This latest episode of the NUNYO & COMPANY podcast examines the worst overdose crisis in United States history. The real Ray Donovan, who oversaw the historic operation to recapture El Chapo, reveals startling trends in drug trafficking while offering historical context. But the DEA chief also delves into the Mexican cartels without El Chapo, who left an indelible mark by pioneering the use of sophisticated tunnels to transport drugs.
Around 2010, El Chapo helped popularize fentanyl-laced heroin to increase potency, and compete with other cartels. Now, narcotics traffickers regularly mix fentanyl — the deadliest opioid — with all types of drugs. ”El Chapo thought he was bigger than Pablo Escobar,” says Ray Donovan.
But in 2015, El Chapo declared that “the day I don’t exist, [drug trafficking] is not going to decrease in anyway at all.” Americans continue to spend far more on illegal drugs than anyone else: The nation’s opioid epidemic kills tens of thousands yearly, including a record 49,600 in 2017. And two of El Chapo’s older sons, “Los Chapitos” have obtained much of his power in the fearsome Sinaloa cartel: “The boys have risen,” Donovan concedes.