1 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:14,520 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:17,320 JJ: I won't show my face on camera, 3 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:22,600 because I'm currently working cases all undercover. 4 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,920 {\an8}We've arranged to purchase 4 kilograms of fentanyl 5 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,640 {\an8}for the sum of $152,000 from (bleep). 6 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:35,840 ♪ ♪ 7 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:37,560 We'll then effect a buy bust. 8 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,240 We'll arrest and take him into custody 9 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:41,880 on state charges of trafficking in drugs, 10 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:47,800 which carries a max for 11 years in prison. 11 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:50,800 (phone ringing) 12 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:51,840 DEALER: Hello 13 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:53,440 JJ: Hey. ¿Qué pasa, amigo? 14 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:56,200 Wakey-wakey, eggs and bakey, dude, it's time to go. 15 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:57,400 (laughs) 16 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:01,880 DEALER: er... ok give me... er... 17 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:03,480 give me one hour 18 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:04,640 JJ: You say one hour? 19 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:05,600 DEALER: yeah one hour 20 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:06,920 JJ: Alright, bro, sounds good. 21 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:15,120 ♪ ♪ 22 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:23,320 ♪ ♪ 23 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:25,080 JJ (off-screen): So we probably got anywhere from 20 to 25 24 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,080 people on this operation today. 25 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,920 OFFICER: Let me know, and I'll be hanging around. Thanks. 26 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:34,600 ♪ ♪ 27 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:36,240 OFFICER: When we have eyes on both vehicles, 28 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:38,400 we can do the takedown. 29 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:44,840 ♪ ♪ 30 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,720 {\an8}OFFICER: Alright, what's the move, Jimbo? 31 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,200 {\an8}Alright, JJ's saying if you've got 'em, stop 'em. 32 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:52,400 {\an8}Stop 'em. 33 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,840 ♪ ♪ 34 00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:05,960 (siren) 35 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,240 SHERIFF: Where's he at? Where's the target at? 36 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:10,600 You have the right to remain silent. 37 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,280 You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to. 38 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:15,880 OFFICER: 558, traffic... 39 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:23,320 ♪ ♪ 40 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:31,760 ♪ ♪ 41 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:39,320 ♪ ♪ 42 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,720 JJ (off-screen): In 2019 we saw in the state of Ohio 43 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,720 more than 4,000 overdose deaths. 44 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,120 A lot of old dope cops will say, 45 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,400 you know, it never used to be that way. 46 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,920 ♪ ♪ 47 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:59,160 I would say that's because the addiction 48 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,920 has never been this out of hand. 49 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:11,240 ♪ ♪ 50 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:19,640 ♪ ♪ 51 00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:22,720 MAN (over TV): Shake this square world and blast off for Kicksville. 52 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:27,120 NIXON: America's public enemy number one is drug abuse. 53 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:29,520 MAN: Heroin destroys everything. 54 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,720 MAN: Prescribing pain pills created huge numbers of addicts. 55 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:35,680 CROWD: People die! Sacklers lie! 56 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:37,000 MAN: Opium is cash. 57 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,000 It's like you're growing bills on the bush. 58 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,280 MAN: Crime and drug abuse go hand in hand. 59 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,120 It's like peanut butter and jelly. 60 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:44,400 KAMALA: There's now an understanding that 61 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,920 the war on drugs was an abject failure. 62 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,760 MAN: You have to stop and ask yourself, how did we get here? 63 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:59,560 (theme music plays). 64 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:10,240 ♪ ♪ 65 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:15,800 {\an8}♪ ♪ 66 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:17,480 RILEY (off-screen): The Dearborn Housing Project is on the 67 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:18,960 South Side of Chicago, 68 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:25,040 and it's a traditional low-income housing project. 69 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,160 So, it's really an enclave unto itself. 70 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,000 {\an8}And in the early 2000s it was being controlled by, 71 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,280 {\an8}really, elements of organized crime, 72 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:35,160 primarily street gangs. 73 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:42,720 ♪ ♪ 74 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,040 The Mickey Cobras were the organized crime faction 75 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:46,480 within Dearborn. 76 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:49,760 They made money by the sale of narcotics, specifically heroin. 77 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:56,320 (siren) 78 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:02,480 ♪ ♪ 79 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,640 I remember distinctly it was on a Saturday, 80 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:07,400 and I think over the first day or so 81 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,280 there was 26, 27, 28 reported overdoses. 82 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:13,960 Not all led to death, 83 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,280 but clearly what was going on the street 84 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:19,880 was not ordinary street heroin. 85 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:25,000 {\an8}♪ ♪ 86 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,720 SNAKE: It hit the news, that's when we found out that everybody was ODing. 87 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:30,600 {\an8}OFFICER: What did he take? 88 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,960 {\an8}WOMAN: I don't know, I don't know. 89 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:34,480 {\an8}OFFICER: Okay, alright, let me get my gloves on, 90 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:36,320 {\an8}and he's gonna, I'm gonna get him with Narcan, okay? 91 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:37,720 {\an8}What's his name, baby? 92 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:39,880 {\an8}Alright. 93 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:41,320 {\an8}OFFICER: Have you got anything? OFFICER: Uh, yeah, there's a... 94 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,640 {\an8}♪ ♪ 95 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:47,520 SNAKE: Yo, my name's Snake 96 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:49,640 I used to be affiliated with the Mickey Cobras 97 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:51,160 back in the early 2000s. 98 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,320 RILEY (off-screen): I think the Mickey Cobras really had no idea 99 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:06,320 just exactly what they were dealing with. 100 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,840 Whatever this was, it wasn't normal, 101 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:11,040 and they weren't handling it right, 102 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,200 and we knew it was probably cut with something 103 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:14,760 that we didn't know about. 104 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:15,840 (siren) 105 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:18,200 SNAKE: When people started dying, that's when the heat came on 106 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:21,280 We really didn't want nobody to die, but if it happened, it happened 107 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:23,360 We really didn't care, all we wanted was the money. 108 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,560 RILEY: Our first question of concern was just 109 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,800 where the hell is this coming from, who was responsible? 110 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,880 (siren) 111 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,120 (radio chatter) 112 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,240 ♪ ♪ 113 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,320 Eventually our wiretaps and intelligence 114 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:46,200 led us to several phone calls that were going from the Cobras, 115 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:47,960 or someone representing the Cobras, 116 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,160 to Toluca, Mexico. 117 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:59,560 ♪ ♪ 118 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:08,760 ♪ ♪ 119 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,800 {\an8}QUINONES: By chance, they arrive just as one guy is there 120 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:13,120 {\an8}feeding the guard dog. 121 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,520 (dog barking) 122 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,200 They don't know who this fella is. 123 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,280 They begin to interrogate him, 124 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,720 and it turns out that he is not some worker, 125 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:26,960 he's the guy running the whole show. 126 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:36,520 ♪ ♪ 127 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,560 This fellow was a guy by the name of Ricardo Valdez Torres, 128 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,760 also known as El Cerebro, the brain. 129 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:47,240 ♪ ♪ 130 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:52,800 It was around his talents that this entire lab had been built. 131 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:58,000 ♪ ♪ 132 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:03,200 ♪ ♪ 133 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:11,880 Fentanyl is a magnificent drug when used medically in surgery. 134 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:14,200 It's a revolutionary anesthetic. 135 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,680 Many of us have had it; I have. 136 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,520 And it made certain kinds of surgery possible. 137 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:23,560 The way it did that was because it was very potent, 138 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,320 but it also brought people into anesthesia, 139 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:27,720 then out of it very quickly, 140 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:29,640 and you did not remain doped up for hours, 141 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:32,640 as morphine used to do. 142 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,880 It's that quick in, quick out of fentanyl 143 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,880 that makes it such a wonderful drug if you're a street dealer, 144 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:46,480 because now addicts have to use it four, five, six times a day. 145 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,320 Ricardo Valdez Torres, a.k.a. the Brain, 146 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:53,880 had no background in chemistry. 147 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:55,040 It's still a mystery to me 148 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,320 how he first learned how to make fentanyl. 149 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:01,040 During the manufacture of the fentanyl, 150 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:03,720 he began to test it on mice. 151 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:05,800 (squeaking) 152 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:11,200 He finds that this fentanyl has to be diluted 50 to 1, 153 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:15,720 so 1 kilo makes 50 kilos of sellable product. 154 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:17,800 Otherwise it'll kill people. 155 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:21,640 (sirens) 156 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:26,640 He gives these instructions to the people who take it north. 157 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:31,160 But in Chicago, nobody believes that anything on the street 158 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:32,960 will take a 50-to-1 cut. 159 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:37,640 They believe that that's kind of salesmanship. 160 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:40,040 Just sounds like a con job. 161 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:45,800 SNAKE: Back then, you know, we didn't even know that fentanyl was in the heroin 162 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,080 All we did was get it. Put it together and sold it 163 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:53,760 RILEY: In the lab at the time we raided it, 164 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,440 they had enough chemicals to produce 165 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:00,600 60 kilos of pure fentanyl. 166 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:05,160 Now that's enough fentanyl to kill 30 million people. 167 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:06,520 (horns honking) 168 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:25,440 ♪ ♪ 169 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,640 QUINONES: When he's arrested, The Brain tells investigators, 170 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:31,760 you know what, just a couple days ago, 171 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:36,680 I sent out a 10-kilo batch of fentanyl. 172 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:40,360 ♪ ♪ 173 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:42,000 Where that ended up, he doesn't know, 174 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,000 but he assumes probably Chicago. 175 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,200 RILEY: Knowing 10 kilos was inbound to Chicago, 176 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,160 and knowing the way the Cobras handled it and cut it, 177 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:52,400 even against the instructions of the lab, 178 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,320 yeah, that was terrifying. 179 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,480 We knew we had to act and hit the Cobras 180 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,720 so that we really destroyed their organization, 181 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,560 so they couldn't be the conduit of this anymore. 182 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:09,040 REPORTER (over TV): At least 30 alleged street gang members 183 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:10,960 are in federal custody tonight. 184 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,840 They are charged with running a 24/7 drug operation. 185 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:16,400 SNAKE: I remember it like it was yesterday 186 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:23,000 It was at least 100 police, 200 police, Feds, DEA, Chicago PD 187 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,360 U.S. Marshals, some of everybody 188 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:28,960 They got to locking everybody up, they ask questions later 189 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:36,000 RILEY: We went and we conquered them, no question about it. 190 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:46,200 ♪ ♪ 191 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,080 It disappeared, it's almost like it never existed. 192 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,840 No fentanyl on the street, no overdoses due to fentanyl. 193 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,760 It went away, and that really gave us confidence 194 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,320 that we had eliminated the problem, start to finish. 195 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:11,920 I don't think anybody ever in their wildest dreams 196 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,640 thought it would be the way it is today. 197 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:16,400 I know I didn't. 198 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:21,440 ♪ ♪ 199 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:26,240 75,000 Americans lost their life last year due to opioids. 200 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,240 ♪ ♪ 201 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,880 Imagine that. 202 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:38,040 Two football stadiums full of people that are no longer there. 203 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:43,160 Just think of what that does. 204 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,200 They all have families, they're all mothers, fathers, brothers, 205 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,160 sisters, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife. 206 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,880 Their families are destroyed... 207 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,960 because of opioids, because of fentanyl. 208 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:01,040 Yeah, that's, that's, that'll keep you up at night. 209 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:10,360 ♪ ♪ 210 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,920 {\an8}O'DONNELL (over TV): Tonight the DEA is offering $10 million 211 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:14,560 {\an8}for information leading to the arrest 212 00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:17,800 {\an8}of the Mexican drug kingpin known as El Mencho. 213 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:21,920 ♪ ♪ 214 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:24,400 VIGIL: El Mencho is the leader 215 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:28,240 {\an8}of one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world, 216 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:32,000 {\an8}known as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. 217 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:39,000 {\an8}♪ ♪ 218 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,600 {\an8}He is a synthetic drug lord, 219 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,200 because most of the profits that he makes 220 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:46,640 from the illegal drug trade 221 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:51,720 come from methamphetamine and then also fentanyl. 222 00:13:51,720 --> 00:14:00,080 ♪ ♪ 223 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,800 {\an8}GRILLO: The Sinaloa Cartel in the 2000s 224 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:03,920 {\an8}that El Mencho joins 225 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,000 {\an8}is really a federation of drug traffickers. 226 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,840 So you have these different factions, these different heads, 227 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,360 spread around different parts of Mexico, 228 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:17,560 with really their own networks that are interlinked. 229 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:22,120 So El Mencho joins the faction in Jalisco 230 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:26,080 of this broader Sinaloan empire, 231 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:30,960 and he begins as muscle and a head of hitmen. 232 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:40,360 ♪ ♪ 233 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:49,920 ♪ ♪ 234 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,640 So Rosalinda González Valencia is the heiress 235 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:57,560 in a powerful drug trafficking family. 236 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:04,120 When El Mencho marries her, that's a step up for him, 237 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:06,160 and that gives him more access 238 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,800 to the powerful levels in the drug trafficking business. 239 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:12,400 VIGIL: He knew that without Rosalinda, 240 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:17,080 he would be an assassin for the rest of his career, 241 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:23,680 and he was very ambitious and wanted to become a cartel leader 242 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:25,720 as quickly as he could. 243 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:34,840 ♪ ♪ 244 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:41,280 Ignacio Coronel was a top leader within the Sinaloa Cartel. 245 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:46,440 He was also known as the Crystal Meth King, 246 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:51,040 because he managed the methamphetamine operations 247 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:54,280 for the Sinaloa Cartel, 248 00:15:54,280 --> 00:16:00,280 and Nacho Coronel acted as a mentor to El Mencho, 249 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:06,640 especially when it came to the trafficking of synthetic drugs. 250 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:16,200 {\an8}♪ ♪ 251 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,640 {\an8}GRILLO: Synthetic drugs are really a game changer 252 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:20,280 {\an8}in the drug trafficking business. 253 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:24,000 You no longer need to have these fields 254 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,560 where you're harvesting coca leaves 255 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,160 or opium poppies or marijuana. 256 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:31,320 You could just have these precursor ingredients, 257 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:33,280 which are the base chemicals you need 258 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:35,040 to make these synthetic drugs, 259 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,240 and then you can cook them anywhere. 260 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:42,280 He's seeing this business, he's seeing the precursors 261 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:47,360 being imported in the ports on the Pacific coast of Mexico. 262 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,680 He's seeing the labs, he's seeing the massive profits, 263 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:52,560 and this is a lot more profitable 264 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:54,960 than the old plant-based drugs. 265 00:16:54,960 --> 00:17:03,200 ♪ ♪ 266 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:05,200 REPORTER (over TV): Ignacio Nacho Coronel, 267 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:06,360 one of the top leaders 268 00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:08,400 of Mexico's most powerful drug cartel, 269 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:10,720 has been killed in a gun battle. 270 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:12,320 The Mexican army calls his death 271 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:16,760 the biggest strike against the cartel in years. 272 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:19,200 (screeching) 273 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:22,200 GRILLO: When Nacho Coronel is shot dead, 274 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,720 then El Mencho is free to make his own play, 275 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:26,680 and after a violent struggle, 276 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:31,000 he becomes the head of the mob in Jalisco. 277 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:39,680 ♪ ♪ 278 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:47,920 ♪ ♪ 279 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,400 VIGIL: The Zeta drug trafficking organization 280 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:57,600 was making encroachments into the Sinaloa Cartel's territory. 281 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,800 They were a brutal, brutal cartel, 282 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,000 and El Mencho went to war with them. 283 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:13,120 (gunshots) 284 00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:15,480 GRILLO (off-screen): The Zetas had really brought in 285 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:19,720 the paramilitary tactics into the Mexican drug war. 286 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:24,400 When El Mencho fights them, he takes these paramilitary tactics 287 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,960 and puts them at a whole new level. 288 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:29,920 REPORTER (over TV): Dozens of bodies dumped in the street 289 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:32,720 near a busy shopping center in Veracruz. 290 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,440 Now a new paramilitary group appears to be claiming 291 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:37,880 responsibility for the massacre. 292 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,480 ♪ ♪ 293 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,520 GRILLO (off-screen): So the port of Veracruz is one of the biggest ports 294 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:48,160 in Mexico, and it became a big stronghold for the Zetas. 295 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,200 ♪ ♪ 296 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:56,200 VIGIL: He went in there with tremendous violence. 297 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:03,160 These people were tortured, killed... 298 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,120 and they were just dropping them off 299 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:11,040 like they were so much trash. 300 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,400 GRILLO: They not only pushed out the Zetas from the port, 301 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,000 they then took control of it. 302 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,000 It was a strategically very cunning move, 303 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:21,440 and really all along 304 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:25,400 he was taking their territory for his own uses. 305 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:30,720 ♪ ♪ 306 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:35,840 ♪ ♪ 307 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:38,840 And then it emerged, this new name, 308 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,280 the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. 309 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:50,880 ♪ ♪ 310 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:52,800 VIGIL (off-screen): So within three months, 311 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,560 he went from the Veracruz seaport, 312 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,720 Manzanillo in the state of Colima, 313 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:03,720 and then also Lázaro Cárdenas in the state of Michoacán. 314 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:07,440 So it was a strategic move on the part of El Mencho 315 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:09,880 to control the seaports. 316 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:19,960 ♪ ♪ 317 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:21,680 (horn blows) 318 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:32,720 ♪ ♪ 319 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,000 WESTHOFF: Hip-hop was always the music I loved, 320 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:40,840 and when I became the music editor at LA Weekly, 321 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:42,800 {\an8}I started interviewing all these rappers 322 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:44,240 {\an8}that I loved from my childhood, 323 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,160 {\an8}like Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, 324 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,960 and so that's how I developed my credentials. 325 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:54,200 ♪ ♪ 326 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:57,360 I first heard about fentanyl back in 2010 327 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:00,160 when my good friend died from it. 328 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:06,920 ♪ ♪ 329 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:08,080 The worst part was that 330 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,120 I just didn't know anything about fentanyl, 331 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:13,800 so I started talking to experts, 332 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,200 and I kept hearing that it was being made in China, 333 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,880 and so I wondered if any journalists 334 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:21,920 had really investigated this, and it turned out they hadn't, 335 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:26,680 and no journalist had ever been inside a Chinese fentanyl lab, 336 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,680 and so I decided that's where I needed to go. 337 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:35,560 ♪ ♪ 338 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:40,200 I started by just Googling "buy fentanyl in China," 339 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:43,720 and all these search results popped up, 340 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,600 and so I made a fake email, a fake persona, 341 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,440 and I started contacting some of the salespeople 342 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,440 at these fentanyl companies, 343 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:58,240 and they had no sort of shame or hesitation to talk to me at all, 344 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,520 and so that's how I ended up on a plane to Wuhan. 345 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,880 {\an8}(jet engine roaring) 346 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,280 {\an8}♪ ♪ 347 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:10,280 All of a sudden I was doing this deep investigative journalism 348 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:12,440 in a country where I didn't speak the language, 349 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,480 and it was pretty harrowing. 350 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:23,560 ♪ ♪ 351 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,040 When I got to the address for this company, 352 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,640 I thought I was in the wrong place, 353 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:30,960 because it was this giant hotel. 354 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:35,400 I went into the lobby, and I was met by this pair of sales reps, 355 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:39,520 and these were women who both called themselves Amy. 356 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:47,040 ♪ ♪ 357 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,560 They showed me the sales floor, 358 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:54,920 you know, with these hundreds of salespeople. 359 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,640 I asked about the fentanyl precursors, 360 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,360 and the two Amys chatted among themselves in Mandarin, 361 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:04,400 and one of them left the room. 362 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:11,920 ♪ ♪ 363 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:14,320 I was kind of nervous wondering what was happening, 364 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:15,720 or if they suspected me, 365 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:20,480 but then she came back and basically said, "No problem." 366 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,760 Some of the salespeople showed me the fake packaging 367 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,520 that they send the fentanyl ingredients in. 368 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,000 One of them looked like dog food, 369 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,360 another looked like banana snacks, 370 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:34,480 and I was surprised how cheap these drugs were. 371 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:37,600 You can turn $3,000 worth of product 372 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:42,160 into hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more. 373 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,280 And a million doses of fentanyl 374 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:46,920 might just fit in a very small box. 375 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:51,080 ♪ ♪ 376 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:55,960 Ye Chuan Fa is the CEO of the Yuancheng Chemical Company. 377 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,640 I was very surprised when the sales reps just brought me 378 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,800 right up to his desk, and I got to meet him. 379 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:09,080 {\an8}♪ ♪ 380 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,720 {\an8}When I think of an international drug kingpin, 381 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,480 {\an8}I definitely did not think of this guy. 382 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:16,560 He did not have sort of an intimidating look 383 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:18,040 about him at all. 384 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:24,720 He looked like a typical nerdy manager of a chemical company. 385 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:27,840 I basically said I wanted to think about it a little more, 386 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:31,040 and I would get back to them. 387 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:34,320 I was very nervous when I got to the airport. 388 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:36,720 I was afraid they were gonna stop me 389 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:38,800 or I was gonna be apprehended, 390 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:40,640 but I was able to get on the plane 391 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:42,720 and got the heck out of there. 392 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,800 (jet engine roaring) 393 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:50,480 I found out that one of the clients 394 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,440 buying the fentanyl precursors 395 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:56,480 from this Chinese chemical company was CJNG. 396 00:24:56,480 --> 00:25:00,760 ♪ ♪ 397 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:02,560 ROSE (over TV): Tonight we continue our investigation 398 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:04,360 of the opioid epidemic, 399 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:07,560 which is taking more than 80 lives a day. 400 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,960 REPORTER (over TV): Each year nearly 7 million Americans 401 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:11,680 abuse prescription drugs. 402 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:13,280 That's more than cocaine, 403 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:14,840 heroin, hallucinogens, 404 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,680 ecstasy, and inhalants combined. 405 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:18,760 DURR (over TV): When the cocaine dealers 406 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:20,160 {\an8}are turning into pharmaceutical dealers, 407 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,920 {\an8}that's, you know, that tells you how lucrative it is. 408 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:32,360 QUINONES: The entire opioid crisis really has its root 409 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:36,760 {\an8}in the massive promotion of narcotic painkillers 410 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,760 {\an8}by drug companies to doctors, 411 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:46,400 and doctors then prescribing those to their patients. 412 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,040 At a certain point, doctors began cutting back 413 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:50,880 on the amount of prescribing they were doing, 414 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,000 more regulation by law enforcement, 415 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,560 those addicts began to look for new places 416 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:57,280 to procure their pills. 417 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:03,880 {\an8}VIGIL: El Mencho was already manufacturing methamphetamine. 418 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:08,080 He knew that the opioid crises was ongoing 419 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,080 in the United States. 420 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,920 And as a result of that relationship 421 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,000 between his cartel 422 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,920 and Chinese traffickers of precursor chemicals, 423 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:24,480 he made a strategic decision to start getting into fentanyl 424 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:30,800 to basically feed the appetite of U.S. consumers for opioids. 425 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,880 QUINONES: Eventually, as they learned to make fentanyl, 426 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,760 the traffickers in Mexico begin to make quantities 427 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:41,520 that are just staggering. 428 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:46,480 So, how to market it, how to, how to sell it. 429 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:51,160 So they begin to make all these different counterfeit pills 430 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,960 that contain only fentanyl. 431 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:56,840 And counterfeit pills 432 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,720 are a perfect way for sending fentanyl north. 433 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:02,520 (horns honking) 434 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:15,440 ♪ ♪ 435 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,840 VIGIL: El Mencho looked at the United States, 436 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,480 and he knew that he was in competition with other cartels 437 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:26,240 {\an8}for major metropolitan areas. 438 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:33,160 So he decided, I'm going to go 439 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:37,280 into the rural areas of America. 440 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:41,360 ♪ ♪ 441 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:44,840 Because it's an untapped market. 442 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:49,480 QUINONES: Fentanyl shows up in the states 443 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,160 where the opioid epidemic really begins, 444 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,320 primarily Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky. 445 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,080 And making these pills are people 446 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,880 who really don't have any background in chemistry. 447 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:10,040 (siren) 448 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:19,360 (siren) 449 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:28,000 (siren) 450 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,440 ♪ ♪ 451 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:32,120 {\an8}This was a pivotal moment. 452 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:37,080 {\an8}It was the moment when the Mexican trafficking world 453 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,160 discovered fentanyl, 454 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:42,800 and that this was the most profitable drug 455 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:46,000 that they had ever encountered. 456 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:52,760 ♪ ♪ 457 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:59,240 {\an8}(men shouting) 458 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,080 {\an8}GRILLO: El Mencho builds his own private army, 459 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,080 {\an8}a huge paramilitary organization. 460 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,640 {\an8}He can use this to fight rivals for territory, 461 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,880 {\an8}but also to defend himself against the government. 462 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:16,040 (gunfire) 463 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:25,840 IVAN: If something happens to your face, so that it will never be the same 464 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:27,840 it does affect you. 465 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:34,880 ♪ ♪ 466 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:41,720 ♪ ♪ 467 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:46,360 (helicopter) 468 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:54,160 IVAN: We weren't told what we were doing on that operation 469 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:55,520 My name is 470 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:59,800 Deputy Officer Ivan Morales Corrales from the Federal Police 471 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:01,240 Intelligence Division. 472 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:11,000 We were told we were behind a convoy of pickup trucks 473 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:12,640 I told my partner 474 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:14,960 to watch out as anything could happen 475 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:20,080 because we knew it was dangerous 476 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:28,120 ♪ ♪ 477 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,440 (helicopter) 478 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:32,920 (gunfire) 479 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:37,160 IVAN: The shooting began with bursts of machine-gun fire 480 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,040 (gunfire) 481 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:41,040 and that's when everything hits 482 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:43,840 You could hear it hitting the (armored) plate 483 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:51,120 When they hit the rotor, the roof of the helicopter caught fire 484 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:52,920 That's when we started falling 485 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:01,720 (explosion) 486 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:08,480 When the aircraft crashed on the ground, I was in shock 487 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,360 I knew I was going to get burned 488 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,360 because the flames were all around 489 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:20,960 My wife was pregnant 490 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,120 I didn't want to die and not meet my son 491 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:29,080 That's what helped me push through 492 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,240 I got out and I tried to put out 493 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:35,720 the fire as fast as I could 494 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:42,120 but the helicopter's fuel, the kerosene 495 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,920 meant that my jumpsuit burnt quickly 496 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:54,960 El Mencho escaped from that operation 497 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:04,120 I don't remember more 498 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:21,840 I think being in the hospital and having my wife visit me every day 499 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,480 was what helped me pull through 500 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:30,560 When I left the hospital, I left wearing my uniform 501 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:33,400 because that's what I wanted 502 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:45,680 ANCHOR: It's believed that the current attacks 503 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:50,440 are related to the operation to arrest 504 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:52,360 the leader of the 505 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:57,600 Jalisco New Generation Cartel 506 00:32:57,600 --> 00:32:58,840 El Mencho 507 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:09,640 ♪ ♪ 508 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:15,000 (siren) 509 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:19,720 GRILLO: When El Mencho sends his operatives to spread terror 510 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:21,640 to defend himself from being arrested, 511 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:23,200 he's really upping the stakes 512 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:24,800 and putting huge amounts of pressure on the government 513 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:26,920 and saying, if you want to take me down, 514 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:31,560 it's gonna be very costly to you. 515 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:35,880 {\an8}VIGIL: When the CJNG knocked down the military helicopter, 516 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:41,600 the entire world knew about their ultra-violent tactics, 517 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:46,360 so it put them in the crosshairs of Mexico 518 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,000 and then also the United States. 519 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:57,160 ♪ ♪ 520 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:03,600 ♪ ♪ 521 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:04,600 (horn squawks) 522 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:06,560 (radio chatter) 523 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:15,000 ♪ ♪ 524 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:23,320 ♪ ♪ 525 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:24,760 MINERD: Well, anytime law enforcement's conducting 526 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:27,240 an investigation that they know that has a connection 527 00:34:27,240 --> 00:34:29,720 {\an8}to a very dangerous organization, 528 00:34:29,720 --> 00:34:33,240 {\an8}like New Generation, you have no idea what to expect. 529 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:38,520 Keep in mind, we just did a sting operation 530 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:42,520 where we just took off nearly a million dollars' worth of drugs. 531 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:47,200 Quite frankly, someone's gonna be (bleep) about that. 532 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:49,040 OFFICER: Do you have anything else on you? 533 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:51,400 No? Nothing illegal they're gonna find? 534 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:53,520 Okay, if you do, it's gonna be additional charges, 535 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:54,920 you know that, right? 536 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:56,320 Okay. 537 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:05,880 ♪ ♪ 538 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:14,960 ♪ ♪ 539 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,320 JJ: These are the 4 kilograms of fentanyl that we recovered 540 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,400 {\an8}from the stop of the vehicle on the roadside today. 541 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,320 Roughly 40,000 unit doses in its entirety 542 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:25,440 taken off the streets of Columbus. 543 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:30,640 ♪ ♪ 544 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:36,360 ♪ ♪ 545 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:37,600 TEAM LEADER: We're gonna call for knockers 546 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,160 on the second level, and then head up the stairs. 547 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:44,920 ♪ ♪ 548 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:46,920 MAN (over loudspeaker): This is the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. 549 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:49,480 We have a search warrant for (bleep). 550 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:50,640 (thud) 551 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:56,520 ♪ ♪ 552 00:35:56,720 --> 00:36:02,640 ♪ ♪ 553 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:04,000 MINERD: DEA here in the United States 554 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:08,240 oftentimes say as little as 2 milligrams can be fatal. 555 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:10,480 (siren) 556 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:15,360 And so if 2 milligrams is enough to kill somebody, 557 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:16,440 how many lives did we save 558 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,560 by taking 4 kilograms off the street? 559 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:20,840 I mean, well over a million people 560 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:22,280 that we potentially saved, 561 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:23,880 and so that's the money shot. 562 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:25,560 That's why we do what we do. 563 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,000 ♪ ♪ 564 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:33,840 Growing up 20, 30 years ago, 565 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:35,880 when I first got into the business, 566 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:39,640 the Columbus, Ohio, area was kind of known as a cow town. 567 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:43,280 Lots of cornfields, rural area, 568 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:45,480 not really on the map, so to speak. 569 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:47,600 But over the last 20-plus years, 570 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,480 Columbus area has grown pretty fast. 571 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:56,720 ♪ ♪ 572 00:36:56,720 --> 00:36:58,120 And many people don't know this, 573 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:01,800 but Central Ohio, if you go out 500 miles in any direction, 574 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:03,240 you touch somewhere in the neighborhood 575 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:07,720 of about 70% of the population of the United States, 576 00:37:07,720 --> 00:37:10,920 and so location, population, proximity, 577 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,320 all make it a very ripe area for drug trafficking. 578 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:20,160 ♪ ♪ 579 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:22,560 (horn blows) 580 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:27,800 ♪ ♪ 581 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:29,600 {\an8}(beeping) 582 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:35,920 {\an8}♪ ♪ 583 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,040 {\an8}AUTOMATED VOICE: It is now safe to touch the patient 584 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:39,640 {\an8}to start CPR. 585 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:42,600 ♪ ♪ 586 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:44,480 PARAMEDIC: Help me pull him out, get him on the ground. 587 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:46,240 PARAMEDIC: He's not breathing 588 00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:50,920 ♪ ♪ 589 00:37:54,760 --> 00:38:00,600 ♪ ♪ 590 00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:05,200 VIGIL (off-screen): Family means everything to El Mencho, 591 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:09,200 and the United States and Mexico have gone after family members. 592 00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:12,840 They arrested his wife for money laundering. 593 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:17,880 She was the primary money launderer for the CJNG. 594 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:24,160 (officer speaking Spanish) 595 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:29,000 GRILLO (off-screen): Now, the man overseeing that arrest, 596 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:32,240 heading the investive criminal agency, 597 00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:34,600 {\an8}is Garcia Harfuch, 598 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:39,640 {\an8}who will go on to head the Mexico City police force. 599 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:44,760 So you have this crazy attempt to assassinate him. 600 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:59,600 ♪ ♪ 601 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:02,800 OMAR: My name is Omar Hamid Garcia Harfuch 602 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,240 I am the Chief of Police for Mexico City 603 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:12,040 All ranks within the Mexico City Police start work really early 604 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:13,080 not just me 605 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:19,400 ♪ ♪ 606 00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:24,920 ♪ ♪ 607 00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:26,480 OMAR: Edgar was driving 608 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:30,040 In the back was Rafael, who was the head of my security detail 609 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:33,160 and had been with me for 12-13 years 610 00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:37,160 Our SUV stopped at a speed bump 611 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:41,520 and I saw a 3.5-ton truck cut us off 612 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:50,240 and I looked up and I only saw... like 613 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:57,880 individual faces that were popping up out of the back of the 3.5-ton truck 614 00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:03,800 ♪ ♪ 615 00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:08,600 OMAR: It was totally silent in the city 616 00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:11,520 and the first (shot) made a tremendous sound 617 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:13,520 especially on the windscreen 618 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:16,640 (gunfire) 619 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:20,520 Afterwards, the only things you could hear were 620 00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:26,080 a rainfall of gunshots hitting the SUV 621 00:40:29,240 --> 00:40:32,640 There was a lot of smoke, a lot of powder 622 00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:36,880 Every hit would splinter bits of everything 623 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:42,760 I told Edgar, who was driving, to reverse 624 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:46,880 He reversed and he said the SUV wasn't working anymore 625 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:50,960 ♪ ♪ 626 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:54,800 (gunfire) 627 00:40:55,240 --> 00:40:58,800 I couldn't see Edgar because he was in the seat in front of me 628 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:00,840 Rafa was literally next to me 629 00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:09,040 He didn't suffer, it was very quick 630 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:21,400 (gunfire) 631 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:30,720 I was just waiting for the one gunshot that would inevitably end it 632 00:41:30,720 --> 00:41:32,600 That's what I was waiting for 633 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:40,880 (siren) 634 00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:45,960 When I heard the first siren, it was truly a relief 635 00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:50,800 (siren) 636 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:57,480 I had 15 wounds, four of which were serious 637 00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:04,880 After the attack, my life changed 638 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:09,480 Obviously, I don't have the freedom to go out as I'd like to 639 00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:18,360 ♪ ♪ 640 00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:23,640 OMAR: I don't regret chasing after any criminal group 641 00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:27,840 or any leader, including El Mencho, or whoever 642 00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:35,280 ♪ ♪ 643 00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:51,400 ♪ ♪ 644 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:53,440 QUINONES: This drug is now a little bit like 645 00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:56,320 {\an8}the way we use salt on food, kind of just thrown on there, 646 00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:59,240 just mixing it with anything. 647 00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:00,480 A lot of people have been dying 648 00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:03,360 because they think they've been using cocaine 649 00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:04,480 or methamphetamine, 650 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,720 and it's got fentanyl in it. 651 00:43:06,720 --> 00:43:09,400 You see this all across this country. 652 00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:11,600 ♪ ♪ 653 00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:15,120 So why would you want to risk killing people? 654 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:18,920 ♪ ♪ 655 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:22,040 The reason is you replace a cocaine customer 656 00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:25,000 who may buy from you weekly, maybe biweekly, 657 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:29,280 with an opioid addict who has to buy from you every single day, 658 00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:31,680 and that makes total business sense. 659 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,920 {\an8}So now anybody who's using drugs on the street 660 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:37,000 {\an8}is going to assume that anything they use 661 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:38,960 {\an8}is gonna contain fentanyl. 662 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:42,600 {\an8}♪ ♪ 663 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:45,520 {\an8}The truth is, the days of recreational drug use 664 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:50,560 {\an8}are over in America, and fentanyl is the reason why. 665 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:53,280 {\an8}All those myths that we once laughed at 666 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:57,320 {\an8}about what drugs were and how deadly they were, 667 00:43:57,320 --> 00:44:01,000 {\an8}all of those myths have become reality. 668 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:02,280 {\an8}Captioned by Cotter Media Group