who we'll call Miguel.
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He says it works like this,
on every route north,
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there are dozens of checkpoints.
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Migrants who have hired a
cartel-approved company like
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King Coyote's, are
able to pass through
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without getting hassled.
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That's part of what
their $12,000 ensures.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] On
the other hand, migrants
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attempting the journey on
their own, like the Venezuelan
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family I met in Tapachula, are
forced to pay small bribes at
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every checkpoint
along the way.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] It's a
system designed to maximize
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the exploitation of desperate
people, while simultaneously
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enriching both the cartels and
corrupt government officials.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Sadly,
this sort of collusion
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between the cartels and
the Mexican State isn't new.
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[Reporter] Caught on tape,
Mexican police apparently
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carrying out
orders for gangsters.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] It's
been a problem in Mexico
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for decades now.
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So much so, that just this year,
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Mexico's former head
of public security
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was found guilty of
drug trafficking.
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This is the type of power
that the cartels wield
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throughout the country.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] Uh-hmm.
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[Mariana Van Zeller]
The immigration officer's
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accusations hang in the air
as I head towards the border.
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The stories the
Venezuelans told me
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suddenly make much more sense.
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[Mariana Van Zeller] I've kept
in touch with the Venezuelans.
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And the last I've heard, they
were able to slip past the
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00:29:04,701 --> 00:29:08,664
authorities and hitch a ride
north on one of the trains.
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00:29:09,206 --> 00:29:12,376
Riding La Bestia is
apparently still an option,
243
00:29:12,376 --> 00:29:14,252
but much less common.
244
00:29:14,252 --> 00:29:17,089
Which makes sense, considering
all the vested interests
245
00:29:17,089 --> 00:29:18,757
in the new system.
246
00:29:41,738 --> 00:29:43,824
[Mariana Van Zeller] After
almost two weeks on the road,
247
00:29:43,824 --> 00:29:46,827
I finally arrived at
Mexico's northern border.
248
00:30:00,465 --> 00:30:03,343
It's the last leg of the journey
and we've gained access
249
00:30:03,343 --> 00:30:06,013
to yet another
transport company,
250
00:30:06,013 --> 00:30:08,724
run by a rival of King Coyote's,
251
00:30:08,724 --> 00:30:11,977
a man who calls himself Zorro.
252
00:30:11,977 --> 00:30:13,520
So, we got a call from Zorro.
253
00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:15,981
Apparently, there's a
group of a few migrants
254
00:30:15,981 --> 00:30:17,858
that have just arrived.
255
00:30:17,858 --> 00:30:20,318
They're going to cross
to the U.S. soon.
256
00:30:20,318 --> 00:30:23,697
And he's given us this address
for this stash house where the
257
00:30:23,697 --> 00:30:26,742
migrants are staying
before they cross the border
258
00:30:30,579 --> 00:30:34,082
[speaking Spanish].
259
00:30:34,082 --> 00:30:35,292
[Mariana Van Zeller] Okay.
Around the corner.
260
00:30:35,292 --> 00:30:36,668
It's around the corner
from here. Okay.
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00:30:36,668 --> 00:30:37,711
[Man] Walkie-talkies down.
262
00:30:38,045 --> 00:30:39,379
[Mariana Van Zeller]
Walkie-talkies and cameras down.
263
00:30:39,379 --> 00:30:40,380
[Man] And camera down.
Let's do it quickly.
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00:30:40,672 --> 00:30:42,007
[Mariana Van Zeller] Yeah.
So get out? Okay.
265
00:30:42,007 --> 00:30:43,967
So they're saying right now.
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00:30:46,636 --> 00:30:51,683
[distant sirens]
267
00:30:54,061 --> 00:30:58,273
[speaking Spanish].
268
00:31:03,862 --> 00:31:10,452
[♪ dramatic music]
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00:32:11,012 --> 00:32:12,556
[Mariana Van Zeller] We're
witnessing one of the last
270
00:32:12,556 --> 00:32:15,642
hurdles for migrants on this
side of the border,
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00:32:15,642 --> 00:32:18,603
the final payment
before crossing,
272
00:32:18,603 --> 00:32:20,814
which is split between
the transport company
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00:32:20,814 --> 00:32:22,357
and the cartel.
274
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:08,028
[Mariana Van Zeller] Uh-hmm.
275
00:34:18,390 --> 00:34:20,141
[Mariana Van Zeller] Um...
276
00:34:21,393 --> 00:34:23,561
He says he's going to make
a phone call to his family,
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00:34:23,561 --> 00:34:26,106
because he's the only
one who hasn't paid yet.
278
00:34:26,106 --> 00:34:30,068
And, uh, he wants to ask them
when the money is coming in.
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00:35:47,479 --> 00:35:50,398
[Mariana Van Zeller] The subtext
of that last bit was chilling,
280
00:35:50,398 --> 00:35:52,859
but also easy to miss,
281
00:35:52,859 --> 00:35:57,364
"I want my brother here.
We want him here with family."
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00:35:57,364 --> 00:36:00,367
In other words,
please don't hurt him.
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00:37:19,112 --> 00:37:21,364
[Mariana Van Zeller] I'm in a
stash house in northern Mexico,
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00:37:21,364 --> 00:37:23,283
not far from the border,
285
00:37:23,283 --> 00:37:25,869
where migrants are
held captive until
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00:37:25,869 --> 00:37:28,079
their payment is delivered.
287
00:38:13,750 --> 00:38:16,002
[Mariana Van Zeller] We depart.
288
00:38:16,002 --> 00:38:19,130
According to King Coyote,
these sorts of confrontations
289
00:38:19,130 --> 00:38:22,008
are common on both
sides of the border.
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00:39:18,022 --> 00:39:20,191
[Mariana Van Zeller] Despite
the thinly veiled threats,
291
00:39:20,191 --> 00:39:23,653
I'm told that later that evening
Angel's sister came through
292
00:39:23,653 --> 00:39:25,363
with the money.
293
00:39:25,363 --> 00:39:28,366
He'll be crossing with the
others in the coming days.
294
00:39:29,284 --> 00:39:32,996
[speaking Spanish].
295
00:39:33,538 --> 00:39:34,956
[Mariana Van Zeller]
The next morning, I meet up
296
00:39:34,956 --> 00:39:36,666
with Zorro again.
297
00:39:36,666 --> 00:39:39,419
He's transporting a different
group across the border;
298
00:39:39,419 --> 00:39:42,922
migrants who've
already paid their part.
299
00:39:45,174 --> 00:39:48,303
Super tight quarters here,
we have a driver.
300
00:39:48,303 --> 00:39:51,806
Zorro sitting next to me
here too in the front row.
301
00:39:51,806 --> 00:39:55,393
And then four migrants are
in the back of the truck.
302
00:39:55,393 --> 00:39:58,146
Uh, we are heading to the
drop off point, it's about
303
00:39:58,146 --> 00:40:01,274
a 20-minute drive, where
everyone will get out of the
304
00:40:01,274 --> 00:40:04,652
car and the journey across
the desert starts for them.
305
00:40:23,755 --> 00:40:25,256
[Mariana Van Zeller] The
migrants slip through a
306
00:40:25,256 --> 00:40:28,593
rickety barbed wire
fence and begin walking.
307
00:40:30,970 --> 00:40:34,265
But once they cross, they'll
face another one to three days
308
00:40:34,265 --> 00:40:37,602
of hiking through the Sonoran
desert, until they reach
309
00:40:37,602 --> 00:40:39,854
their pickup location.
310
00:41:26,317 --> 00:41:30,988
[sirens]
311
00:41:32,073 --> 00:41:34,117
[dog barking]
312
00:41:34,117 --> 00:41:35,743
[Mariana Van Zeller] As for
what happens to migrants on
313
00:41:35,743 --> 00:41:37,787
the other side of the border.
314
00:41:37,787 --> 00:41:39,914
You don't have
to look too hard.
315
00:41:42,709 --> 00:41:45,920
Even TikTok provides clues.
316
00:41:46,671 --> 00:41:48,840
Black market transport
companies post ads
317
00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:50,758
recruiting drivers.
318
00:41:51,300 --> 00:41:54,262
They're looking for Americans
willing to shuttle migrants
319
00:41:54,262 --> 00:41:56,973
from the border into
urban centers,
320
00:41:56,973 --> 00:41:59,183
where they can
effectively disappear.
321
00:42:00,101 --> 00:42:02,895
Drivers make thousands
of dollars per trip,
322
00:42:02,895 --> 00:42:05,940
if they can make it past
U.S. Law enforcement.
323
00:42:07,900 --> 00:42:10,153
[Cop] What we're trying to
do is position ourselves
324
00:42:10,153 --> 00:42:11,738
at choke points.
325
00:42:11,738 --> 00:42:14,532
I'm, uh, right here
at Pearce and 191.
326
00:42:15,867 --> 00:42:18,369
Where we believe that they're
going to have to come through
327
00:42:18,369 --> 00:42:22,248
us in order to get to
their final destination.
328
00:42:22,540 --> 00:42:23,541
[Mariana Van Zeller] We
spent one night with the
329
00:42:23,791 --> 00:42:26,544
Cochise County, Arizona
sheriff's department.
330
00:42:26,544 --> 00:42:29,630
And witnessed the
chaos firsthand.
331
00:42:29,630 --> 00:42:33,509
[Cop] He's gonna run.
We are northbound.
332
00:42:34,761 --> 00:42:38,014
[sirens]
333
00:42:38,014 --> 00:42:41,350
Driver, step out of the
vehicle and face away from me!
334
00:42:42,518 --> 00:42:44,312
Be advised, as soon as
I activated my lights,
335
00:42:44,312 --> 00:42:46,481
the vehicle is not stopping.
336
00:42:50,651 --> 00:42:54,280
Driver, stick your
hands out the window!
337
00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:55,990
Put your hands
behind your back.
338
00:42:55,990 --> 00:42:57,992
How many more do you
got inside the car?
339
00:43:00,912 --> 00:43:02,705
[Mariana Van Zeller] These
arrests may seem like a win
340
00:43:02,705 --> 00:43:04,248
for law enforcement.
341
00:43:04,248 --> 00:43:05,458
[Cop] You have the
right to remain silent.
342
00:43:05,750 --> 00:43:07,043
Anything that you say can and
will be used against you
343
00:43:07,043 --> 00:43:08,086
in the court of law.
344
00:43:08,669 --> 00:43:10,171
You have the right to talk to a
lawyer and have them present...
345
00:43:10,171 --> 00:43:12,048
[Mariana Van Zeller] But the
reality is that each year,
346
00:43:12,048 --> 00:43:14,217
thousands of
migrants get through.
347
00:43:14,217 --> 00:43:17,386
And the ones who don't
will often try again.
348
00:43:20,556 --> 00:43:22,141
In a nutshell,
349
00:43:22,141 --> 00:43:25,353
that's why the people-smuggling
business is booming.
350
00:43:26,395 --> 00:43:29,941
Because for the world's
most vulnerable people,
351
00:43:29,941 --> 00:43:32,193
the dream of living in America
352
00:43:32,193 --> 00:43:36,114
is only available on
the black market.
353
00:43:40,743 --> 00:43:42,245
In case you're wondering,
354
00:43:42,245 --> 00:43:44,122
the Venezuelan
migrants I spoke with
355
00:43:44,122 --> 00:43:47,500
crossed the border
in May of 2023,
356
00:43:47,500 --> 00:43:50,920
after an eight-month journey
through seven countries.
357
00:43:52,213 --> 00:43:54,549
They surrendered to
authorities in Texas and
358
00:43:54,549 --> 00:43:56,175
are currently living in the U.S.
359
00:43:56,175 --> 00:43:58,928
And awaiting an asylum
hearing, along with nearly
360
00:43:58,928 --> 00:44:02,348
1.6 million others.
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00:44:02,348 --> 00:44:03,766
Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.