cocaine

The story of Mexican drug lord Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, better known as El Chapo, the leader of one of the world’s most prolific, violent and powerful drug cartels.

BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow El Chapo from childhood in the Mexican mountain region of Sinaloa to the very top of the drug business and into the New York prison cell where he now resides.

Simon and Zing reveal how El Chapo innovated with tunnels along the US-Mexican border, escaped prison twice, and used extreme violence to gain power. Then they are given the simple task of deciding if he's good, bad, or just another billionaire.

In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2023.

The UK is now Europe’s biggest consumer of cocaine. The drug has been linked to a surge in domestic violence and middle-class users are being warned it’s not a victimless crime. How is so much cocaine getting into the country? And what can the authorities do about it?

You can read Dipesh's article (and see an image of charcoal soaked in cocaine) here.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Dipesh Gadher, Home Affairs Correspondent, The Sunday Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Clips: France 24, Al Jazeera, Euronews, BBC News, Sky News.

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The Secret Service confirmed that the suspicious white powder found at The White House was in fact cocaine, Meta debuts a new conversation app named “Threads,” and a judge bars the Biden administration from pressuring social media companies to censor free speech. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. 

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Luis Navia worked for nearly 25 years as a cocaine trafficker for the deadliest Colombian and Mexican cartels until the law caught up with him in 2000. He is the co-author (with Jesse Fink) of Pure Narco: One Man's True Story of 25 Years Inside the Cartels.

What We Discuss with Luis Navia:

• Why did Luis Navia -- a Georgetown student and the privileged son of an affluent sugar trader -- get involved in the illicit international cocaine trade with the most ruthless and infamous Mexican and Colombian drug cartels?
• How did Luis move between 200 to 300 tons of cocaine (roughly worth $10 billion) over the course of 25 years -- and live to tell the tale?
• Why did Luis insist on carrying out his business without a weapon -- in spite of being regularly surrounded by the perpetrators of unimaginably brutal violence?
• What are the logistics for smuggling massive amounts of cocaine over international borders with limited space and personnel?
• How did Operation Journey, an anti-narcotics effort coordinated across 12 nations and led by the United States and Great Britain, finally put an end to Luis' lucrative cocaine trafficking career?
• And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/665

Sign up for Six-Minute Networking -- our free networking and relationship development mini course -- at jordanharbinger.com/course!

Miss our two-part conversation with the Caravaggio of currency counterfeiting? Catch up by starting with Episode 488: Frank Bourassa | The World’s Greatest Counterfeiter Part One here!

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