Ray Donovan, the DEA special agent who oversaw the historic apprehension of El Chapo
•Ray Donovan explains how he obtained El Chapo’s jail shirt after the drug lord’s extradition to the United States (6:20)
•The public remains relatively unaware that fentanyl is being laced in a host of drugs: cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and even marijuana. (32:23)
•The Sinaloa cartel tried to resolve the quandary of its popular “China White” fentanyl literally killing its customer base by adding Tramadol, “but it was already too late.” (38:10)
•The biggest trends in drug trafficking involve methamphetamine production, especially its distribution in middle America; and cocaine increasingly becoming the drug of choice throughout the world. (43:54)
•Ray Donovan provides insight into Prince’s death, including a prosecutor’s conclusion that the music icon was oblivious to fentanyl’s presence in counterfeit prescription medication. (45:09)
•Marijuana legalization hasn’t reduced America’s demand for Mexico’s illegal supply — “not one bit.” (49:19)
•The main reason that El Mayo — the Sinaloa cartel’s co-founder — remains free is that when authorities targeted him in raids by the Mexican marines, he wisely “ran for the hills.” (58:54)
•Two of El Chapo’s older sons, Ivan Guzman and Jesus Guzman— “the Chapitos” — have obtained much of his power: “The boys have risen.” (01:01:05)
•The Jalisco New Generation cartel, led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, has threatened the dominance of the Sinaloa cartel by expanding in Mexico — increasingly controlling seaports — while developing a “global footprint.” (52:15)
•El Chapo’s curious get-together in 2015 with American actor Sean Penn and Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo slightly delayed a planned raid. (1:15:32)
•Two former DEA agents revealed that they secretly met with El Chapo in 1998 when he was incarcerated, lending credence to testimony about the drug lord’s DEA connections. (1:24:26)
•Rafael Caro-Quintero, who orchestrated the 1985 torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena, is considered “public enemy # 1 for us.” (1:30:12)
