Carlos sold top end single-edition Swiss watches (for $100,000s to $1 million+) to narcos for 8 years. The Swiss companies loved him. "They fucking love you. You have no idea. You are making their budgets. You become a hero” Read how cartels wash cash↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/narco-blin...

Chalino Sánchez, father of narco corridos and icon in Sinaloa and LA He avenged his sister at 15, went to prison in Tijuana for a shooting, then in the US for drugs. The attack on him in Coachella was likely a hit. Read full true story of Chalino here:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/chalino-ki...

Did you ever hear about the time a splinter from the Tijuana Cartel dissolved bodies in acid in California and carried out a series of murders in the U.S. as far away as Kansas City, Missouri? Thought not. So be informed by reading the full story here:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/when-los-p...

Ayotzinapa’s Narco Witnesses - The Mexican government gave dubious benefits to major narcos, incuding delaying extradition of El Cuini, to help on the case of the 43 disappeared students. But what did they give in return? Read special report: www.crashoutmedia.com/p/cuini-and-...

Will Trump “Regime-Change” Venezuela? I go through the war gaming of the operation against Maduro and possible scenarios including: - Pressure to foment a coup - Special forces rendition - Full invasion - Pure Trump bluff Read here: www.crashoutmedia.com/p/will-trump...

One of the craziest interviews I've ever done was recently meeting Carlos Lehder, the partner of Pablo Escobar who owned a private island to move blow, was portrayed as a Nazi narco on Netflix and testified against General Noriega of Panama. Here is the story... www.crashoutmedia.com/p/carlos-leh...

Mexico's Marines In Hot Water A scandal is growing in Mexico's elite SEMAR which US agents work with to take down kingpins. In Manzanillo where SEMAR controls customs, a broker told me you could get a container with drugs through for 800,000 pesos. Read↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/mexicos-ma...

The Power of Independent Media There's a great energy and possibilities in independent media, which allows you to move fast, think outside the box, and connect directly with readers. In my quarterly shout to readers, I look at independent vs mainstream↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/the-power-...

The U.S. Military Missiles Venezuelan Boat, Killing 11 Is this just an escalation of the war on drugs or also a step to regime change in Caracas? Was it really a drug boat? Were the Tren de Aragua definitely on board? I break it all down in this video:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/us-militar...

How Much Money Do Cartels Make and Where Is It? Are narco kingpins really billionaires? What's the annual cartel economy worth? Will the US government get the $15 billion that Mayo has promised to deliver. Read here on the twisted world of narco-nomics↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/how-much-m...

HISTORIC: Mayo Zambada just plead guilty and could credibly be the biggest drug trafficker Mexico ever saw, moving dope for 55 years. The US wants $15 billion assets and he could give up some money for better conditions. Lawyer still denies he will sing. Read: www.crashoutmedia.com/p/mayo-plead...

The Truth About Date Murders In Colombia Does the "Devil's Breath" drug really turn you into a pliable zombie?How dark is the sex industry? On a trip to Colombia, I look deeper into murders of Americans and other foreigners who met women on dating apps↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/date-murde...

Can a Mayos Victory End the Sinaloa War? The year-long bloodbath is one of the worst cartel battles in history. But now there's a clear advance of Mayos and a new map of Sinaloa Cartel being drawn. CrashOut reports from the ground in Sinaloa. Read at:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/can-a-mayo...

Mexico Expels 26 More Narco Prisoners To US Amid Trade Talks and Military Threat This isn't theater as there are genuine big figures in transfer like Cuini, financial brain of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Will it be enough to placate Trump? Read:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/mexico-exp...

MEGA EXCLUSIVE - I went to Colombia to talk to Carlos Lehder, founder of the Medellin Cartel. We discuss: - How the cartel really worked - Was he a Nazi? - Terror attacks in Colombia - Cartel working with Noriega + Contras - Deal with FARC Watch here↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/exclusive-...

On Gringo-fiction and Gringo-phobia... My reflections on the anti-gringo protests in Mexico City, and on gentrification and xenophobia (as a Brit living in CDMX since 2000, or as a friend says "anglo-Chilango...") Read it here, it's a freebie:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/on-gringo-...

The Dark Truth of Mexico's "Pimp City" That Traffics Girls to New York The Tenancingo to USA prostitution pipeline is genuinely horrific. Yet there's a lot of smoke, mirrors and bad numbers around such an abhorrent crime as "sex slavery." Read here:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/the-dark-t...

Ovidio has been transferred to a secure location to kick-start his cooperation with US government that could reduce his sentence from life to 10 years. He says he will help get $80 million in assets. But who could he finger: a governor or higher? Read:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/ovidio-kic...

In Singapore, you get hanged for 15g of heroin, 30g of cocaine or half kilo of cannabis. It also has one of lowest murder rates in the world with 10 murders (Mexico had 145x more per capita; US 35x) I went to "Lion City" and looked at zero tolerance:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/singapore-...

humor desde culiacán por "Bobadilla", vía www.crashoutmedia.com/p/alivio-com... de @ioangrillo.bsky.social

Revolution to synthetic drugs, like fentanyl, has side effect - it decimated Mexico's opium farmers. I went to mountains of Guerrero, where kilo of opium gum dropped from 33K pesos at peak to 4K pesos. They have Afghan opium they call "Talibana." Read↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/fentanyl-k...

Sheinbaum Has A Red Line On US Troops The Mexican president is delivering to Trump with fentanyl busts and stopping migrants. But allowing full US special force ops vs cartels in Mexico is politically impossible for her. Will Trump get that? Read at:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/sheinbaum-...

Is Nuevo León's "Fuerza Civil" Really The Best Police in Mexico? The state cops were meant to transform law enforcement. Yet they struggle amid a Gulf Cartel-CDN war. Security chief Gerardo Escamilla outlines the fight back strategy to CrashOut. Read:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/fuerza-civ...

Cartel Propaganda Videos - A History Narco videos went from splatter films on VHS to brutal mutilation on blogs to gunmen celebrating Easter and to quasi-political statements. I look at the evolution of what has tragically become its own video genre:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/cartel-pro...

Is it cool to enjoy narco culture? When there are 30,000 murders a year in Mexico and a 100 K overdose deaths in the US? Do drug ballads just reflect reality? Or do they help mold it? Read the essay free, clicking below↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/is-it-cool...

When Luis Conriquez refused to play corridos in Texcoco, the audience smashed up the venue. But was he more concerned about a Mexican state law prohibiting corridos or the threat of losing his US visa? Is this a reckoning for narco corridos? I break it down:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/a-reckonin...

🇲🇽 New Popular Front podcast episode out now, talking to @ioangrillo.bsky.social about the strange case of a Jalisco Cartel extermination camp that might not be what it seems... ‣ Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... ‣ Support: patreon.com/popularfront

EXCLUSIVE - Mexico Looks At New "Mega Expulsion," Of 40 Narcos Potential targets include "El Cuini," financial brain of the Jalisco Cartel. Mexico also looks at slapping its own terrorist charges on narcos. Actions could avoid US strikes/tariffs. Read↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/exclusive-...

Fentanyl is terrible but crystal meth is a still a huge force in addiction. Teun Voeten has a cracking new book on The Devil's Drug. I'm stoked to publish this seething excerpt from Skid Row, crazy photos of meth labs, and heart breaking images of addicts. www.crashoutmedia.com/p/what-about...

MS-13: From LA Stoners to "Foreign Terrorists" MS-13 began as long-haired teens in LA rocking Black Sabbath, with machetes because guns were too pricey, but grew into global gang. With crackdowns in El Salvador and US, is this their final chapter? Read↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/ms-13-from...

Netflix Hit Adolescence Is Good TV But It's Unrealistic It's a compelling watch with great actors.But it's ridiculous that some British politicians and journalists are treating the drama like it's a real case and should inform policy Read my story at↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/adolescenc...

The United States has a 2,000 mile border with Mexico but a 5,500 mile border with Canada. Is Canada really stopping the fentanyl flowing south? Katarina Szulc spoke to a Sinaloan trafficker who said not. Check out the interview on CrashOut Podcast. www.crashoutmedia.com/p/is-canada-...

The case of the "Jalisco Cartel Extermination Camp" has shaken Mexico. But will there ever be justice delivered to the families of victims and the thousands of disappearances? Katarina Szulz break it down in the CrashOut podcast: www.crashoutmedia.com/p/hope-of-ju...

The Canada Cartel Connection The Canada-US border is the longest in the world, almost 3 times the Mexican border, but there is only 8% of Border Patrol agents. A trafficker says they are walking fentanyl over. Read CrashOut special with Katarina Szulc:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/the-canada...

A painful truth periodically returns to punch me in the gut: how Mexico can be so beautiful and yet also be a land where such barbaric evil takes place. The death camp was found amid threats from US. But it is Mexicans who hurt Mexicans there. Read:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/the-jalisc...

Murders, massacres and drone strikes force hundreds of thousands in Mexico to flee their homes. Jared Olson went to a front-line of the cartel wars in the Tierra Caliente to bring this report on the "desplazados." Read at:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/mexicos-ca...

Five Great Books on Drugs and Thugs I look at some essential bangers and classics on mafiosi, narcos, traffickers, traders in toxic drugs and psychedelic experiments... Read at:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/five-great...

Mexico Cracked Down; Trump Still Slapped Tariffs On Sheinbaum helped slash number of migrants on border, halved level of fentanyl. In return, Trump puts 25% tariffs. White House statement also favors those who want US military strikes on cartels. My story↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/mexico-cra...

The simple fact, as @ioangrillo.bsky.social has shown in his book ‘Blood Gun Money’, and as others have since attested, US-bought guns arm cartels and fuel the extraordinary levels of violence being felt in Mexico www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/u... More here: www.ioangrillo.com/books/#Book1

Sheinbaum Pulls Off Historic "Mega Narco Extradition" of 29 cartel bosses Silvia Garza lost 17 family members to the Zetas. She said the extraditions “were the best news I've had in 14 years.” “It's God’s justice on earth,” she said. “We all.. Read story at↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/sheinbaum-...

EXCLUSIVE: El Mayo has not sung - lawyer Mayo has given no info to US on narcos/politicians since arrest, attorney Frank Perez tells me in first long interview. Mayo wants plea bargain of guilty with no death penalty. Mayo has no cancer. Read full interview↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/exclusive-...

Mexico's Cartel Drone War - A Guerrilla Documentary Gangsters drop fire from the sky to terrorize villagers in the southern Sierra Madre. Watch the mini-feature on CrashOut free with captured sicario and drone card and reporting from Guerrero, Mexico:↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/mexicos-ca...

I remember first learning about this in @ioangrillo.bsky.social’s book Blood Gun Money! Definitely worth the read

Exclusive: Cartels React To Terrorist Designation “We aren't going be the ones to start a war,” says area boss in TJ. “I'm not going to cross my arms and let them come fuck me," says drug seller. CrashOut team talks to narcos on the terrorist ruling↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/exclusive-...

Border Tensions vs Information War There's been a crazy flurry of stories on Mexico-US-cartels since Trump took power. I look at how we can see light through the bullshit. And ask if a false flag could escalate US-Mexico conflict? Read↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/border-ten...

EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS - US Border Patrol has a memorandum to not use body cameras because of a threat of improvised explosive devices (from source). Reported text of memo: "Effective Immediately until further notice, agents will cease the use of body worn cameras, Border..." 1/

So, Which Cartels Are Terrorists? In a video piece I look at the nine cartels and gangs that, according to leaked info, will be designated by the Trump White House as foreign terrorist organizations. Biggest surprise? Carteles Unidos... Watch for free↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/so-which-c...

In 1991 there were almost 2K murders in Italy and mafiosi collected "pizzo" and would unleash terror. In 2021 it was 303 murders and extortion plummeted. What changed and can Mexico learn from it? CrashOut went to the mafia heartlands to find out. Read in link: www.crashoutmedia.com/p/how-italy-...

How Do Mexican Cartels Function? Trump has ordered cartels to be classified as terrorists and the new AG has called for their total elimination. But what are cartels? I break down how the "networks of paramilitary organized crime" really operate. Read↓ www.crashoutmedia.com/p/how-do-mex...