“Narco HELL!” - Hunting Cartels: Occults, Mass Graves & Spiking Heads | 391

When you realize that the cartel is so omnipresent, no matter who you are, if you're not willing to capitulate, you will right. I worked for the secretary of public security and the entire time I was hunting cartels in Mexico, several of my brothers have been murdered. So, I take it person. >> You talked about coming across the mass grave with your >> What are we talking? How big a grave? >> Hasn't even been on Earth. Rain will start washing stuff away. Things will be revealed. There's body parts sticking out of the ground. This is when I started realizing what Mexico was about. Oh, one day we're in the factory and they shut everything down at 12:00 because at 2:00 the cartels coming and shutting everything down, burning buses on the highway because the cartels are pissed off. >> I've been thinking this all day, Dave, cuz it's not that long ago, but this is a whole different era. How do you create a 20, 30, 50year plan to maybe not even fully eliminate the cartels, but eliminate the heavy, dense, wide reaching influence they have in Mexico? Is that even possible? >> I'm glad you asked. You have to What's up, guys? Thank you so much as always for watching my channel. If you have not hit that subscribe button, can you please do me a huge favor and hit that right now? I appreciate everyone who's been watching these videos consistently. The number one analytic we need to get these videos into the algorithm is you guys hitting the subscribe button, though, and when you do that, we get them in and we can continue getting great guests. So, thank you to everyone who's already taken the time to do that. And thank you to all of you who are going to do so. Now, enjoy the episode. All right. So, you and I have been talking throughout the day. For people tuning in, we're ending up doing two podcasts here and they're very separate like kind of topics. We just left off at a perfect spot so they can each be watched like individually on their own. But you once you went through all your stuff and you finally get completely sober, you obviously have some interesting skill sets for sure. But what did you say you wanted to go hunt al-Qaeda in Russia? >> And so anyways, yeah, we still >> What year are we in? >> This is uh 19 uh No, this is 2005. >> Okay. What? >> 2005. >> Whats you to want to do that? >> Well, I've been I've been in the Bearing Sea anyways. And so anyways, I was fishing and crabbing there and uh I'm not even going to get off on it, man. That was Nicole and me wanting to go make a hundred gazillion dollars to buy her a wedding ring and that turned into a few years. But uh I wind up in Russia and the reason and we started this all off with like political stuff on the first episode about my basic belief system and growing up on a farm running around free >> and I'd gone down to enlist in the Marine Corps first at 16 and then several times after that and almost a we were just talking about it off camera about me being a little bit maybe mildly a autistic I know I'm not the best stereot or stere storyteller, whatever. I've got a particular way about me and I'm not trying to not entertain you people, but I mean it's just it's just me >> in this one. Stay away from the comment sections. Just stay with me. You're doing great. You're doing a great job. All right. >> So, anyways, I go down and I I uh I'm physically fit. I can run a mile in like 5 minutes and 15 seconds or could >> Wow. >> Yeah. No, I was really not right now, man. I'm sucking there to be honest because I've been just focused on school and not not spending time in the gym and focused on work, but uh very physically fit and not smart. So, I almost ac Yeah, you can be whatever you want, military intelligence, blah blah blah. Then the background check >> then the background check comes along and like get the out of here. And I've got this belief that you're free that people don't own you >> especially if you want to do the right thing. And so I wanted to go hunt al Qaeda because I did not like Daniel Pearl, a Jew who was also an American having his head cut off by Al Qaeda. And I kind of took issue with that, you know. And one day I was sitting there and I'm not generally not into morbid videos. In fact, my wife is a reporter or was and she gets a lot she still gets a lot of uh communication from people that are in the know that are doing all the stuff in Mexico that you run into and she'll show me that stuff every once in a while and it pisses me off because I've seen plenty of it. I don't. So, I'm not like one of these people that watches uh whatever the narco websites are, gore.com, but I happen to see this video and when I saw that video, it moved me to the sense of I can't morally stand by and allow this to happen. Whether or not some politician in a suit somewhere is going to tell me, "Hey, Mr. Frank, you can go confront this on our behalf or you can't off. I'm going to go do it myself. And uh No, I mean because there's a lot of people that'll say a lot of things, but it's mostly talk, >> right? >> Because talk's easy. They get their endorphins and then they're happy and they move on to their next thing. And I I even do that myself. I got to be careful about how much I say. Like I don't really want to talk about the law or the degree. School's starting tomorrow on the 29th. But you got to be about action, man. So, you know, when I kept going down there and they kept telling me no, I finally got to the point with it, provoked principally by that video, then I'm not going to stand for this. Period. Which is also why I went down and got shot in the ear with that thing, >> right? That's separate story. We don't need to go back. >> But yeah, we're not going back to it. But it's about the action, which is what's important. So, I wound up in Russia >> wanting to go get al Qaeda because it's a mutual thing. Obviously, you're not allowed to join their military and stuff, but I was looking at becoming law enforcement in Russia. >> You wanted to become law enforcement in Russia >> that confronts Al Qaeda. There's >> Did you already speak Russian at this point? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I taught myself Russian. >> So, you picked that up when you were fishing on the Bearing Straits. >> Yeah, I studied it because you got you got time when you're scrubbing the boat and stuff like that. >> Talk the alphabet, the whole thing, man. >> Gotcha. And um so I'm learning that and I learn it and initially it's just a basic working command of Russian. My second wife was Russian and my daughter is Russian and still lives there to this day. I lived in Russia for for a little while and I'm sitting there trying to figure out how to go after al Qaeda. But because I had a daughter in Russia, my ex-mother-in-law, who was a former KGB agent, for real, and my ex-wife begged me to come back to the United States because in Russia you only make like 250 bucks a month. >> It's very little low pay. And my ex-mother-in-law, stopped being KGB, wound up becoming like normal police and a school teacher of all things. And so they begged me to come back to the United States. And I did because Katya, my daughter, was born and I agreed to do that. So I didn't get to go very far down the al Qaeda route in Russia. >> Did you just So you picked to hunt ala al-Qaeda and Russia because you spoke Russian and your wife and daughter were there. So you're like, well, >> they weren't my wife and daughter yet. That was initially I was like, man, I need to find a way to get to Russia. And they had presence in Russia at the time heavily, right? >> So you're like, I could hunt them here if I wanted to. >> Yeah. Well, Bosch Cortan where we lived was 70% Muslim. >> So is that in the Caucasis? >> Yeah. Well, no, it's it's not. It's just to the east of it. It's on the southern range or the southern end of the Euro mountain range. >> Okay. >> And which ironically is where Russia has most of their weapons made. So yeah. So um in the Vular River. So just a big uh just kind of a brief history lesson on the union of Soviet the USSR Soviet. So use um they lost 14 republics when the USSR broke up. >> Kazakhstan, Kystan, um >> Dagistan, >> Distan, there's a whole bunch of stans on the south. All the stans are all Muslim heavy populations. and in fact even speak um I don't know what the language is for example in Bashkartan which is where I was they they speak Bashkiri Tatars and Russian and my daughter's birth certificate believe it or not is in Russian and in Bashkitti which is a Muslim people so they've got Muslims all through the south of Russia and it's right next to Afghanistan Tajakistan and all these other stands so it's a good place to like be looking for how to get into that type of [ __ ] And I wanted to do that, but I wound up having a daughter. So I didn't get very far. Yeah. The Republic of Ashworth. I was in Steritac specifically. >> Beautiful. Wow. >> And so when I wound up over there, I wound up flying into OF at like 4:00 in the morning. I was being picked up. >> This is like 05, >> huh? >> This is like 05. >> Yeah. Yeah. I'm being picked up by two uh military members that are actually my in-laws and being driven south to Sterita, which is about a two-hour drive. And I didn't know if they were going to hack me up in a white dial room. My daughter wasn't born yet or any of that. But yeah, I was over there trying to figure out how I was going to go hunt people that would cut off our heads, you know, because it's just not cool, dude. And what like what as a guy with no experience doing something like that? You mentioned you were gonna try to join like Russian you know police force or something but like what what's your plan to go hunt them like knock on doors and say are you out there? >> Yeah. Yeah. You go over there and you definitely are knocking on doors like the FAS Bay like the feather islands and all these different things >> which you can't join a foreign milit or intelligence service but you can definitely go down there and they've got different types of uh Russian police like Oman different police sources or forces that are geared towards that type of stuff. They just, which is not all that different from what I was doing in Mexico, >> but I happen to have a daughter, which is the difference between Russia and Mexico, right? >> Had my daughter not been born, I would probably be not having this conversation and still be living in Russia. >> So that's what happened. My daughter was born and I came back to the United States at the behest of my ex-wife >> to be able to send money back because you could make more of it, >> right? And I did all their visa paperwork and stuff like that and brought them over here. >> Oh, you did? >> Yeah. >> They're here now. They were, this is actually the impetus or what provoked mine and my ex-wife's divorce because she went back home to Russia to go visit her mom. And there was always a problem with that. The night my daughter was born, she was born at Soda Hospital in uh Sterita. And I told my ex-wife, I'm like, "Call me, not your mother-in-law or not your mother. I want to be the first guy to know about my daughter being born." And of course, they didn't do that. And her and her mother were always very uh they outsmarted me, man. >> Mhm. to be super honest. And it was never about me. I was just a tool for them, but I was it was an honest marriage. I mean, I wanted the family. But she went back to Russia and left my daughter there. And the entire time I was hunting drug cartels in Mexico, my ex-wife has lived in this country and remained in this country to this day and has left my daughter over in Russia >> with the grandparents >> with my with my ex-mother-in-law. Yeah. >> Wow. And so obviously when that wasn't going to happen, I tried to buy my daughter back for like $10,000, which is what I had in my 401k cash and it didn't work. And you can't be with someone that you can't trust. So >> I'd say you tried to buy her back. >> Yeah. So I'm making like $100,000 a year at this uh at this company and we're doing all kinds of military. >> What company? >> Um Triumph. Triumph Actuation Systems Valencia. I got a job there as a manufacturing supervisor and I was making like a hundred grand a year. I was making good money, but my ex-wife comes back without my daughter. And I'm training I was uh trying to go pro in the UFC at the time. Yeah. I was training at Gokchvich in North Hollywood with uh Manuel Gambururian, Seik Makinian, Karan Daredian, Carl Paresian was no longer at the gym but used to be there. Ronda Rousey was there at the time and um sitting there and this is leads into how I get my job in Mexico. So I'm sitting there training with top level UFC talent that are on TV with Dana White. In fact, man, Belgium has fought either Nick or Nate Diaz, who is shout out to Hey Nate, man, I love Dude, my favorite fighter, man. That guy's just great. >> Nate Diaz is a gangster. >> He's all gangster. So anyways, I'm like into that type of [ __ ] and I'm sitting there at the gym practicing judo and I get this phone call my wa my ex-wife's American cell phone because in Russia you have a different cell phone system. It's beline and your American cell phones won't work over there at all period because it's completely different system. >> So I get a phone call from her on her American cell phone. So immediately I know that she's here when she had been in Russia. So I'm like, "All right, I go down to M Tom Bradley Airport, shower, go down there. My daughter's not there." I'm like, "Whoa." I'm like, "Goti." Yeah. I'm like, "Where's where's Katya at?" Cuz it's not a suitcase that you just left. >> In the past year, I found a different kind of micro dose. And it's a legal psychoactive mushroom that doesn't make you trip out or see God. The mushroom is called ammonita muscaria. The red one with the white spots that you've seen in every video game or fairy tale ever. Unlike psilocybin micro doing, ammonita doesn't push you into a psychedelic headsp space. It calms you down without making you foggy, helps you focus without jitters, and makes you sleep way deeper without the hangover. A lot of people are using it as an alcohol replacement or a weed alternative because it gives you that relaxed, warm feeling without the downsides. No paranoia, no next day brain fog, no dependency issues. Have you ever tried other neutropics or adaptogens and felt like they didn't do much? Aita actually does something. You feel it. It's subtle at low doses, but it's real. And I personally like the low doses. Perfect. But you can also take it in a medium-sized dose to have a good old jolly time or just use it in smaller doses to lock in during the day like me. I like Amitara's Blue Lotus Capsule because it's just enough to get a little feeling and go about my day without having any distractions whatsoever to get into that flow state. And that's why the only brand I trust for Amanita is Aantara. clean sourcing, no synthetics, no sketchy additives, and they actually educate people instead of just pushing the product. So, if you want to check out Amanita at Aurara for yourself today, go to www.antara.com/go/julen. That link is in my description below and use code jd22 at checkout for 22% off your order. Once again, that's www.antara.com/go/julen, link in my description below. Use code JD22 at checkout for 22% off your order. >> She tells me that she wanted an extended honeymoon for both of us, but that was just it was already over in that moment. That marriage was over. And in the second marriage, the first marriage, I was not a good husband. In the second marriage, I was a pretty decent husband because I'd learned a lot and I was sober. Been sober the entire time. I just made up my mind in that moment. I'm going to take this year trying to get my daughter back, but this marriage is over. And I never did get my daughter back. And my daughter has lived in Russia to this day. She still lives there. My ex, >> did you ever talk with her? >> I tried to while I was in Mexico. Yeah. There's some stuff that's gone on with my daughter's life that's had a very, very, very hard upbringing. And you know, I'm responsible for that, too. I was not the best husband or father, and I would have liked to have been. was very moni motivated by money. But I wound up not getting to raise my daughter. My daughter was very close to me when I was young. When she was younger and I was younger, too. Hell, this is going back 20 years now because she's uh yeah, she's going to be 20 soon. So, I loved having my daughter around and it just broke my heart. So, when that happened, I was just like, uh, it I'm going to quit my job. I'm going to find a way. had written the procar de la republica which is the Mexican department of justice. Didn't give a damn about that job or the money. We were having enough. >> What made you want to go down to Mexico? >> I knew that my ex-wife was just using my money and my salary at that job for uh financial gain because I was making a lot of money. I wasn't going to let it happen. I figured because the cartels had given me drugs when I was a child and it had shaped my life in such a drastic way. And at 15, granted, you're not a child, but you're not an adult yet either. You're still malleable. I was going to go do something to confront it. So, this job offered the opportunity to be able to go to Mexico. And I wanted to go confront drug cartels because I have this strong belief that children shouldn't be given drugs. And if my daughter's not in my life and my ex-wife is trying to use her just for financial incentive or gain, I'm I have nothing to gain by keeping this job because I don't give a damn about the money. I'm not motivated by money, per se. I'm very much I try to be I'm not angelic either, man. Don't get me wrong, man. I like my truck. I got a nice wheels. This type of thing, but >> it's not the beginning and end of everything. You got to have you got to be principled. So, I wrote the proca, which is basically the Mexican Department of Justice, and I'm like, uh, I would like to come to work for you. I'm adept at weapons, martial arts. I speak three different languages fluently. And I wrote the thing in Spanish, too, and it was in perfect Spanish. >> When did you pick up Spanish along the way? >> I'm from LA. It's our second language. >> Got it. Well, you didn't move to LA till you were 14. for secondary. Okay. Bravo. >> Yeah. I I speak it very well and I started learning it reading La Pon of all things and I had friends in school that were Latino. So I wasn't like this crazy like white supremist like hey I want to burn crosses and [ __ ] but also not putting up with any gangster either. So like I learned Spanish and I wrote that letter and they didn't answer me for a long time and I told I would had like uh between 80 to 220 people under my charge at Triumph Actuation Systems Valencia running three shifts of basically 65 people each and most of them were of Latino descent too from Mexico some of them even directly from Mexico >> and I told uh and it was when Obama Obama was in charge and I told the executive management because I was middle management that hey I'm not with sending my guys jobs south of the border gift and I did I told them that and um they didn't like it but they needed me because the biological dad had a factory where we were making 90% of the airport runway lights in the world. So I have a lot of background an engineering background but everything from taking raw material and converting it into something that's a flight critical part or whatever. I know how to do this entire thing, drafting it, programming it, contractual obligations. There's a lot that goes on. For example, you can machine military parts in Mexico. Yeah, this is a fact for all of our fans out there. You can machine military parts in Mexico as long as it's not a finished military part coming back across the border due to contractual obligations. >> Semantics. Yeah, >> it's not semantics. is a matter of law and you better have that [ __ ] down tight because if not it's your ass and you're going to federal prison. But they will take parts from Boeing that get used for example ball bearings on those landing gear of different aircraft and as long as that part is not received finished inspection and as long as you have not transported due to ITAR which is international tra uh trade and arms regulations as long as you're not delivering a finished drawing or a blueprint to foreigners you can come up with work instructions and drawings that detail what needs to be manufactured, the dimensions that need to be manufactured in that step. Manufacture what's basically a complete component and as long as it has not been signed off by finish inspection, which gets done here in the United States, you can produce whatever the you want in Mexico and then come back. And Airbus, which basically has a lot of their instructions in French and some of it in English is done here, and Boeing have a lot of their work done down in Mexico. And this was not my call at all. This is at a corporate level, but this is what goes on. So they're basically shortselling all of the wages and labors of American workers and sending to a place where the workers are going to get paid between four and 6,000 pesos a month. So I was doing that and I didn't want to do that. So I told my company to pound sand because I'm not going to do it. First team goes down there and they fail. But because my dad has the background that he has with this factory, I have that background too of bringing something all the way from conception to completion. Whatever you want to build, it doesn't matter. CNC programs, the whole thing, coming up with uh return on investment, ROI form, request for co quotes, RFQS, the whole thing. So the first team fails and in the interim of the first team failing the procar emails me back. Took them like six months and the six months they were taking while it was the first team was down there failing the they finally get back to me and they're like Mr. Frank. Um, and I had asked him for a job hunting drug cartels enough to pay a small small rent on a small apartment and for some tacos and razors. It's just it just so happens >> tacos and razors. >> It just so happens to be the way that I phrased it. I wasn't trying to be a jerk or anything, but this is really kind of like uh the way it went. And the first team had it failed because they didn't have the background that I had. So, I'm designing all these processes to go down to people that have no manufacturing background at all. They're chili farmers. When you p plant chili, you plant it like this with the root between your fingers. And the reason why I know that specifically, even though I've never farmed a Chile in my life, is because everybody that we hired was either a degreed engineer straight out of school with no machining experience or someone that barely had a second or a secondary or junior high school education >> to create a machining industry in the state of Zakatus, which as we all know now for the peace index, it's one of the most dangerous places in all of Zakatus. And ironically, the way I got out of going there to begin with was telling my company that I worked for that I was afraid of the cartel because they had shot up the police station there for two or three hours straight. >> Yeah. So, I had a leg to stand on. It wasn't insubordination as it were. It was a >> legit fear. I was lying, but it was a fear that could be substantiated in a court of law. So, I didn't have to go. And the first team went there and they failed. >> They write me back and they're like, "Mr. Frank, which means Mr. Frank, we're sorry to tell you, but in this moment, you can't work for us. And I thought that was great because >> in this moment, >> that's the thing I love about you being a sales guy because everything's always in the wording. It's always in the details, the way that you say something. And that was just it. I looked at it because I was talking off camera. Julie and I were having a conversation about sales, and there are different ways of closing people. When one of those closes is like a silent close, there's getting to the real objective. There's whether or not sales are an emotional or a logical thing. Emotional buyers, logical buyers, all these elements that go into something. So, when they told me that, what I heard was, "Hey, you can come work for us. We just need to button up the details." And as soon as I heard that [ __ ] and my ex had still had my and this is like a year into it. My ex my daughter had been in Russia for like a year now at this point. And she's thinking all these fools going to work making all this money. I'm going to rake them over the coals in divorce court. And that had nothing to do with my decision to go there. The financial aspect of it. >> Nothing. I'm my mother. >> I believe you. >> No. The fin. >> No. Because I'm still in Penny. I'm still in Hawk. I still pay child support. You want to hear something funny? Here you go. Single fathers. I pay child support on a daughter that for years, ever since there's been an economic or a financial embargo, financial sanctions against Russia, I pay child support on a child every month. Every month. >> Not for that. >> Yeah. No, no, no, no. Not for that. Not for that. But it could be stated, we could say that I pay money every month and my daughter doesn't get a penny of it because all of the sanctions against Russia. You're not allow >> I wanted to buy my daughter an iPhone. >> And I could not buy my daughter an iPhone without sending the money to India and then sending it to Russia that way. >> Yeah. My own daughter because of the economic sanctions against it. So all the money that the government takes from me here where I pay to do that cuz I still pay on that [ __ ] even though she's an adult, she doesn't get a penny of it. >> That's [ __ ] up. >> That's a fact. Look it up. Anybody that's got a Russian baby mama and your ch your kids in Russia surprise. Hey, that's a fact, dude. So anyways, >> I'm in Russia. I'm in Mexico. >> What year? >> This is down there cuz they said not in this moment. And then when did it become the moment where they said come down? >> Twou the the tail end of 2010. >> Okay. So you go down there. >> Obama's in office. I'm down there. We're doing this thing called a lowcost company >> called a what? >> LCC project. Lowcost company. >> Is this with what's the organization called again? >> Triumph actuation Systems Valencia. But it's not just Triumphuation System. >> Wait a minute. Hold on. Hold on. Back up. >> Yeah. >> So you're not down there with the Mexican military yet. You're down there with the same company you were working with, >> right? They sent me down there to install or implement a $60 million factory in Zakatus, which was getting tax breaks from the Zakatus government to the tune of a million or $2 million a year. >> That's nice. to do business down there, create a first team goes down there and they drop the ball completely, which is predictable because what this really is, it's the factory because there's Triumph Group is a huge international company, huge. I had stock options, the whole thing. And what's really going on is while they are sending stuff down there to make money on the wages savings here, they're also at the same time taking all their problem projects that they're not profitable in and sending it down to Mexico to get it off their plate. So predictably the team that did go down there that didn't have very much experience was going to fail even with degreed engineers and even with PE especially with people that aren't even good machinists that so I get down there and I go down there at the end of 2010 and they're like hey just go down there and fix it. And I'm like because I told them I'm not going to do it. I'd sealed my fate at that company but they needed me and I told and and I knew where you can read the writing on the wall. So I told him, I'm going to go down there for a year. I'm going to fix all this [ __ ] but train my replacement because I'm not coming back. And so that had to have been in March of 2010 because Yeah. No, it was actually the tail end of 2010. I quit in March of 2012 and in May 1 of 2012, I was at state, but we'll get into all the details. So, I go down there and I'm going to work and I'm still a tourist, man. I don't know anything that's about going on in Mexico. Meeting papaya and mango slices with hot sauce. And people are like, "You're not afraid there." I'm like, "This is [ __ ] great, man. I'm single because I'm not I'm not with a >> Russian chick." >> Yeah. With the Russian chick. Everyone in Mexico's hot. Everything's built out of Caner is like uh like super like just everything's carved out of stone. It's beautiful. It's very a colonial city. There was nothing about it that I didn't like, man. I just I fell in love with Mexico immediately. But I'm obviously not working for the government. So, I'm using this thing to bankroll all my opportunities to go knock on doors. The federal uh Federal Caminos, which is like Mexican Federal Highway Patrol, they're now defunct. They're not in existence anymore because they got taken over by the warian national or the Mexican National Guard, >> but back then they were. So I'm knocking on their door. I'm knocking on the pelicia feather alent door over um they don't really have an officer, but they're all at the Howard Johnson's in and at another hotel there. So I'm walking up these guys with machine guns and [ __ ] telling them, "Hey, I want a [ __ ] job." Um and they're all telling Yeah. And I'm knocking on the proca. The people that answered my door. They're actually located about five miles south where the factory is at the airport. >> And so I go there. >> You're just waiting for the first one to say winner winner chicken. >> I'm knocking down there. Yeah. I'm going to go I'm going to go get into some [ __ ] with the cartels, man. Yeah. So I'm actually seeking this out. >> Yeah. >> And uh just they were like blowing me off and I didn't know the way the structure of everything either. like the police federal ministerial are all lawyers and [ __ ] They're not. Yeah. So, law enforcement in Mexico structured differently, too. >> Yeah. Let's let's teach this lesson for all of us out there because we kind of always lump it. I mean, I'm >> You know what? I'm glad that I've got the opportunity, you know. >> Yeah. Let let's let's just make one thing clear. Like, I started my channel for one distinct reason. I've spoken to you and about that, but just for our audience's sake, >> I've got a life story that's kind of different, too. So, >> I'll say that's factored into it. But as far as law enforcement in Mexico goes, you basically have police municipal, which are your the Mexican version of city cops or small town cops, generally corrupt. Not all of them, but most of them are. And the reason why they are is because of their proximity, immediate proximity with cartels that are eradicated or not eradicated in the same place. They live in the same place, operate in the same place, and everybody knows everybody. So there's a substantial opportunity for a weed to take root or whatever, just for an analogy or metaphor. So they become corrupt to a very high level. So, it's not a place that you want to think about going to work because if you do, you're taking a substantial risk much more so than even being something like Federal Preventiva or Tatal Preventiva or even the military is terms of the Marines or the Army. >> It's that time of year again. Spring cleaning's coming around. And I remember during last year's spring cleaning, I loved getting rid of my old deodorant so that I could bring Mando into my life. Mando whole body deodorant is an absolute gamecher. Made by the founders of Lumi, Mando is helping men conquer their odor in a new way. I've always talked in the past about being paranoid about deodorant wearing off. With Mando, I can throw it on and I know I'm good throughout the day, wherever I go and whatever I do. Mando's whole body deodorant is safe to use anywhere on your body. Whether it's pits, balls, thigh folds, belly buttons, butt cracks, or feet, it works in all those places. Mando was also created by a doctor who saw firsthand how normal BO was being misdiagnosed and mistreated. So he made a product that can block odor all day and control odor for up to 72 hours. And Mando has multiple deodorant product options. You can use the solid deodorant stick which is formulated and powered by mandelic acid to stop odor before it starts. Or you can use the spray deodorant which is aluminum free and ideal for hard-to-reach places. Some men mask their BO with scents. Mando men get the job done right. Don't mask it, Mando it. Head on over to shopmando.com today because for a limited time only, new customers are going to get 20% off sitewide using our exclusive code. So use code julian at shopmando.com. That link is in my description below for 20% off sitewide. That's sopo.com. Link in my description below and code Julian at checkout. Please support our show and tell them we sent you. Mando's got you covered with deodorant plus sweat control. Say goodbye to sweat stains and hello to long lasting freshness. Well, also just for like context too, this is where I also always feel some empathy. It's like those guys you're talking about at the first rung who are in it, >> right? >> You know, they get approached by these organizations that literally have the [ __ ] president bought and they say, "Hey, you like your mom, you like your wife, you like your kids. Yeah, >> we're going to slit your throats if you don't [ __ ] tell us this, this, or that. Like, >> it does happen. >> Since leaving Since leaving, three, two, no, is it two? Fifi and uh there's another one. Two of the members of my platoon went elsewhere. Yeah. Nario went elsewhere to become chief of police. And both of them had to leave. And I know how valiant these guys are because I've worked with them. Went to go become chief of police in smaller towns or municipios as you would call it in Mexico. And both of them had to step down because of car cartel threats directly. In fact, one of them had his father killed because of it. >> Yeah. So, >> you hear that story far too often. >> Well, I just want to say that my wife and I make breakfast in our home in Mexico in a place where someone was tortured to death in our family. >> In your family. >> In our family where my wife and I cook breakfast and dinner. There was someone that was tortured to death there for a week and we did not do it. It was someone that >> Yeah. I I gathered that part. >> It was violent. It was brutal. They burned his body to death in two or he was already probably dead. We don't know, but probably burned him in two distinct locations in the house. And when I was cleaning up his fat, when you burn a body, when you burn a body like or actually burning it on a floor where there's not a container to trap the grease, grease gets everywhere and your feet slip in it when you're trying to clean it up. This is something I learned in Mexico. So, like when I'm talking about Mexico, I want people to realize that there are real price tags, human price tags to everything I'm talking about. >> Who was this family member that the cartels tortured to death in your house? >> I am not allowed to say by my wife, but I'm just going to say it was extremely close immediate family. And not only that, when you're going to put Perggo wood floors in a couple years later, you're still finding little specks of his blood in the corner. >> So, this is just I want to say that Julian because I mean a lot of people Ed was aware of me for about a year before we finally did our our interview >> called a run >> right so people know who the who the [ __ ] I am and I come off a certain way and sometimes it's kind of a jerk way and I admit it I'm not the most social butterfly out there not trying to be cute but I mean I really have a demeanor about me >> I got you >> but it's also an honest demeanor and But when I'm saying something, there's a [ __ ] reason for it. And uh when I'm being critical of [ __ ] that's why. Not just that, but a hundred other things. So anyways, like two of my brothers, they go to become municipal police and they both get run off because I don't know what happened, but I know enough about what goes on there that it was something to do with family or some [ __ ] like that. >> That's municipal police. So when you're talking [ __ ] about municipal police, they're not always corrupt. They just want to eat and they want to do their job. But also, if they don't play ball, it could be just a deal-breaking moment and that's it. And when Mexico, when it's a deal-breaking moment, it's your ass. >> Morally morally treacherous territory for sure. >> Well, I like the firebell of the ham and egg breakfast. You ever hear that one? >> Maybe. I I mean, I I'm aware of the ham and egg. >> Consider, if you will, the ham and egg breakfast. It's a breakfast enjoyed by millions of people around the world every day. And the chicken, he comes around, he lays an egg. He's got something to do with it, but he's going home. But the pig, it's the pig's ass. The pig's not going home. So, the chicken's involved, but the pig's committed. And Mexican law enforcement a lot, a lot of the times is like that. Meaning >> committed. >> The pig is committed. That pig's not walking away from that ham and egg breakfast. He's going to be [ __ ] buried. The chicken's got >> interesting word to use. I got you. >> The chicken's [ __ ] Yeah, it knows about it. It was there. Laid an egg, took off, went home. But the pig, that's it. >> They're done. >> Mexican law enforcement's a lot like that. And there's also one other thing I came up with while I was down there. Um, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. what happens in Mexico never even happened cuz you it's [ __ ] like that man. So when I watch this [ __ ] that we talk about here I don't have a problem with the way that anybody thinks. I'm not going to get off topic. I'm going to stick with the law enforcement. The next level to that obviously is either state ministerial >> or preventiva. Preventiva in every instance of the word is asskicking police. So the ones that are going to go out and they're getting in the gunfights and stuff like that, which is what I pertain to immediately. >> What's their equivalent in America? The Preventiva. >> There's not one. >> There isn't one. It's like in between FBI and cops kind of. >> No, it's in between FBI HRT and FBI. >> You're going after Okay, here's And here's why it's not in between FBI and cops. I'll explain it. because I was actually uh my ex-girlfriend Nicole, the one I wound up in the Bearing Sea over, she banked at the North Hollywood Bank of America where that happened. So, we were right there for the 44 minute gun shootout. We weren't at the shootout. I watched it on TV, but we banked there and I very aware that two people with AK-47s took on basically 300 LAPD, which is before the every squad car had a long arm or a long rifle. and they went to town on 300 police officers that had to get higher power weapons from a gun shop to even be able to do battle with them. So when I'm talking I'm not dissing American law enforcement. I'm just saying that the particulars of what happens in the United States with criminals and what happens in Mexico with an armed trained enemy enemy combatant and a low inensity conflict which even does have IDs because they'll try to blow you up out of your trucks too. It just happened again. You're facing someone that's going to come after you, target you, works in squads, is organized, trained, capable, determined enemy combatant as opposed to someone that's ripping off cars and selling them. It's not the same at all dynamic. So, it is the equivalent of doing SWAT work every single day of the week. >> So, it's not a it's not a rip on American police. Thank God that they've controlled it over here to the where we don't live in a dynamic like that. It's also not me swinging my dick trying to be like I'm more than It's just what it is, >> right? >> So, >> and you're knocking on the doors of all these places you're mentioning. >> I finally Yeah. So, there's Yeah, I'll get I'm almost there. >> Yep. Keep going. >> State preventiva, federal preventiva, state ministerial, federal ministerial. So, ass kicking investigations, >> right? broken down that way. And the people that I had originally written were the federal ministerial who are also the estatal um ministerial who I did apply for. The commander of that guy actually came back to the United States and was arrested by the American government and finally let go. Went back to Zakatus and was murdered. And um that's another story sidebar or sidebar on that one. But anyways, I wound up going to this estatal preventiva knocking on a general's door for the secret. So I wasn't even technically polic. I worked for the public secret or the secretary of public security directly for a general which is how I even got in because otherwise I couldn't even have done it. >> How did you end up directly for a general though? >> I got in there as an instructor because I was training with Manbel Gambburian and everyone at Goker Chichians. my level of martial arts is actually pretty decent. >> So you use that and they're like as an instructor. I went down there and knocked on his gate and the first day they blew me off and I went back down there and bear in mind the whole time >> I'm managing this factory. Oh, one day we're in the factory and they shut everything down at 12:00. This is when I started realizing what Mexico was about. And typically we would work until five o'clock at night. And every night at five o'clock I'm out of there >> knocking on doors. This day they tell us, "Hey, you got to bail at 12 o'clock because at 2 o'clock the cartel's coming and shutting everything down, burning buses on the highways. And every business in the capital city of this state is closing its doors because the cartels are pissed off because they're not getting extra money from the bars for allowing them to stay open till 2:00." >> And I'm in my hotel and I'm scared because I'm watching this [ __ ] happen. I'm like, "Whoa." and I'd been at work running my mouth about I want to become an agent here or whatever because that's really I'm like fairly open about what I do. >> Hey guys, if you haven't already subscribed, please hit that subscribe button. It's a huge huge help. Thank you. >> And I'm watching that. I'm thinking, [ __ ] man. They could come in here just like they do in other areas, machine everybody, machine gun everybody in the [ __ ] entire hotel cuz we're right there on Abanita Hill right downtown. And I watch this. But I'm committed. I'm a pig and uh I'm gonna do it and I've really meant it. So, not in a funny way. The joke's funny, but I've really >> Yeah. Using the word the pig's committed to talking. >> Yeah. It's got like it's a pon it's a whole thing. It's got >> Oh my god. >> So, I knock on this general's door and they tell me you can come back and I'm in my tie and everything. They tell me come back tomorrow at 9:00. So, I come back tomorrow at 9:00. And this is the first guy that's really giving me the time of day because the federal guys are just telling me to pound sand. I go down there. I come back the next day at 9:00. They let me go up. I'm sitting in the waiting room for like an hour and he's just blowing me off because I was supposed to be at a certain time. I was there 15 minutes early and he's still just making me wait. And generals in Mexico are kind of like demiggods. They can basically do whatever they want. And if you're on the wrong end of them and it's a general that's not committed to the rule of law. My general was committed to the rule of law. He was um >> How'd you determine that so quickly that he wasn't someone who was secretly on the take? >> I didn't I did not know. >> He tells me and he's like you [ __ ] gringo. What do you want here? and they had looked me up the day previously, which is what they were doing. And I'm like, well, I'm over here. Um, and at the factory in Mexico, I was uh the manager of machining and engineering operations. So, that was my technical charge at that factory, exactly what I was doing. And I told him, I'm the manager of machining and engineering operations at this factory. He's like, I know. I looked you up. And he did. And I'm like, I want to stay in Mexico, General. I've been over here for a while, and I would like to come work for you. And remember I said I started in May of 2012 and I'd got there at the tail end of 2010. So my year running this factory is almost up. >> But he's looking at you and you're, you know, a head honcho in this factory. You have told them, if I'm understanding correctly, like, oh, you know, I have martial arts skills and stuff like that, >> but you're not like a former Delta Commando or anything like that. What made him be like, oh, you're the guy >> about this? I'm glad that you brought that up because there's a platoon that works for him and he told them and I was unbeknownst to me at the time. He told them if he's former military of the United States, we can't take him. >> Interesting. >> Yeah. You know what? I didn't know. You know what? I don't know why. I never found that out, but he did say that to one of my platoon brothers, and I never knew why that was, but he did say that. I don't know where that will go in the future or what will become of that, but that was said. It was mentioned to me. was maybe I could be totally off base here, but at the in this era, you know, 070809, >> who was it? Was it was it CJNG? >> No, they were originally was originally trained by Deltas or something. You know what I'm talking about? >> Go cuz all my instructors were gay special forces. >> So, anyways, I didn't have that, but I did have here's what I had. So, we'll get into the interview because this is a great point. So, and Ed and I were t Ed, I'd like to do another video with you, man. So, to where we can really get down to brass tax about this [ __ ] because I want Americans to understand and I want Mexicans to have a voice, an operational voice, and not one that just comes from me. I want people just to understand in general. But when I went there, he asked me, "What the [ __ ] are you doing here?" and he would run on my background briefly and he wanted a demonstration of my fighting abilities because my initial accus when you get into a Mexican job like that you get a thing a document a form is called an acus ac >> and basically what it is is it says that this person is going to work for this corporation is what they call it >> governmental corporation doing exactly this on this date and that's what they gave me they let me enter as an instructor but what he wanted was a demonstration of my martial arts abilities, which ironically I didn't have to give right at that time. I thought I was going to have to. I started take off my tie and everything. It's like, no, when you get Yeah. fighting >> roll with the general. >> No, fighting three of his guys. And uh a lot of I've gotten a lot of [ __ ] about that, too. It wasn't three like seasoned martial artists. So, it was three of his recruits, and I did have to do that. But before that ever happened, he gave me a job as an instructor in martial arts >> doing low-level [ __ ] like a police baton in in Spanish. Yeah. >> Because not everybody, let's face it, Sean Strickland would just he just mopped a Navy Seal not long ago. >> Oh, he did? >> Yeah. >> I didn't see that. >> Yeah, there's a Navy Seal. >> I totally believe that. >> Yeah, there's a Navy Seal because Sean Strickland was talking [ __ ] about Navy Seals, which I've kind of done a little bit, too. and I don't want to. But when you're stepping into our side of the border on our job, I'm going to be critical about the stuff that I hear if you don't have direct relevant experience with it because you should have that. I would never do a video about what it's like to be a Navy Seal or an Army Ranger. And I'm not being upset. People should talk about it. But there's got to be clear divided lines like I know what Navy Seals are. I don't know what it is to be one. Zero operational experience, >> right? And with that in Mexico, it's a different story. I got all the operational experience and they don't. So, it changes. The paradigm changes drastically. So, I get a job teaching low-level recruits about how to use a police baton, which is basically a lower block, higher block, wing blocks, and that's about it. It's called a pente quattro, which is >> So, he's basically taking a flyer on you. Is that fair to say? Like at this point, he's like, "Ah, let's take a flyer. We'll give him this little >> We're going to Yeah, we're going to Well, I had something that was unique to other people because I thought for a long time why he let me in. >> I was smart enough to manage a factory. So, I'm clearly I've got that. >> I'm physically fit, so I can do all the running and stuff like that. I got that. >> I didn't get to qualify with a weapon for a long time. They did not let me close to weapon. And I had to give several several courses every day even while I was doing my basic training of martial arts to their existing police force and teach exactly new recruits police baton techniques which is completely in line with all my collie screaming [ __ ] which is Filipino martial arts which is what I was into with the dog brothers which was my initial beef with Ed because of a thing that I asked dog brothers basically >> who are dog brothers again >> can Can you pull that up? >> Yeah. >> Dog Brothers. It's a full contact collie collie screa organization to where we get together once if not twice a year and fight each other full contact with martial arts weapons. >> That's it. >> Yeah. But um >> wait, no, that's not it. >> Yeah, that is it. But you got to look it up. So yeah, so we get together like that first picture right there and we beat the [ __ ] out of each other with full contact uh batons and [ __ ] like that. Walk as a warrior for all your days. Higher consciousness through harder contact. >> So, here's a good example. So, like you can see my knuckles, right? I got knuckles. And you see how that one's all caved in? >> Yeah. >> So, that was the result of incorrectly doing a roof block and you break your bones. All kinds of [ __ ] >> So, it's it's uh calling a screaming so you can see the weapons. So, that's right in line with doing a police baton training. Yeah, without a doubt. Cuz you got 12 angles in often. It's awesome. >> Yeah, it's it's it's a pretty cool thing. So, I get my job because of that because I've got experience with all this [ __ ] And at the same time, I'm >> And you quit the man you quit the manufacturing? >> Yeah. I went back in March and in May 1st, March 9th, 2012, I quit my position at um at Triumph. and they thought I was crazy. But because it was a nice company, I had enough money to like chill for a little bit. I had stock options. I had all that [ __ ] But I pissed it away on a trip going around before I got in uniform for my general because they told me to start May 1. So me and my wife were like on multi-state. >> You had a new wife now? Mex. You got the Mexican wife at this point? >> Well, we're not married, but yeah, we were seeing each other. Yeah. Cuz I'd already been there like a year. >> Got it. And so, uh, we're going around and, um, I get my job there. I'm going through basic training and all this [ __ ] And, uh, I'm learning and all of our instructors, all the classroom instructors are all licensed lawyers. So, we're learning everything from mando, human rights, singular command. like everything in Mexico is geared towards a federal federalized police force that's overseeing everything that and they're doing the same thing here in the United States slowly but surely they want a federalized police force to where there won't be any more city or state police everything's just a federal similar to a to Kandaria or whatever gender arms in Mexico it's set up like that and all of our physical and weapons training is all gay special forces is which at the time I thought I'm like whoa what the [ __ ] is this but >> keep that in oh I'm like >> yeah but I'm not really seeing any of it because I'm not allowed to go outside base with weapons and stuff like that so I'm doing all these courses doing all my training I'm living at base it's seven days a week and uh I finally get to nod for my general to become part of his esculte training which is group de tactica So we're learning how to like repel upside down Australian repel CQB breaching and all this other [ __ ] directly from former Goth special forces soldiers. And this is not just unique to Zakatus. This is countrywide because of the [ __ ] that's going on with the cartel. And since I left, they've changed it. They now call it Ed's talked about this every six years. They get a better, brighter idea on what they're going to name it. Now it's called Ferra Mediat, but you're the ones that are going out on these missions after cartels and you're doing it. You're operating in what's called bombs. Oh, I didn't talk about that either. The Marine in the Marines in the in Mexico are all degreed lawyers or or accountants. >> All of them. >> Every single Marine in Mexico has a five-year degree in either law or accounting or something like that. >> I mean, that's kind of cool. What's the why law and accounting of all? >> It could be any fiveyear degree, but you're required to have a five-year degree or fouryear degree depending on whatever the discipline is to go into the Marines. And this is important because they are people that could have chose a career where they would have done very well for themselves, but they chose to go do something violent. I'm specifically referring to Marine infantry at this point and I've worked with them directly and they're kind of crazy, man. They they will scare you. They're uh not to be toyed with. Not at all. That being said that the Mexican military, the army, a lot of them only have junior high school educations, too. And this dynamic is unique also because a lot of these people are hardworking people that are basically drafted into military service because you have a bag where you pull out a black ball or a white ball and depending on the color you have and sometimes it's 90% retention that they have to go in and do their military training because uh depending on the needs of the Mexican army, you have a lot of people that are pulled into that that didn't want to be or a lot of people that didn't have any other opportunity because of their junior high school education. I'm just explaining the way things work in Mexico, >> but they're good people, but not highly educated. And so, you'll run you'll run into that. Did you find yourself like as you're once you went over there on May 1st and you start going through some of these processes and doing all this stuff, did you find a lot of welcoming arms or a lot of people were like, "Fuck you, Gringo." Or a mix of both. >> Um, a mix of both. The people from my immediate squad, they knew what I was about because we'd sleep on the concrete floor together at night. We're polishing boots until three o'clock in the morning. I mean, we're doing >> Oh, you're in the [ __ ] >> Yeah. No, it's basic training. >> Yeah. >> And we're cutting m uh grass with machetes all day long and because of Collie, I would use two machetes so I'd get my area done like super fast and help them. Yeah. No, it's just a bunch of [ __ ] that you go through. But a lot of people were very suspicious of why while I was there and also being at that state base going through that. You're winding up training a lot of the municipal police because they're in charge of training training all the police in the state. >> They're looking at you like intellencia central. >> They thought, well, that's when you wind up at the military base in neighboring states. They accuse me of being a CIA operative. Yeah. [ __ ] scary as hell. But the municipal police, some of them are corrupt and they're sitting there trying to get an eye on you and you know that some of them are corrupt because they're at a local level. You understand that even when you're in training. So there are people that were very much spec um suspicious of me. There were also people that thought that was super cool that I was there. But I just lost my daughter. She was gone and didn't want anything to do with my ex. And plus, I'd been there in a while. and I really am digging on this new chick who at that point in time is only my girlfriend. She's wondering whether I love my general more than I love her. So, there was that type of dynamic going on. And we discussed it at length on our very first day. I'm like, "Look, I am here to do this >> and that's it." And that was kind of uh where our relationship was at. So I'm there going through all this basic training and stuff and finally they let me start training with weapons and they're teaching us CQB and all this other stuff and when I graduated I went to work directly for my general I think not only because of the GAP thing there's like things that went on there with uh is that the cartel hitman that was in charge of the GAP thing John Casar. Can you pull up John Casar? >> Yeah let's talk about this. >> Yeah. So it's [ __ ] it's a high consequence environment, man. People don't really get because people go to work for law enforcement. And the reason why I was talking about it's between FBI and HRT. You were constantly surrounded by the bad guys. And the very first night we got back to base, we'd actually captured somebody and they're telling me not to talk >> because they'll recognize my >> accent. But then I just figured I'm like, there's already people that are corrupt here anyways. They already know exactly who I am, so I can say whatever I want. I figured that out immediately. >> Something like this. >> No, go to Google. You're gonna You guys are going to love this. And then go John J. Yeah. Zakatus or Cartel. Yeah, the very first one. There it is. John Casara Cartel. And then go to images. Put in zakatus in the search bar. Za ca t e c a s. >> Man, I can't believe that he's not popping up. But John's misspelled. >> Tell Yeah, tell the story. >> So anyways, find it. John is a hitman for the cartel for the Zeta cartel and you were asking kind of like what cartels were active. The cartel deiscoas was around >> but they were in their infancy, >> right? >> And in any event, >> the Zetas were I I always get it mixed up. The Zetas were the one that had some Delta Force training, right? The Zetan ones went to the school of America and were exactly special force operators trained by Americans >> and were the um heavy hitters for the Gulf cartels. They were the ones the enforcer branch for the Gulf cartel and then they got tired of working for the Golf Cartel and they're just like >> Yeah. So, this is who we were fighting. And actually, it's ironic that you're talking about that because I actually have a picture somewhere on one of my videos where I'm standing in the street with my weapon. I'm like looking at one of my partners. He's taking a picture of me. were in San Luis Possi State in that picture which is where they killed the it was an ICE agent that they killed down there a >> in Mexico >> in Mexico and I've taken issue with a lot of the DEA people and stuff like that that act like they're on missions and stuff like that. I've got it right here in uh a hell >> man's got receipts. >> No, I do. I got it right here. >> I'm going to quote it. >> Other phone. >> What's that? There it is. >> Phone's got the receipts. >> It does. It's got it's got the receipts. So, ah, of course it it changes it as soon as I pull it up. There's a Department of Justice report where they're talking about Avala and the other gentlemen. They were both agents working for working for either the DEA or im the Department of Homeland Security in 2011 >> in San Louis Possi. And they were one of them was killed. They were both shot about a hundred times and they were telling they're explaining to the cartel in San Louis Possi that please don't kill us. We're uh were diplomats and it's just I want to say that because diplomats are allowed to be armed. Mexico arrest suspect and Haimei Zapata killing. Yeah, >> this is it. Okay, so this is from the BBC back in February 2011. Mexican troops have arrested an alleged drug gang hitman suspected of killing a US immigration agent last week. Julian Zapata Espinosa told soldiers he and other gunman opened fire on the agent's car thinking it belonged to a rival gang. Officials said agent Haime Zapata was killed and agent Victor Aila injured in an ambush on a road near the city of San Louise Possi. Drug violence is set to be discussed when Mexican President Felipe Calderon visits President Obama next week. Mexican officials presented six men to the media during a news conference on Wednesday, accusing them of involvement in the attack on the US agents. These included the alleged leader of the gang, Julian Zapata Espinosa, known as El Pin or Tweety Bird. Three women, among them Mr. Zapata's wife and a child, were also detained. >> Here we go on ABC News. Despite Zapata and Abelis please, I'm quoting abcnews.com. Despite Zapata and Abel's pleas that they were diplomats, the asalants fired nearly 100 rounds into the vehicle using using handguns and assault rifles, wounding Avala and killing Zapata, the DOJ DOJ said. >> Wow. >> Direct quote. So that's like what goes on in Mexico when you're working in that. And I mean those are American government officials and they're still just taking them out. And it's the cartel exactly who I'm working against there. And I'm bringing that up because there are things that you can learn during the course of an interview or hanging out for a couple years in a country or whatever. But when you live there and you're working against it every single day, particularly from a Mexican perspective, and you can't even escape it. You are forced to remain there. There are all these dynamics in play when we're talking about reporters and military and corruption and economic opportunity and everything that is Mexico, which is also a great country, too, by the way, that it's important to dive into these. And so, I'm getting there and I'm learning all of this stuff. When I finally start, we get back to base. We have this hitman for this cartel with me. And I figure out immediately that your own brothers know who you're at. But I've had three different occasions where I've personally been offered an opportunity indirectly to go work for a cartel myself. >> What was the So the first >> it was a coworker. This happened right at the tail end of when I was leaving right before John Casara and all this that was going on right at the end too. I left at the end of 2016. So May 2012 until the very end of 2016. This is my life and this is what I'm living. and also previously with the factory and also afterwards with law school. So I was in Mexico close to 10 years and not on a tourist visa either living there under an FM3 visa where I'm working the whole thing. I've got an RFC number, Corp number, Mexican soul. I've got all of it. So you learn a lot in the course of all of this. And when you realize that the cartel is so omnipresent, they're just ubiquitous. They're everywhere. That you really just when you put them on a uniform, you're just cognizant of the fact that you signed your death warrant as soon as you put that [ __ ] uniform on period. No matter who you are, because as soon as they want something from you, if you're not willing to capitulate, you will, right? And I've got several of my brothers have been murdered and [ __ ] like that. So, I take it personally the same way anyone in the American military would take it personally if someone misrepresented or whatever. So, I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just want to make sure that we're thorough about all the details. >> You got approached by a co by a co-orker >> a coworker and his wife who were >> and his wife. >> Yeah. Because Well, yeah, cuz you worked there. You wind up marrying each other. I'm not going to say anything about his wife, but yeah, very attractive woman and uh not approached in an inappropriate way. >> Where were you? >> At work. And anyways, uh they were calling me on my cell phone. Typically, you're not even allowed, my unit, we're not allowed to have cell phones, but we do >> because you can relay movements, information, and in Spanish you would call it dos or oos. You can tell them when you're leaving, coming and going, whatever. Just a lot of different things. Who you saw, who you didn't see, what you did. So, we're not supposed to have cell phones, but we do, >> right? >> And then even when you have cell phones, they might have one SIM card, but you'll carry around another SIM card, so you swap the numbers out. All kinds of [ __ ] So, they call me and it flips me the [ __ ] out. Um, and this is, mind you, towards the end. >> So, we're near 2016 now. This is the end of 2016 right before Governor Teao is coming to power. And he's telling me, he's like, "Hey, Frank, I need some help because my coworker because my buddy was kidnapped." I told him, I'm like, "Go to our general and have my general take care of me." He's like, "No, me Frank. We're going to go get it." And I'm thinking, "We're not allowed to carry our long our primary weapons out of base. That's that's uh just completely forbidden. But we are allowed to carry our 9 millimeters with us home wherever we go." So, he's telling me he needs my help to go get his friend back that's been kidnapped, I'm thinking, why don't you just go to our general? And then when he's telling me that no, we just need to go take care of it ourselves. I'm thinking it's not possible to go to the cartel with your little itty bitty peashooter 9 millimeter, which is like dog [ __ ] >> Yeah, this ain't clocking. >> No, no, definitely not. Because you just engage an enemy at distance and they're [ __ ] done. Even a Navy Seal, they got that Chad Wright, I love his channel. They're down there trying to hit [ __ ] with a 9 millimeter handgun. He's got a video of it on YouTube. Him and another Army Special Forces guy and they're having contests and they're plinking away trying to hit a plate at maybe I don't know, I want to say 60 or 70 yards and they're barely hitting it. But with a long gun, you're hitting that [ __ ] every time repeatedly without even trying. So >> there's that. Plus, it's going through everything that you're standing in front of or behind. So, I mean, it's just that either means that his friend's really not kidnapped and he just wants to get me off and do something with me that's bad for money, whatever. Hold me ransom, go, whatever. Or that he has access to weapons when you think this all the way through. that he has access to weapons that he would shouldn't have outside of base and that we're really going to go get his buddy back. But we're going to do it extrajudicially without my general's oversight or knowledge. Either one of those two is just something that would not happen if it was anything other than being cartel related. Was that like when you were having that moment on this phone call where you're putting it all together and obviously you're not saying that right away [ __ ] out of me. >> But like does that that's got to break your heart though too because you're like [ __ ] this is my guy. >> The guy Yeah. You know what the guy actually he made me do 100 push-ups one time. I forget what it was over. Yeah. I'd lost a bet to him. We were at >> where I thought that was going. >> Yeah. No. No. We were at a cirus and I'd said something and it's a base where us in the Mexican army stay at while we're out on patrol cuz you'll be out on patrol sometimes for just days on end and we'd be out there and the guy's really kind of a badass. He's tall. He's got a mustache. Very put together. Women would consider him handsome. He's got everything clocking in his corner. I mean, the guy's just got every from a Mexican perspective. I mean, he hit the lottery and being a cop in Mexico is a very undesirable, unrespected, hated job because you're viewed to be violent, brutal, corrupted, not something that's um I don't what's the word for it? Venerated, respected as it is here in this country. It's just not the same. >> But from a police perspective, the guy's a command Dante. He's got all the [ __ ] going on. So, he's got like a really attractive wife. He shouldn't be in this position. He's making more than everybody. And the fact that he's calling me up with this [ __ ] it's only that. And it does break my heart because I'm loving my life in in Mexico at this point. I am kind of depressed because my general will be going, which means I will also be going. And it was >> going >> going my general is going to retire. So that means you have to retire too because he's >> it's the right thing to do because a new administration is going to come in and they may or may not take issue with a gringo sitting there carrying a Mexican machine gun doing all this [ __ ] And to be clear, be perfectly clear, I've been in the presence of several federal prosecutors, state level prosecutors. I've escorted the federal prosecutor home every night at 2 or 3:00 in the morning. Ironically, from the same base that I talked to to begin with, the Pro Republica, I was taking the boss of that and accompanying her from her base over by the airport to her home every night. And I'm not going to divulge where she lives exactly. So, everybody's cognizant of the fact that, hey, and they would call me Russo. >> Russo. >> Yeah, Russo. Because I speak Russian and all that [ __ ] >> So, everybody's completely clear of exactly who I am working there. Yeah. So it's not like it's something that's not known. But is it permissible burlaw? Yes, but barely. And when Amlo came in, who's the president just before Shine Bomb, the first thing he did was change the constitution to where now you have to be a Mexican by birth in order to be an agent or a police or anything. >> So that writes you out >> 100%. So it was the correct thing to do to leave. Plus all this stuff was going on with John Casar and everything else. What what came of So you said this was the there were three times you were approached. >> Yeah. They called me >> and this was you just the story you just told to be clear was the with the phone call with the friend was the first time, >> right? >> He calls me. Flips me the [ __ ] out, man. I'm in love with my wife deeply. >> This is towards the end of your time. >> Towards the end of my time. My wife and I have now been together for a few years. I block his number because I'm like, whoa, I don't want anything to [ __ ] do with that, man. And you got to bear in mind uh can you pull up indis p zakatus? >> Inde p zakat. >> Yeah. I n d i c e p a z Mexico. We just put Mexico not zakatus. And you can you can see it. you'll pull up the the images on it and you can see quickly the type of place that Mexico is. It's a very violent place. So when something like this going on, >> no, it's I d and then pause. P A Z. Oh, here we go. Go back. Go back to what you had before. pull this one up right here. So you can see this is just 2023. So this basically tells the security levels and Ed's over here in Baja California. Okay. Yeah. So I'm over here. So this is Ed up here in Baja California kind of separated. They got the toler the the border zone. It's got a different exchange rate from the different the rest of >> Can you move a little bit this way so people can see it? >> Oh yeah. So >> wait. Yeah. already got it. You're good. You're good. >> So, just a basic geograph ge geography lesson in Mexico. This portion of Mexico where Ed's from is basically its own separate entity because of the Gulf of California or the Sea of Cortez. This zone up here along the top which is going to be I think it's five states. Bio, California, Sonora, Chia, Chihuahua, Kila, Nova Leon, and just a little bit of Tamaleus. So 1 2 3 4 5 six six states but barely toolus is the border zone that has its own exchange rate and the people there typically speak English and Spanish and are highly deport there's a high population of deportiz the portion down here which is kano row not r row yucatan compete tabasco these right here are basically the southern tourist region they're heavily jungle But these states right here, Wajaka, Guerrero, and Mitochan are very poor and have a high level of importing drugs from Colombia and this type of stuff. This is why I'm standing up giving this thing because you guys got to understand what's going on. Where I was at >> was working in Zakatus, the Halisco. You can see how the states all overlap. San Louis Possi. So when you're driving across all this stuff, you're cruising through four or five different states in a day. And the cartel de Halisco, the nova is obviously right here. You can see Halisco. Zakatus is red even though Halisco is from Halisco. But why? >> Because it's because it's not controlled by any one cartel. So all of this stuff's going on with the fighting from the Gulf cartel, the Sinaloa cartel, the Zeta cartel. So, Zakatus, as you can see on camera, is bright red. >> Oh, yeah. >> So, there's a lot of [ __ ] going down. And anyways, uh and the reason why is because it's not controlled by just one cartel or another. That has changed. >> It's basically a hot zone of just like where they all kind of meet at the >> Yeah. And everyone wants to control it because of Highway 54 and Highway 45, which go through on diagonal trajectories. one towards Kila and Saltio and the other one going up north towards Sonora and through Sinaloa. So these they've got this dynamic going on there. So when I'm talking about like what goes on in Mexico, you have to understand the different portions of Mexico and how that factors in to cartel activity to understand the cartels and what's going on with edge portion up in Baja California also red also dangerous but a very high level of drugs fentanyl to be specific precursor drugs not methamphetamine some methamphetamine stuff but since then it's mostly fentanyl that's coming in from China and making its way north through that entry primarily through the eastern edge of Tijana or not Tijana, Baja California and Sonora. And if you've ever been through Sonora, I thought I was going to be killed by the Mexican military in Sonora because I had on Mexican military boots. I had two pairs and they had >> You thought the military was going to kill you because you had that? >> Yeah, they thought I was uh they thought I was cartel. I was going to to I >> Why would they think you're cartel if you're wearing Mexican military boots? >> Because you're not allowed to have that at all. It's for >> you're in it. >> Yeah, I'm in it. But I'm wearing them and I'm not at work at the time and I'm just wearing >> and they're like, "Whoa, who the [ __ ] is this guy?" They thought I was working for the other side. Yeah. And I lived in Tijana for a little bit, too. So, I was going over there to check some stuff out. >> Anyways, it's a violent violent place, but most of the stuff that goes on in that portion of the country is all stuff that are precursor drugs that are brought in from China and the shipping ports that are over there. Most of the stuff that's coming in from Wajaka, Mitoakan, and Guerrero are all going to be drugs from Colombia, Bolivia, or Ecuador, which are the primary exporters of cocoa and and even heroin products. There's a lot of heroin production that goes on internally to Mexico. But where I was at, the drug the drug cartels are primarily concerned with controlling the flow of weapons going south or moving product north through because of the two highways that go through the different sections of the country. >> How after like joining and initially teaching some you know martial arts type things then going through all the training yourself and first of all let's take a step back for a minute. How did you become the general's personal bodyguard? Cuz it doesn't start that way. And how quickly did you become like was that by 2013 you're his bodyguard? >> Oh yeah. No, definitely. Because >> Yeah. Can you pull up my YouTube channel? >> Yeah. >> So you'll see on the very top of my YouTube channel, there's going to be a date on that car if the if the formatting allows it to be seen on this computer on the television. That is it. Is it there? It's not. But if I go in here, look down here, there's going to be a thing. This card right here, this is called a Carta de Portasion. And going down, there's going to be a date that says 2013. I can pull it up on my phone right now and show you. But yeah, so by and this has my Arma Class Equadra Calibra Nova Mill Glock, which I hate. I can't stand Glocks because two of my partners have shot themselves with them. And then the other one is Armalara which is what I was talking about that we didn't have what my part partner was calling me. I'm like >> not the one with the cartel. Yeah. >> So that's our primary weapon which is classic Maretta which is a Betta ARX160. Great weapon. Love that thing. But anyway, so yeah, by 2013, yeah, I'm definitely out getting in [ __ ] with my general >> and what kinds You know what? I got to run to the bathroom real quick, but come back. I I want to know like what he had you do in day one, like cuz what he's actually getting into that would require you'll definitely Yeah, I'll definitely get the tip of the spear, you know, or >> Well, no, my general Yeah, he's uh very up there. >> All right, we'll be right back. >> Cool. >> All right, we're back. So, what what I was saying like as far as tip of the spear, I should have said it more like top of the vortex here, right? Like he's the commander and then he's got all these people below him, but he's actually going out and doing a lot of this stuff and you're like his right hand protecting him and watching us. >> I go out and do everything. Well, okay. So as I stated earlier, we weren't technically police preventiva. We had different cartes where we were state police operate within the state obviously the state police, but we were allowed to travel throughout the entire country because I was attached to my general. Sometimes he will have business doings doings or operations that may go outside of what the territorial limits of the state of Zakatus are. So we're allowed to go everywhere and on in addition to that Ed Calderon has spoken about before we operate with what's called um based out bombs based which is going to be federal preventative police Mexican army sometimes Mexican marine infantry and also us and everybody that worked for my general we were called secretary and I don't know what it was with all of my brothers but every single one of them was former military whereas as a lot of the other state police were not prior military. Everybody that worked for my general was military. >> And so, and I mean everybody, his entire command staff, everyone that was on the platoon, there was two platoon of us that worked for him, >> everybody, with the exception of myself was former military. The thing that I had that nobody else had is I had a completely blank sheet. So, there was no way I was corrupted in any way by the cartel. And I was smart because I always wondered that for a long time. But that was what I had and I was proficient at what I was capable to do. Grew up my entire life shooting. Grew up fighting very good with all of that and I was intelligent, had decent command of the Spanish language. So I mean I had all this stuff that was good for me. I think also he pulled me in. I was doing very well teaching different recruits and whatnot and had a great work ethic because we were there seven days a week and I mean our judo dojo when I'm down there like teaching them grappling techniques and commerce and all this [ __ ] in order to gain control over a resisting subject is the f the we call it competto. It's our shooting range and it's all gravel. So all day long you're just slamming each other on gravel, [ __ ] each other up. And it's uh it was demanding it. I mean, it really hurt me a lot. Let me get rid of that. But I put up with it because I had nothing left. My daughter was in Russia. I had quit my job and there was no way I was going to fail. So he watched my work ethic for a long time. Mhm. And when you go in, typical police work 24 hours on, 24 hours off, unless they get sent to some place like Vie Coast or some other place where I've talked about we got in a gun battle on V coast. When you're there, because it's so far away that in Zakatus, I want to say it's about it's probably 300 350 miles north to south diagonally. M >> so it's conceivable in the capital where the base is is centrally located. So it's conceivable that you're going to be out quite a ways and so to save on fuel cost you'll go out to these places and have a base out there set up camp and you'll be there. Normal police will man those but us working for my general we would work 43 hours straight with 5 hours off 365 days out of the year. In fact can can we time out >> for what? To look something up. Yeah, >> we don't have to time out when we do that deep here. It's all good. >> Yeah, but I don't want people on on the No. Okay, so anyways, there's a government website where I can substantiate. I sued my general because of overtime and stuff like that. >> Yeah, of course you did. >> I like the law's a weapon, dude. So, anyways, in Mexico, you're not paid overtime. So, I sued my general. And anyways, there's um >> that relationship went south. >> No. Um, we actually have a very good relationship. No, you know what? My general, he was uh he's very much he's very much a uh cuz he had it coming. He deserved it. I And my general's like that. if you if if he does something and you don't like it is I mean as long as you're not disobeying an order but if it's something for example one day uh one of us backed one of the patrol units into a tree and jacked up the tailgate on it because he left the tailgate down >> and he wasn't paying attention jacked up the tailgate. My general pulled it out of his paycheck. But if you were able to like prove with a lawyer in a court of law that you didn't do it and then you wound up he wound up paying you that plus your lawyer's fees, he would do it. That's the kind of guy my general is. He owed me the money legitimately and I won and I can prove it online. If anybody wants to think for a second, >> you know, they had lawsuits down there. >> They do. They do. So anyways, what I was going to do was pause it and show you the exact website. I don't want >> That's okay. We don't need it. I believe you. >> So anyways, it's there. My general would go to typical day. We would get up at uh 4:00 in the morning. We would uh put on our gear. We'd run 5 kilometers every single day of the week with the exception of Sunday, including my general. He's doing this also with our stuff in the dark. And then after that, he would go have his um breakfast, do his emails or whatever. We're out showering, shaving. Our uniforms have to be immaculate because we represent our general, but we're going to be out doing tactical [ __ ] too, because we're all agape, which is clearly seen on one of the back pictures where I'm standing in front of the unit. You can see the back patch, and it's gpe. That's what that is. So, after he's done with breakfast, the commander from the onaba zone of militar, the 11th military zone is going to come over. The head of the federal preventative police is going to come over. the Marine commander from their mobile military base may come over. They're gonna have a little pow-wow about >> a chairman of the joint staff's kind of meeting. >> We figure out what's going on because you are operating in a place where multiple cartels are active. You're your operation could be detrimental to another operation that's going on by another group. So, they do everything together. And as soon as you figure out what that is, you'll do things like go down, hang out in a school all night sleeping, waiting for people to get back from wherever it is they're coming from, and then pounce on them at 9:00 in the morning, right in their house, and go get them as they're coming in >> at a Wait, at a school? >> Yeah, we don't have a base down there. This is a place called uh Sa Catamak, which is in southern Zakatus. >> There was an operation that we Yeah, [ __ ] it. So, there was an operation where we stayed at the school all night and we're waiting for these [ __ ] people to get back, man. And anyways, they finally come in in the morning at 10:00 in the morning. Right when those people were coming back, we went and swooped on their little ranchito, their little ranch house, and [ __ ] got those guys, dude. And um >> did you ever work like when you have all these different heads of these different commissions and law enforcement organizations coming over for these meetings? How are you not or the general like not paranoid all the time of like having one Tweety Bird leak in there? Like one person who's working for the wrong team who's now going to be sharing all the intel. >> I wasn't privy I wasn't privy to that level of as far on a personal level. I was constantly [ __ ] paranoid for my own well-being. I mean, you do go down there and you get into it like you're prepared to die, but also at the same time, you do hope you're going to live, but you're there constantly. Just my perspective, I never knew if some cartel guy was going to try to get me at home, if they were going to arrest me and stick me in a [ __ ] foreign prison, if one of my own brothers was going to kill me. Because every single person that works for our platoon is all military. None of them are like normal civilian people that decide, "Hey, I want to become a cop." And I do want to say before this conversation goes any further, if you were to take a team of Navy Seals and stick them in North Korea and they were supposed to go do a mission, I'm going I'm going somewhere with this because this is important. and some North Korean civilians happen upon them, but these Navy Seals have to fulfill their mission, whatever it is, installing spy equipment, whatever. And this team of civilians comes over, they see the Navy Seals, they can inform on them and cause mission failure. So, the Navy Seals are forced to eradicate this group of civilians or do whatever it is that they're going to do with them. and everything in the special ops community and their missions are all top secret. But we never talk about the human rights violations from an American special forces perspective. >> But my question to the general audience and even to you is if what do you think a Navy Seal's behavior is going to be if their mission is compromised by a group of civilians that had nothing to do with it, which are clearly non-combatants? I don't know what the Navy Seals would do. I've never I was never a Navy Seal. But I am going to say that I'm using that analogy or that metaphor kind of is just a descriptor of the sensitivity of what could potentially happen. So, there's a lot that goes on outside of the purview of the public eye that you have to be ultra careful about the way that you represent it or have it come across even if nothing happened, which nothing did happen because the appearance of impropriy carries very heavy consequences. And I'm bringing it up from an American perspective because we all know that there are civilian casualties even with Obama and his use of drones over in the United States where there are civilian casualties that are non-combatants and they decide to take the shot anyways. And when it's public knowledge, they just write it off as, well, we needed to do that. There's collateral damage and it's acceptable because this is who we got. But when you're on a small little mission like that, you're doing something in secret. There might be something that an individual operator by himself decides, hey, you know what? >> Right? >> So when you're talking about anything that goes on in Mexico, even with the guys in Catamak, it's automatically means consequences that may be levied against myself or my wife or my family in Mexico. consequences legal that might have the appearance of impropriy which could provoke an investigation that wasn't there previously. There's so many little things to get into when you really have worked down there and you've got all this stuff going on that you need to be aware of it and the audience should too because that is going to predicate whether you talk to something and talk about something in great detail or not. So when you're talking about that they have their little their little commissions that they've been doing. And these people have known each other since basic training. Have gone to the same military school together. It's called KCO Hero Militar. It's in Eld. They've all got little like not like my rings. They all got little >> You got some ice right there. >> It's bling, dude. My bling. Well, I like I dig on Indians, man. And this one I just like because of the colors. It's got some other stuff going on. But they've all got their little class ring from Kio Hero Militar, which is to say that they have their own fraternity. They're very used to dealing with each other. And by the time they become generals, they've been vetted to great length. For example, um it's basically illegal in Mexico to have what's called a quar or an AK-47 because it's viewed to be the preferred weapon of the bad people. So, you're not allowed to own this weapon in Mexico. However, several Mexican generals or even colonels I've seen with them keep one of these as a trophy. And I've got pictures of it, too, to prove it. >> So, there are places where they bend the law, but you have to understand what's entailed in capturing one of these to get it as a trophy to begin with. you are disarming somebody probably unalivvening that person which goes to say that they've proven themselves to each other. So there are things that you need to be careful of predominantly from a civilian uh from a civilian aspect to it. The military is much more vetted than the civilian area is because just of the seriousness or the gravity of what's entailed. Mhm. >> You're not doing investigative policing. You're out getting people when they're not being cooperative. In fact, to be honest, most of the most of the defensive techniques or the takedown techniques to control resisting substance is a non-starter because you're not getting into that type of thing. It's not you're not arresting people that want to be arrested. And I mean, even from an American's perspective, you're arresting or attempting to take into custody someone that's probably going to take it to a lethal level >> on a use of force continuum. And that's just the way law enforcement's played Mexico, which goes back to the FBI HRT thing, the comment I made earlier. >> It's no in no way slam against American police. They're definitely ass kickers, no doubt about it. Probably trained to a better level than we are in a lot of different disciplines, but Mexico, this isn't that. It's more like a war zone because that's what it is. So are they paranoid? They've been vetted pretty much at infanitum at that point. So they trust each other have worked with each other for several years even before they got their position at the secretary of de sigora publica and generals in the Mexico are also rotated around >> every year or two to prevent them from getting a group that is loyal to them to avoid avoid any type of uh military coup. Right. But even within all these different generals and all these different places, as you've pointed out a bunch of times today, and we've heard it on a lot of other podcasts with guys who cover this, you do have leaks in the ship. You do have people in powerful positions who are bought off and secretly or not so secretly working for the Oh, no. I know you're not working for the cartels. I'm just saying it makes the job for like your general almost impossible cuz you're playing whack-a-ole, but your own people are whacking you back. going behind your back. >> You know, we're not supposed to go to sleep at night. So, I would say that there's a reason why there's only two platoon of us that work for my general. And the reason is because we're in such such direct proximity to my general and his family and visiting dignitaries. For example, we've protected the Daly Lama, Secretary of National Defense, Vice President of Mexico. You'll protect all these different people. And you can't trust a lot of people. So, you were forced to work 43 hours straight, 5 hours off because you don't have enough people that you can trust to take care of all these people or to keep tight lips about any of the operations that you're going to be doing when you're taking down people that uh need to be taken down. >> You had said in in our previous episode conversation like we we started to like kind of preview it because it came up in some other context. I said we'd put it to the side, but you talked about coming across the mass grave in Valparezo with your family. >> Yeah, Valariso. >> Valariso. What What happened? And And how did did you have intelligence that that was going to be there or was it a shock to find it? >> No, actually someone else found it on a local level and we went out there to secure a perimeter for it. >> And who did it? >> I don't know. That was a federal that was that would be a function of the pelicia federal ministerial would come over >> and they would do that but because it's within the state limit territorial limits of Mexico policent are the very first ones to respond to anything even before the municipal police or anything because that's your technical jurisdiction. So anything that goes on in that state, even if it's a federal crime, the first ones that are going to be securing the scene are going to be policeiva. >> When you came upon what I mean, obviously you're seeing dead bodies, but what are we talking how big a grave? And and >> it hasn't even been unearthed. You have to you have to excavate the entire thing. There's body parts sticking out of the ground. So, I mean, rain will start washing stuff away and then things will be revealed if they didn't bury it deep enough or it could have been a fresh kill. I don't know. I never ever ever and I did go down to become a police ministerial and an agent for them. But that was after I had already left the left ser my general service. And it's also a completely different thing and the dynamics are totally different. And because it's a civilian police force, my generals police force being mostly military or very militarized, excuse me, they don't like each other, >> right? >> And so when I went to that interview, I was asking the commandante. He asked me, he's like, "Well, how many years have you been doing this now?" And I'm like, "Yeah, I'm like, I've been here for a while." And he told measal, which means like you're more than involved now. You're completely a part of this. But also what he was saying when he said that is he was saying that you work for your general. He's a military person. I'm over here doing my thing and I'm not a military person. They call them Hudas or Judas because they betray people. Extremely sketchy people. Very dangerous. Which is also kind of the thing that I wanted to get into because it was kind of like, all right, cool. This is interesting. But sharing intelligence is not something that's going to really happen between those because of that rift which is not something that most people would be aware of is the complete rift and not just the rift between state and federal preventative police and state and federal ministerial police, but also the Marines and the mil the army. There are a lot of rivalries going on within all of that >> to where everyone could be a good actor. There could be no bad people and they still might not like you and it might be deadly a good actor. I'm using that in the Mexican sense of the term. Not overtly corrupt, not working for a cartel, but still, hey, [ __ ] you because [ __ ] you. >> And it's it's a very aggressive environment to work in, which is obvious. I mean it's a cartel but >> aggressive from a professional sense also not from an enemy combatant stance but e combatant sense but even internally between different corporations the cooperation is just not there and there is a little bit of that here in the United States is the FBI going to share information with the CIA and vice versa but there it's like Emerald kick it up a notch I mean it's just it's just different >> it's a mess. Yeah. Now, I'm just thinking of the years where you're doing this from once you really start working as the personal bodyguard for the general. This is 2013 to 2016. These are those last years before Chapo gets finally fully captured and everything is when he escaped from prison and there's this crazy [ __ ] going on. Like, it's kind of nuts cuz it's not that long ago, but this is a whole different era, >> right? Well, so yeah, it it is it is and isn't true. Like they had they had the transit cop and his wife that they tortured to death and left in the middle of Cinco Seores. That was Zeta Quente had something to do with that. >> What happened there? >> There was a transit cop that was selling drugs and had you know I need to point this out because a lot of people have asked me you know Mark Denny the head of the dog brothers one time told me that you're a pigeon flying amongst evils eagles and he was we don't have a very good relationship he and I. And I take issue with it because he's got no real badass, great martial artist, zero experience working in Mexico and much more gifted at martial arts than I am, but he didn't really know what he's talking about, but there is some truth in it. He asked me one time, he's like, "Uh, how is it you're not dead?" He's like, "I don't know if it's genius you po genius you posting all this [ __ ] all over Facebook," which I was at the time at my old account. >> Oh, you were while you're doing all this? >> Yeah. [ __ ] yeah, man. >> Here we are today. >> You know, >> out in [ __ ] Tijana. >> Well, he I was right to do that. And the reason why is because I already am clearly not Mexican the way other Mexican people are Mexican. >> My Spanish, even though I speak it fluently at a college level, still has a heavy accent. They know exactly who the [ __ ] I am. They know where I live. They've been to my house. They've passed by. There's golf cartel that live right down at the end of the street. In fact, one day I ran into them and I almost stopped because they were in a red truck all with radios and body armor on and I thought, "Oh," and I thought they were police at first. They looked just like it. I was going to stop and I'm like, "Fuck." And I was in my Ford Explorer. I have a Ford Explorer in Mexico and I kept driving and I'm just so happy that I didn't stop because if I had stopped, it could have really came out >> came out bad. But they fooled me at first. I thought they were ministry police and I was going to stop and be like, "Hey, what's up?" But they were not. And the reason why I know they're not is because every unit that works for the Ministry of Police is a white pickup truck, a white Ford, and this was a red Ford. They don't have And I know this because I see these units every single day when I'm going back and forth to either the federal or state investigative police or ministerial police. So, there are little details and Ed's spoken about before. You'll come across a military checkpoint, notice that one of the dudes is wearing tennis shoes. Just little details. You're like, "Fuck." And it's an immediate firefight because they're all armed and they're pretending like they're military and there's only one way a situation like that's going to go. >> So, um, >> and you said you guys were in a bunch of firefights, too, right? >> Yeah, we've been in a few. Yeah, I've been in probably 12. >> Like to be in a [ __ ] cartel firefight in Mexico. >> They're different. It It depends. It depends on how you get to it, too, because sometimes you have time to process it. Like the one in Korez, the first one I went to in Carz, I had time to process that [ __ ] because we already knew what was going on before we even went there. >> Huh? >> Who was there and what was going down? >> Yeah. Who was there? There was uh the Gulf cartel and they were down there. And I know people give me [ __ ] because they say that the Gulf cartel doesn't have a presence in in Zakatas, but let's just start with the fact the Detenta cartel came from the Gulf cartel and they're both operating in the same area. And per that map, they're all fighting over the same territory to move [ __ ] around. So it was the Gulf cartel. They were down there and they had started a firefight with a neighboring cartel that was gone by the time we got there. But they were holed up in a house and they had three different bodies. And by the time I got there, it was just standing. And I was advancing in the middle of the street. I got yelled at by a me Mexican lieutenant colonel for advancing the military street cuz I was completely [ __ ] green and I didn't have any cover. Got yelled at. But when we got inside the house, there was uh three dead bodies that were there that were uh beheaded. Actually, it was four. And there was one of them that was a woman, three guys. And it was just uh crazy that they did not even spare the woman. So, you're like, you're talking about like the type of [ __ ] that you'll see. But a more active kinetic gunfight that we got in was in via de coast which I've spoken about on Johnny because it's the most memorable one that stands out to me and they'll do [ __ ] like there was the see that quatamach one where we're getting them out of the ranch house but there'll be [ __ ] like you'll be coming back and they're like shooting at you on the bridges and [ __ ] like that and you'll try to go around and they're not there. So when we're talking about gunfight, how heavy is it? The via Deosmo was like gnarly because we get there and uh driver the chauffeur took a shot right into the bulletproof glass and it shattered his crystal. So we're coming up on them. So this is like happening to us directly. It's not something we're responding to. What's it like when you got time to think about it? You have time to process it and you're like, "Fuck." >> It's a lot scarier because you know you're going to go and get into some [ __ ] Sorry if I got off track about this question, but I'm trying to be thorough. >> When something happens spontaneous like that, it's a completely different animal. You're just like [ __ ] And you're in it immediately. >> That one in particular, we went through and I found out that my fall that my fall, my seal out the monticto that I have, which is a great weapon, is [ __ ] horrible for clearing finaas unless you have a paratrooper barrel with a shorter barrel. And there's just these little details that you'll be thinking about. you're going through it and you're trying to make sure that when you're slicing a pie around a corner or whatever, which is I'm putting in American terms. I learned all this [ __ ] in Spanish, but when you're clearing something or desparing to go down a corridor and pitch black and you don't even have a light on your weapon because that's basically not something that we do down there on our battle rifles. And I challenge anybody that's got battle rifles that's out there doing that. We don't have lights on them. So you're going through a fina and basically what's pitch black and a fina is an unfinished like little brick adobe unfinished house that may be more than one story. So you don't even know if the stairs are there and you're there in pitch black and you will have uh mag light that you have in your hand and holding your battle your battle rifle but little things that you'll be thinking about going through hoping they don't grab your barrel and [ __ ] like that. And yeah, I got shot in the chest that night. I took a round laterally. Were you wearing a vest? >> Yeah, I was wearing a vest. In fact, I got a picture of it. Some people giving me [ __ ] I got a picture. I got tons of pictures. I post them online. Go check them out where I got hit in the chest and it didn't go all the way through, but it did spin me around and it took another round in my steel shield right above right below me. And then there was a round that hit the uh driver that shattered the whole crystal. So, when something's happening kinetically like that or spontaneously, you don't really have a time to be afraid of it. you just figure out about how the [ __ ] am I going to survive this? How am I going to kill them? And make sure that you just try to not get hit or shot. So, you get cover and stuff like that. So, I hit the ground. I've got all these uh metal fall um rifle magazines on my chest. I'm just breaking one down to you so you can kind of understand the thought process because we're being shot at and we got to go through and we got to clear all these [ __ ] fas because we don't know how many of them there are. It's in the middle of the night. It's probably like 12 1:00 in the morning and we're out by where we have this uh police base where we go out there all the time. And so I hit the ground. I had I would always carry 220 rounds because with a fall battle rifle, you don't want to use 30 round magazines. You want to use 20 round magazines because the spring tension on the magazines is so or so strong on the 30 round magazines that a lot of times it'll cause the weapon to jam. So a 20 round magazine is a lot better. But when you're using a fall magazine, this is something that you'll learn in the course of these things. When you hit the ground, because you're being shot at, your magazine on the front of your plate or your tac vest, the fingers on the stamp metal will deform. So when you chamber a magazine and try to rack around, >> it jams. And so then what happens is you're getting shot at, you're trying to cycle through magazines, trying to get a chamber of [ __ ] round, and it won't. So, you finally get to your back uh magazines that haven't been jammed into the ground and that's what works. In so many ways, you're so just hopped up on adrenaline, you don't really you're not afraid. But also, I found it being a lot scarier to the legal or potential consequences of working with cartel or being arrested be because they don't like you being there than I did being in a firefight. Because most of the time when you're in a firefight, you don't even have time to think about it. You react. I don't know what other people's reactions to that are or what, but that was mine. >> It's kind of crazy though because again, it's not like obviously like you're a rough and run kind of guy. You've seen a lot of [ __ ] in your life, but you weren't coming as we've said a million times from like a special forces background or military background or anything like that. Now you find yourself >> fighting with the Mexican military in gunfights with the cartels. Like, do you are you fearing death? >> No. No. Definitely not. You don't have time to think about this [ __ ] >> Yeah. But have you ever feared death? Like, do you think about it when you're not in a gunfight >> cuz you know this shit's going to come up. You know, you're you're >> When I first got there, when I first got there, I did. When I first got there, I was afraid of getting shot in the head or afraid of having my head cut off. Yeah. I mean, I don't know who's going to see this. My potential enemies are going to see this in Mexico. And I I've said it where I'm at with it before. I would hate to be tortured to death, man. That would be something that I would suffer even potentially a month or longer. But in the end, they're not going to send me any place that I'm not already going. And if that's the faith that my God wants me to suffer, so be it. And I really mean it. And my enemies know I mean it because I showed up for years in that same uniform knowing you guys knowing we've found people right across the street from base with radios radioing radioing our position and our location and our movements and everything. So, you know that you're constantly under the eye of the enemy. And when you get to Mexico, everybody's a tourist. And I've talked about this about other people have podcast channels related to the subject. You figure out you're not a tourist. You you become not a tourist once you find out that every single person on a corner is someone that's working for the cartel. You find out when you get their phones and you're looking through their messages and there's no messages in their phone every single time. So if I open my phone, I open your phone. We go over and we gaffle him up because he's on a corner and we get your phone and we looking at right now. Be honest. Is there are there any messages in your phone right now? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Same here. I got them right here. I got them right here. There's a whole bunch of my darling wife. Very first one. >> I like that name for your wife and >> Oh man, my wife is [ __ ] awesome, man. I can't wait till you meet her. When you get these people though and they got phones and in Mexico they got what's called Saulos. So they all got to put pre-charged money on their phone to get it to work usually, especially on these prepaid phones. So they'll have money available on it because they're using a prepaid phone that's not attached to a hard account which would have your name on it, my name on it. >> So they have the ability. The devil's always in the details, Julian. It always is. So, when they got the money to put on these phones that aren't attached to any account, first of all, why isn't there a name on that account? Why don't you have something with with Tell or something else? One. Two, knowing that it's a burner phone or a prepaid phone, why aren't there any messages on it when I know that you got credit on your phone? So, you can easily message somebody. And every single time you meet one of these [ __ ] people, and I've talked about it on Johnny Mitchell's before, like when the interrogations, and by interrogations, I'm not talking about torture. I'm talking about You're just asking them questions. >> Never. Yeah. >> I wouldn't do it. That would be illegal. It would be uh >> I believe you. I'm [ __ ] >> I know. But I mean, cuz there is [ __ ] like that that goes on, man. But you're asking them the same thing and the questions are always the same. I mean, every time you pick up one of their cell phones, their cell phones never have messages on it. Unless Unless Unless >> side check. >> No, unless it's at the tail end of a gunfight or something like that and then you get their cell phones and [ __ ] and then there's messages in there. >> So, it's like, whoa, what's different? Each one of us just Joe civilian all magically have [ __ ] cell phones with messages and each one. How many messages? >> Hundreds. >> Yeah. Thousand. >> Me, too. And in these ones, there's not even one. >> So, you know, >> they're on a corner standing there with their pud in their hand. It's only one thing. So, there are a lot of things that you come to learn during the course of your work. And, you know, I'm going to say I'm going to take a s I'm going to take a swipe at DEA and ATF that say they're working. I'm just going to say it the way it is because we're being honest. Drug Enforcement Agency, ATF, and the FBI when they're working in Department of Homeland Security when they're working in Mexico because one of them was just on Mike Rland the other day. They are not out running and gunning. There's another guy just came across this channel this morning, Larry something or other where they're talking about being a truckloads of weapons into Mexico to go conduct a mix uh mission. First of all, we're better at it than the United States is as far as a law enforcement personnel perspective goes because we do it every single [ __ ] day in direct proximity to the same people that people say they're fighting from abroad and we live there and this is what we do. It's it's our bread and butter. >> That being the case, the DEA agents from a diplomatic perspective are not allowed to go on aliveing foreigners. That would create a huge diplomatic mess. They are allowed to carry weapons for personal defense. That is true because as a diplomat, you cannot technically break a law in a foreign country. You are allowed a wide range of latitude and what you're allowed to do. But that does not mean Mexican politicians want to go explaining to Mexico why Americans are in Mexico unaling people under American authority. In direct contradiction to at least I've got the screenshot in here. I was looking it up earlier. I think it's uh something like seven different articles of the Constitution to where everyone has been deprived their day in court, their right to life, and a whole bunch of other Mexican laws to where they're guaranteed the right to be judged by a Mexican jury or a Mexican judge. And Americans cannot fulfill that >> requirement of being able to guarantee any any delinquent or felon or cartel member their day in court and the rights afforded to them their humanitarian rights I might add under a Mexican court of law. So when you have these people in their YouTube channels they're talking about their running and gunning and doing all these missions in Mexico. I deal that with a great amount of skepticism and that is why anyone that wants to look it up are free to look up the Mexican relevant codes. But there are several federal codes and constitutional codes in Mexico that prohibit exactly that. I was allowed to do what I did in Mexico as an American, but living there as a Mexican because I was working directly for a Mexican authority under the scope and purview of Mexican law. >> Period. >> It's very different from other stuff you hear. Like a lot of again a lot of the stuff the running and gunning you talk about that we hear from different people on the internet. I share a lot of your skepticism too, just naturally. It's nothing personal, but it's like, who are you doing it with? Why are you there? On what capacity are you actually able to do it? What kind of proof can you put behind it? Like, I've never met a guy like an American. >> There's only three of us in the whole country, man. >> Who went down there and did this kind of thing? You're saying >> Jonathan Casaro was special forces from Colombia. Somebody in the comment section is not impressed with Colombian special forces. Be that as it may, here or there, he wound up in Zakatus, entered as an instructor, wound up becoming a hitman for this headache drug cartel and was also in charge of the gate unit that I was working for. >> There's that. There was an Polish guy that was in charge of training Mexican federal preventative police in Sudad de or Soda de Mexico. And there was myself only three of us. All three of us with all of our documents cleared directly by Sedena which is Mexican army that I'm aware of working in the country. During the course of my investigation into Ed Calderon because I wanted to verify whether or not every and I did come back positive that what he's saying is true and as much >> it's legit. >> But I was looking into it and during the course of that I spoke to Navy Seals Jeff Bramstead to be particular. I've got the phone call recorded regarding Edge jumping at um Skydive San Diego and they were talk I was talking to him about who signed Ed's jump certificate. But Jeff Bramstead related to me that there is a Navy Seal in Mexico working or doing security potentially. And it's interesting because if he's doing security there, he's doing it solely. And this is an ex Navy special forces operator validated by another Navy special forces operator. >> It's pretty good. >> As good as it gets telling me and I've got his number somewhere too. He put me in touch with him. Working doing private security in Mexico which does does jive. you as a private person in Mexico, even potentially being a foreigner, could potentially get a weapon and be licensed to do it because I clearly was doing what I was doing. >> But are you out conducting counter cartel missions on a [ __ ] convoy with a general and other operatives? Definitely [ __ ] not. No way. >> It's different. >> It's different. And at the beginning of all this, I stated that I started my channel because I want every American or every Mexican to have clarity into what goes on specifically, >> which means I can't sensationalize what I was doing. Not everything I was doing was [ __ ] high speed. I was there for years and only like 12 fights. But in that time, which is to say that every morning the general gets up and every morning they're going through their interviews and stuff. You're not taking people down constantly. So, at the end of 5 years or 10 years of me telling my stupid stories on YouTube, I'm going to run out of stories. So, I'm just going to say my story once, it is what it is, and then we can go from there and see. >> Yeah. And look, people are going to take it or leave it with what it is. But, I appreciate you saying that because it's no different, you know, even in a crazy high stakes environment like that. It's like a lot of other things you hear about with different special forces jobs or government jobs in different countries around the world. They always talk about how it's, you know, boring, boring, boring, routine, routine, routine until boom. You know that one moment of like, oh, it's [ __ ] on, you know. >> Yeah, there's a lot of [ __ ] that's happened, man. I got uh stung in the face one night by a scorpion, dude. Yeah, I'm cool. >> You got stung by a scorpion? >> I got stung by a scorpion, man. Yeah, we're out getting these guys and I'm creeping up on this place and in Zakatus and Durango in particular. There are a large amount of emperor scorpions, man. There's a bunch of them. You can't really see them in the dark. And at least it wasn't one of the white ones because the white ones are the venomous ones. And I'm crawling up and man, right out of nowhere, I didn't even know it, man. But I got stung and I got home. >> What does that feel like, >> dude? It [ __ ] hurt like hell. And I couldn't even say anything because I was in dread fear, man, because I'm like creeping up >> and I get stung in the [ __ ] face. My face balloons up, man. Oh, yeah. Just little things that happen, you know? But, uh, how do you I've been thinking of this all day, Dave, because like you went down there and saw it firsthand and how widespread it is just everywhere across the country. How do you create a 20, 30, I don't know, 50-year plan to maybe not even fully eliminate the cartels, but eliminate the the heavy, dense, wide-reaching influence they have in Mexico. Is that even possible? >> It is possible, but people hate my answer. They hate it every time. I was surprised getting over to Jersey and I was out and about in the snow for a couple hours last night. You know what? I ran into a lot of that. I was not aware that they had here dispensaries. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> I When did that happen? I'm getting to your point. >> Uh over the last decade, right? Over the last five five, six years. >> Five years. Okay. So, yeah. So, I've been gone from New York. >> Yeah. About that. So, I mean, when I was here, they didn't have dispensaries in New Jersey that I saw, but now they got them. They got them everywhere. >> Yeah. >> There's not people dying in the street from that [ __ ] It was legally. It was a federally restricted drug. In fact, it still is. >> Talking about weed, obviously. weed, marijuana, and there's not people, you don't have Jamaican posies in the street shooting each other over that [ __ ] They taxed it. >> They're doing well with it. >> They talk about, oh, drug legalization has, and I'm getting to your point, exactly your point. People like to bemoone the legalization of drugs in Portland, where I personally live. All you bad people, I live in Portland, right across the street from the Department of Homeland Security. You can look me up. not choosing you on, but if you want to go there, that's where I'm at. It's not a war zone. There is drug use that's rampant that goes on that should be better managed, but it's not the bad idea to legalize it. When you make something illegal, you're creating the opportunity to generate huge amounts of profit which go to fund the engines that are the cartel. my issue and and you know this is one of those impossible questions for me is I've had a lot of a lot of issues with like the prohibitive nature that's that was created in the United States a long time ago and then the downstream effects that that had but when we've legalized it now it's almost like they took the full spot off in a lot of ways to create problems because we've seen some of the black markets get stronger than ever which should never [ __ ] happen and we've even seen, you know, it create opportunities for enormous intelligence breaches with all these [ __ ] you know, Chinese-run weed farms. >> I agree. They got Chinese farms in Maine. >> It's exactly. I've had Steve Robinson in >> You had the CIA selling crack cocaine or letting crack cocaine be sold in Los Angeles, which is where I come from. I saw it firsthand. >> It's crazy. >> My brother is a crackhead. I had to come home one day because we were selling crack. I was telling you about that. He's been sober for a long time. But one day I come home and my brother's big. He's like 6'5, 6'6, like 280 lbs. I come home. There's a big gargantuan guy out cold on the couch. I have to come in. I'm so afraid I slap him as hard as I can. He barely moves. And this was enabled by the American government in order to fund a foreign war. That's got [ __ ] all to do with what we got going on over here. And there's big money in it. >> Yep. So, I know I get a lot of [ __ ] over uh I don't want to cuss and turn this into a cuss fest. I take a lot of heat over my stance on the legalization of drugs, but I take that heat being someone that's confronted cartels directly with the same weapons that Eric Holder and the Department of Justice and the ATF sent to Mexico that murdered my brothers and we fought against them directly from someone that claims that they want to end the drug war. Right. So you got all this stuff going on and you asked what can we do in 40 or 50 years. I'm glad you asked. You have to invest in economic and educational opportunities to where? >> Huh? >> Who? Mexico themselves. >> Mexico and the United States. What's they're we're neighbors, man. We live in the same hood, dude. >> Educational and economic opportunities. First the education and then the economic will follow along the same way it did with the.com boom. The.com boom was non-existent until all of a sudden you have all these brainiacs producing Waznjak and everyone else producing. Hell, they didn't even have a full-on college degrees. Steve Jobs was at a community college and quit and Waznjak and the other guys and came up with Apple and everybody that built these products that people spend big bucks on. I have one at home, too, that create something of value. Standing around with a weapon is not creating something of value. And I know that people take issue with that because they pay their mortgages. I'm not attacking you. But I am saying that when all you produce by standing around with a weapon, which I myself have done, is a safe space to produce something. First of all, it's still going on a century later. We started prohibition back in the 30s or whatever. Here we >> huh? >> 1920. >> 1920. Okay. So, more than a century. We're still having this drug war. It's ineffective. Does not work. We're talking about this right now. If your pro approach worked, you being whoever supports keeping drugs illegal, we wouldn't be having this conversation because I would think that you would be good enough at your job to actually affect a result, but you're not. >> Yeah. The answer I to be clear, the answers we've been giving to these problems for a century >> do not work. >> Obviously aren't working. My whole thing is like does that mean the opposite works? I guess probably not. No. But like it's the [ __ ] trillion dollar question. >> My qu my thing is this is how would elevating the status of everybody in the community to where they are not forced to go out and work for the cartel. I've talked about that with that. A lot of the people that join the cartel don't even want to work for the cartel. A lot of them are people that are forced into it that are transversing Mexican territory and are kidnapped by the cartel. And if they don't go to work for them, they'll be executed that also wind up in these mass graves. And I think Ed's even sat it right here at the same table and giving you the same answer on the same thing. So this isn't just one Mexican professional. It's a body of evidence in Mexico and even presumably by honest law enforcement military here that have seen the same thing. People that work in Afghanistan if they had something else to farm other than opium poppies even in Afghanistan, another culture, another language, but the problem's constant. But you got to create that whatever that thing is or >> you have to be able to produce something that you can sell whether it's a service, whether it's a product, whether it's anything. And when you do that and when you give people these educational opportunities to where they can produce something, it generates it generates wealth and income and that lifts or elevates the position of everybody in that society. What about though the fact that the cartels are basically the multinational corporations of Mexico and they can just muscle in on any new legitimate businesses that come up because they can use their power and fear and force to do it. >> True. This is true. This is true. And this does happen in Mexico to a great extent without a doubt because >> I was trying to figure out how to create a carbon fiber helicopter in Mexico. I rented a factory and everything or a warehouse. I didn't get very far with it, but I did start drawing it up or drafting it in CAD because in Mexico you have to go through the jungles and stuff like that and a lot of it mountainous terrain. So, you can quickly cover a lot more area when you're searching for marijuana farms with a little drone helicopter. So, I was looking into doing this and one of the chief fears that I had and the fears of my other engineers at work were what happens when the cartel muscles into it. First, there's all the bureaucracy, but even if you survive that with the Secretary of Communications and Transport, which is who you have to get your stuff from, after you clear all those hurdles, you have the cartel to deal with. They are there, they are present, but if we can't even start educating people to where they can even have a chance, right, >> to escape that. We can't even have the conversation about clearing the cartel hurdle. Once you can produce something and there's enough people that can produce something, it becomes something so big that maybe the cartel would be more inclined to figure out how to make money legally and make their money that way instead of trying to figure out how to make money that results in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people that have been disappeared and murdered or whatever. torture and everything that goes along with that, the overdose deaths on both sides of the border, primarily here in the United States, but also occurring in Mexico. So, I think that >> they don't care though, Dave. >> Who doesn't care? >> The cartels. They >> I'm going with I'm going with the American government and the people that pay their mortgages don't care. >> Oh, I I don't disagree with that either. But like, if we're going to the guys who are, you know, who are running the business on a day-to-day, not just the people enabling them, who clearly don't care. I agree. It's like they want power. They don't look at human life as human life. >> Which is true. But to that I'll say this. I'll argue that with this. Melinda Gates just divorced Bill Gates. We don't know why. But they clearly had a lot of power because with that much money comes clear power. Not going to get into the how and why Melinda decided to divorce Bill because that's irrelevant. What is relevant though that with the amount of money that Bill has just selling computer products, which suck by the way too, and I'm a PC guy, but >> I'm with you. I >> Microsoft basically sucks. And it's not because Macs aren't prone to viruses. It's just not as many people have them, so they don't write them as much. That being said, even with an inferior computer product that Bill Gates clearly has because Macs are much better at so many different things, he still has amassed the amount of wealth that he's had. And he wasn't even the person that came up with Macintosh or Apple or any of that [ __ ] It was Waznak. I'm mixing it up a little bit, but >> you're talking about Steve Jobs or Apple. >> But Bill Gates came up. No, I am right. Bill Gates did not design the computer systems that he sells. It was another engineer that did it. You can hold me to it. >> Paul Allen, I'm >> not sure who, but Bill Gates was not the chief architect behind all of that. >> Still benefited off of it crazily. Just coming up with something that he could sell that was not drugs, is legal, and has become arguably one of the most powerful men in the world. >> Sure. >> Bezos, same [ __ ] Selling books out of a garage is building his third McMansion or whatever. So you can push the cartels that have a lot that are interested in power towards a way towards something that's legal that does not damage human lives the way that the drug industry does or the cartels and everything that go on with that allowing them to have their political power. I would argue that the Rothschilds of Saudi royal family and there's a what is it? It starts with an R also, but there are several powerful people plus the Peter Thills and everybody in the world have huge amounts of power and if the cartel could generate income to where they did not have to risk federal time being extradited from their country of origin, I think that they would go with that. So, I'm not saying I have all the answers. I'm saying that what we've been doing doesn't work. >> Sure. >> What we're doing right now continues to generate bodies that maybe we should look at something different. >> What you're talking about, though, and I don't I'm not trying to paint this in negative light. I'm just saying like what it would be is to almost give the devil an out and accept the fact that they've been a devil, but maybe you're not going to make them an angel, but you're going to make them less of a devil if you actually give them an opportunity to use their business expertise in some other type of land that's viewed as less worse. >> I agree with you, but also I would argue that we do that now. Everybody universally admits that removing Chapo created a power vacuum that's made it even worse. And so if you left Chapo there or if you left other bad actors in other areas in the world there, >> Saddam in Iraq, another example, >> example. So we know that evil exists. We know that people want drugs. We know all these things. And we know that sometimes leaving somebody in place. Chess, I'm pretty sure you play it. I played it. There are times when leaving a pawn there in another attacking pawn on a Queen's Gambit or whatever, it's more beneficial to leave your pawn there knowing it's at risk, knowing it's not a great position, but it's a good position. It's >> not something you're going to lose. And Chapo and Saddam are both great examples of that because things have gotten exponentially worse. >> They have this ina Mexico 2023. You can go through that thing year after year after year and you're still going to see problematic errors with two national countries directly interested in everything that goes on in Mexico and they still can't turn that map green. >> These are our experts. So I'm just saying that maybe we should you ask me a 50 >> something different. >> You ask me a 50-year plan to me that's what it looks like. school bas scholarships economic opportunity to where people are not provoked and even I'll end my little thesis with this. If you strip away their base personnel, how powerful is a general without an army to fight it for them. >> Not powerful at all. So if you diminish the amount of foot soldiers that they have and their ability to get stuff done because all of their haloneies and everybody else that they use to facilitate this drug war and you start stripping the death of a thousand cuts I in theory that's right but when you're talking about the fact that they recruit by force [ __ ] eight-year-olds and train their minds at a young age to be a part of this culture and then they buy off and by through threats from the lowest levels of law enforcement to the highest levels to the military to the politicians, you create this like totally sustained awful dark ecosystem. And also like I had Sheriff Matt Thomas in here recently and something that I I've been very uneducated on. I've heard about it before, but you know, not to the extent that he experienced was like even like the psycho ass backwards [ __ ] Antichrist religious like culture they have in in some of the cartels. with like the occultism and like the worship of like basically the gun and what they do and making it into a god. Like that's how they sell it to these kids. >> I totally agree. Well, no, there was a guy one time there was a there was a cartel guy there's a couple of them. I'll tell you about the 14-year-old one. And there was a 14-year-old that has uh taped the guy to a wooden chair with duct tape and opened his cranium up with a hammer, pulled out his um cortex or his his brain and filled his skull, his cavity full of a can of stewed to or chopped tomatoes, diced tomatoes. The kid was like 14 years old. Wasn't an adult. Wound up going to juvenile hall. Probably out of prison right now. This kid's FFL. I mean, he's never coming back. You got that dynamic to it. So that's something that really happened. There's also the dynamic of it is true everything that you just said without a doubt. But you ask me what we can do in 40 or 50 years. And if I were to sit here across the table from you and say, you know what, I'm going to walk away. We can't do anything. Inviting Satan in the room's a a deal breakaker. Satan's already in the room. >> So my question is, how can we mitigate the circumstances most amicably? uh the benefit of the most people in society which means that we have to attack the problem a certain way. We can't just sit by and do anything. So this is my approach to it is to try to cut down where we can which the government already does try to do which is civil they even have it here civil asset forfeature they take people's money without even knowing if they did something wrong but you have all these people murdering people and you're not going to try to take their money. I know that they're getting foot soldiers. I know that they have money, but we're going to try to diminish that by creating opportunities and taking the money that we can. And I submit that that's a better approach than just sitting there trying to play whack-a-ole, sending drone predator drones over and blowing up people's houses that have nothing to do with anything that just live in the wrong area. >> And it allows to create propaganda. And plus, >> if you kill people, like I was talking smack about the Quran recently and I was specifically stating >> it is what it is. There's a reason why I've read I've read it twice. There's >> of course you have >> I did because there's like the seven pillars of Islam, right? I'm working in the Bearing Sea and I'm working with these French black people that are Muslims from the north of Africa and they're trying to convert me to Islam. So I start reading this stuff. I look in there, I'm like, "Wow, cut off the head and the hand and all this stuff." And to be fair, the Quran does not say to cut off the right hand, but that is in the hadith, which is their books that are companion books to the Quran, tell you this. When you start looking at things at length, it could be anything. And we create this entire war against people that are Muslim fundamentalist, and you start killing their children, and they're civilians, and they didn't have anything. Do you think that's going to have a positive or a negative impact? >> Negative. >> Right. All these people in in Gaza. >> I am completely against the Israeli state, not the religion, the state blowing up babies in their cribs, >> of course. >> And I will sense take >> I will argue that publicly every day of the week, even with my past and my tattoos, because killing children in their cribs is not Christian. Right. >> Totally wrong. So, we go over and start blowing up Mexico and destroying people's homes. Yeah, there's the cartels to deal with now, but do you want a galvanized population that's had their neighborhoods and homes and children destroyed? So, I'm just going to put that out there. Do you want to create more enemies than you currently have? Because that's the route. That's where that route goes. >> I I think it's a great point. You have to you have to think about the third order effects of what propaganda can be used that also has unfortunately some truth to it if you take like the ultimate just [ __ ] oh let's mop the floors actions because yeah you may get some of the bad guys you want but you're going to create a lot of people who look to one source as like the source of evil and death and destruction in their life because their grandma got blown up by some [ __ ] little computer in the sky. Can I give Katarina Schultz a little bit of credit? Because I've been I've been critical of her. >> You've been critical of Cat a little bit. >> A lot of people are critical of Cat. >> Yeah. But I I do want to say one thing that I really think that she nailed it on somewhere in one of her interviews. She was talking about galvanizing the forces or the forces of the cartels. It was her. She actually she she nailed that one on the money. If you invade Mexico, not only do you destroy our economy economy and our access to cheap goods and cheap cars, but you also and create strife and division between American families that have loved ones on both sides of the borders, and it's not a couple people. It's >> it's a lot. >> Most of Los Angeles, most of California, all of the southern states, get out of here, man. It's >> my Uber driver from today, her, she has family in Mexico. She nailed it when she said that if you go and attack Mexico, you are going to put the Mexican country public in a position to where the cartels and the Mexican military and the Mexican law enforcement agencies all of whom are veterans at this point in the American sense of the term of fighting war and you're going to levy it directly against us. And is that smart? I think that there are smarter ways and people that are smarter than I am that could come up with a more strategic way that'd be more beneficial. Really, I'm saying that for the people that are on the Facebook comments that get other people to start perpetuate an idea. Maybe they haven't thought all the way through. I think that they are missing the marker. Would be remiss if they don't think about all the consequences that go with predator drone strikes on cartel or doing the Nicholas Maduro approach. >> For sure. There's a lot there's a lot there. It's it is not a simple answer at all. It's just like we've been saying, it's so ingrained in the culture. It's like how do you how do you move that out? How do you get people who have been born into a desensitized environment to suddenly be sensitized to the idea that, you know, there's a brighter life out there. It doesn't need to be all guns and bloods and guts. >> Well, we perpetuate that [ __ ] here, too. Like the >> for sure. >> Well, I mean, even in the video games and all the movies that we watch. Oh, >> abs. Absolutely. How many people want to be John Wayne, >> right? But how many people in America go outside and see heads on spikes cuz it's a Tuesday? >> No, they don't. And do they want that here? >> That and that and that's a valid point, man. So, it's like >> that's you know, I want to I want to just button up my little thing with that. You know, there was a time when uh the Mexican military rolls in and they get these cartel guys. We weren't involved with it, but they get these cartel guys and they capture the cartel's uh family. I mean, they captured the military commander's family. They call the guy up because they got their phone numbers. They call him like, "Hey, we got all of our family here. Your family here." Didn't have to fire a shot. Didn't have to fire a shot. God lets all those guys go. [ __ ] it. We'll catch them later. Whatever. >> So, America likes to think that it's the greatest military power in the world. You know what? I wouldn't argue that it is. But the thing that's interesting or unique about America is they don't fight their wars on their own soil. And when you do, >> it's important to note for all the John Wickan, wannabe, Safeway, tac vest, plate carrier, security guards that think they're John Wick that when you're fighting that one, having direct access to your family is going to take the fight out of half of you right off the top. Two, when you're watching your buddies blown away, you have a lot of people self-deing after they get out of the military because you start looking at things as meat and you just aren't able to process all the trauma that goes along with that. So, the people that are wanting and wishing war that haven't seen it yet probably won't want it after they get done seeing it. And then that leaves you with a few people that really are true meat eater, hard charging people that thrive on violence and stuff like that. And I would say that maybe those aren't the people that should be leading us if that's what they want out of life. So, >> and and like you said, great point on people don't understand war on your own soil and what that looks like here in America. Something I think about >> everybody's on the table. >> Uh-huh. Even World War II, that [ __ ] was all over there, right? You know what I mean? >> Oh, that besides Pearl Harbor, obviously, but you know what I mean. And if you think that the cartel cannot do it, we just got done forking over $7.1 billion in American taxpayer weapons to people that are Islamic fundamentalists that do not like or have our well-being at hand. So that's what I got. >> Interesting. Interesting world we got. It is interesting world we got. Which, by the way, Dave, you know, I I don't know if we have the clip, Dave, from from Mark's podcast, but you kind of you kind of called me and Tommy G out. >> You know what I did? >> You thought it was dubious. No. >> You thought it was a dubious claim. You want to waterboard me right now? >> Yeah. Yeah. You know what? Let's go. >> I've never been I've never had someone offer to waterboard me. >> No. You know what? Hey, we can do that [ __ ] right now. I'm [ __ ] glad you brought that up. No. Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. So, hey, >> let's just >> Can we play this real fast for people so they understand? >> Yeah. Okay. >> Cut to the 45 second mark, De. >> I knew it was going to [ __ ] come up. >> Yeah. I can't let this go. >> Thank God. >> I want you waterboard. >> I wanted to pose the question, but it was probably enough. So, >> so how did it go when you waterboarded yourself? >> Um, it was really I cheated because I stuck my head in this bucket of water down there. I did. I I taped it up. Mark was sitting right where I did. >> Were you there for this? >> No, but I saw that the B and everything. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So, I'm down there and I'm like waterboarding myself and I'm hitting myself in my head cuz I just want to see how it goes because I thought their claims were dubious, man. And I love Tommy G. Julian, I'm not I'm not talking smack. I love you guys, man. In fact, you're right here in New York. I'm Well, Tommy G's not, but Julian's I actually talked to him for like two hours about his experience with it. You tell him that I will love to waterboard him. No, because you let Boomani do it. Hey man, I'm legit. I'm I'm retired from it. What I'm You know what I'm going to do for you, Dave? >> I'm going to give you the full unedited continuous 25minut segment that I have on my computer out there and you can watch it for yourself. >> No, I appreciate it, but I want to bring this up. Okay, so like I come off as like a jerk and you know what? Maybe it's good that I brought >> No, it was funny as hell. >> No, but I mean a lot of the people I've been critical of, I am like >> when you email someone for a year straight and they don't get back to you, you're going to you're going to feel a certain way about it, especially when you got all this experience. So, one of the things that I do, I'm into data anal analysis. And so, I'm into social and organizational network analysis and I go down everything with brass text. So, one of the interviews that Ed did, Ed Calderon, he was talking about people being tortured at the military base there in Tijana >> and hearing people screaming while they were being waterboarded. So, I took it upon myself. >> I don't have someone at home to waterboard me. So, I had to do it to figure out whether or not you can scream while you're being waterboarded. And I know I'm LIKE SITTING THERE, BAM. I've got this tail taped around my head. I'm drowning myself as good as I can by myself, which is, don't get me wrong, I don't want people to waterboard me, but I needed to figure out whether you could hear screaming while someone had a cloth over their face that was full of water. And as it turns out, you can. I challenge you. No, we can't do that for you. >> No one try. I want to be very clear. You tried this at home. We were very clear in that documentary. I remember recording it when Tommy was right there saying, "Do not under any circumstances try this at home." So, just for you to do not [ __ ] try this at home. You You >> full disclosure in my commitment to bring you the truth during the course of my investigations. I called Tommy G's cartel contacts, which was a burner phone, which makes sense. I'm not saying he's lying. >> There's [ __ ] flies on this guy. They're paying rent. No, I [ __ ] waterboarded myself in my basement the best I could. Hitting myself in the head as hard as I could because I wanted to see just you guys are laughing, man. >> Oh my god, it's hilarious. >> No, because I'm [ __ ] committed, man. >> I know you're committed, but it's hilarious that you're so committed. >> And then you get these people on YouTube, they're talking about he wouldn't do that. The [ __ ] I wouldn't. If you want to come over and watch, man, you're [ __ ] you're invited, man. And unless you're someone that's going to add me in my family. So >> Oh, man. >> Hey, brother. >> Hey, shout out to you for doing it to yourself. That's nice, >> man. I I needed to know. I I'm from Missouri. You got to show me, man. >> That's That's right. But it was >> What's the one Nick Nikki Santor? >> Keep that Keep that mic with you, by the way. >> What's What's the one Nikki Santoro? I'm [ __ ] stupid. I'm And uh >> I'M A LITTLE [ __ ] CRAZY. >> YEAH. NO, I'M BECAUSE I'm just gonna keep doing it until I get to where I want to go, man. >> Yeah. I You know, I'm retired. I did it once. It was It was interesting. >> Hey, I want to say one more thing before we wrap this up. I've talked a lot of [ __ ] in the last year and I've been putting together a network of all the major podcasters and [ __ ] like that. And if I had an inkling, I've talked so much [ __ ] that if I had an inkling that Julian or any of them weren't for real, I would say so. I would go on my channel, I'd be talking [ __ ] in 15 minutes, you know, I would. >> I believe you. But everything that I've seen here today with Julian and getting to know Mark and everybody else over the course of the last year, I'm grateful that you've given me the opportunity to come here and get to know you. >> Thank you for coming. >> Because Yeah. No, for sure. Because it alleviates a lot of what I have to say about podcasters that all of us see online. And I want people to know that they're getting the truth when they watch a video. and you come up with a quality product both in terms of your set, the technical expertise that you have here and everything that you guys do to make sure that America stays more informed, man. And uh so that's my honest impression of Julian and everybody here. And you know, I would just like to say thank you for the opportunity because it's not everybody that gets to come here, man. So thank both of you guys. >> Well, I appreciate you being here all day and doing two episodes. You're entertaining as hell and what a life, man. I mean, holy [ __ ] >> That's what they call me. >> Wait, listen, I don't I don't give a [ __ ] what they call you. You got a lot going on there. And you're not an idiot for sure. >> [ __ ] waterboard guy, man. >> That's a [ __ ] water. Yeah, they would tell me that [ __ ] >> But we'll have your YouTube link down below so people can go check that out and see all the videos. I love So I I listened to one of your episodes with with Mark. I think it was Well, I listened to the neo-Nazi one. You guys did like three or four. I listened to the one where it was some of the story that you told me in in the first episode here. Great stuff. So, everyone check out Camp Gagnon. Thank you to Mark for helping hook this up. >> But awesome stuff, man. I really enjoyed this today. >> Thank you. Enjoyed it, too. >> All right, everybody else, you know what it is. Give it a thought. Get back to me. >> You know what it is. >> Thank you guys for watching the episode. If you haven't already, please hit that subscribe button and smash that like button on the video. They're both a huge, huge help. And if you would like to follow me on Instagram and X, those links are in my description below.

SPONSORS: 1) AMENTARA: www.amentara.com/go/JULIAN Discount Code: JD22 for 22% off your FIRST order. 2) MANDO: Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @shop.mando and get 20% off with promo code JULIAN at https://shopmando.com ! #mandopod JOIN PATREON FOR EARLY UNCENSORED EPISODE RELEASES: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey CLIPPERS DISCORD: https://discord.gg/8QmWEKJ3BT WATCH PREVIOUS EP w/ DAVE: https://youtu.be/XwZElFRdXkA (***TIMESTAMPS in description below) ~ Dave Franke is a former Mexican law enforcement officer and undercover agent who spent years fighting cartels in high-conflict regions like Zacatecas. After a dramatic personal redemption from a gang background in California, he now shares his firsthand accounts of cartel warfare and ritualistic crimes across major media platforms. DAVE'S LINKS: YT: @FusilAutomaticoLigero FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY INSTAGRAM (Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/juliandoreypodcast/ INSTAGRAM (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://twitter.com/julianddorey JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP LISTEN to Julian Dorey Podcast Spotify ▶ https://open.spotify.com/show/5skaSpDzq94Kh16so3c0uz Apple ▶ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trendifier-with-julian-dorey/id1531416289 ****TIMESTAMPS**** 00:00 - Intro 1:24 - Russia, Al Qaeda, Daniel Pearl, KGB, Daughter in Russia 12:42 - UFC Training, Mexico Letter, Cartel Hunt, American Wages 27:18 - Mexico Arrival, Machine Gun Job Ask, Law Enforcement Reality 42:42 - Cartel Shutdown, Mexican Generals, Martial Arts, Federal Police 55:18 - Military Suspicion, Zetas Murder, Cartel Flip Offer, Wife Twist 1:09:05 - Highway 54 & 45, China Precursor Drugs, Mexico Breakdown 1:18:35 - General’s Bodyguard, Overtime Lawsuit, Paranoia, Daily Ops 1:34:11 - Mass Grave, Firefights, Intelligence Rivalries, War Policing 1:42:47 - Spontaneous Firefights, Agency Critique, Ed Calderon Investigation 2:00:18 - 50 Year Plan, Cartel Strategy, CIA Crack Allegations 2:03:18 - New Strategy, Black Islamists 2:13:44 - Cartel Occult Possessed K*lling, Kat Szulc 2:28:46 - Dave's Work OTHER JDP EPISODES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: - Episode 363 - Tyler Oliveira: https://youtu.be/stFmTWhm-X4 - Episode 292 - Ed Calderon: https://youtu.be/0FYmNDhhszs - Episode 293 - Ed Calderon: https://youtu.be/0FYmNDhhszs - Episode 265 - Kat Szulc: https://youtu.be/I6JUJCxKnDU - Episode 313 - Kat Szulc: https://youtu.be/WvX9-G5IYh0 - Episode 336 - Kat Szulc: https://youtu.be/E54bS9kFczQ CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - COO, Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ - In-Studio Producer: Joey Deef - https://www.instagram.com/joeydeef/ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 391 - Dave Franke Music by Artlist.io