The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell - The Sinaloa Cartel Is Losing Control Of It's Own Territory

Episode Date: August 19, 2026

Katarina Szulc returns to The Connect after reporting on the ground in Sinaloa, where the cartel war has pushed Culiacán deeper into violence and uncertainty. In this episode, she breaks down what she witnessed firsthand, why the Chapitos are under enormous pressure, and how CJNG could emerge as one of the biggest winners if the Chapitos eventually collapse or surrender. With CJNG already providing manpower and resources to its Sinaloa allies, could the organization ultimately move in and absorb their territory? We also get into the escalating war inside the Sinaloa Cartel, the future of the remaining Chapitos, alleged cartel ties to Mexican politicians, the growing influence of CJNG, what daily life now looks like in Culiacán, forced recruitment, and Katarina's disturbing investigation into human trafficking in Tijuana. This is an inside look at one of the most important power struggles happening in Mexico's criminal underworld—and what could come next. Go Support Katarina! YouTube: @katarinaszulc IG: https://www.instagram.com/katarinaszulc Join The Patreon For Bonus Content! https://www.patreon.com/theconnectshow 00:00 The Cartel's Control Over Sinaloa 02:40 Senseless Murders and Public Fear 03:30 Governor Rocha's Indictment 08:30 Challenges of Reporting in Sinaloa 13:30 Inside the Daily Murders 20:00 The War for Cartel Control 23:30 CJNG Alliance and Mencho's Death 28:00 Cartel Convoys and Rural Danger 32:00 Humanizing Cartel Members 34:00 Victims and the New Generation 36:00 Cartel Economics and Recruitment 39:00 Chapitos' Surrender Talks 44:00 Political Leverage and US Influence 50:00 Mazatlan's Strategic Value 58:00 Human Trafficking Crisis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The cartel controls that state, like fully. They're just like killing each other off and no one's doing anything about it. It's constant murders every fucking 30 minutes on the minute. Anyone's being recruited to take out hits for like around $200 USD. Chapitos have made an alliance with CJ&G. CJ and G have always been masters of absorption. They make these alliances or they put men in. They know that, okay, if we go in and we're,

When we offer a helping hand, if these guys fail, or if it comes down to the wire, this becomes our territory. The goal is to have complete control over the Sinaloa cartel. The war for the Sinaloa cartel is raging, and the Chapitos, led by Chappel Guzman's remaining two sons, are facing extinction. Narco-journalist Kat Schultz is the only reporter with the balls to embed herself in the middle of this war zone, and what she witnessed was shocking. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that the C.J. NG, the Halisco New Generation

Cartel, who currently have an alliance with the Chapitos, are poised to take over Culliacan and Sinaloa as soon as the Chapitos capitulate. This is unprecedented in Mexican narco history. Make sure to follow Kat on all socials and her new YouTube channel. She's doing fantastic work. And please hit the like button on this video. It really, really helps us out. All right, you guys, with the inside scoop, as always, It's the great Kat Schultz right here on The Connect with Johnny Mitchell.

Juliakan is fucking stressful right now because I was just there. And it's like I felt like it was worse than when the last time I was there was two years ago or almost two years ago. Like right after El Maya was captured. Right. And I remember I was like, holy fuck, this is really intense. But honestly, this time, it felt heavier. And there was like even more violence because to be completely honest, it's gone to the. point where like the cartel controls that state like fully point blank and like you can

fucking feel it and yesterday um a guy was killed on live stream an influencer was killed on live stream yeah i saw that and like who's to say that i mean he was obviously you know had allegiance to a certain faction so like they're going to take him out because that's what all the murders are right now They're just like killing each other off and no one's doing anything about it. Isn't that to you, though? To me, that looks like the cartel is losing control because you do have all these senseless retribution killings that don't have anything to do with drug trafficking, right? Like killing that live streamer, he's just like a funny influencer.

He's not a criminal. So doesn't that, to me, that says the power of the cartel is breaking down and that's why there's more chaos. Okay, so in that sense, yes, right? Like there's that internal war that's going on and it's like this bid for power. But in the sense of like regular life as a society, like Sinaloa as a state, they control it.

Like there is no, when I say that, I mean like authority doesn't control it. Military doesn't. The governor certainly does not. He was just fucking indicted by the U.S. So everything that's going on in that state is going on with either like, the permission, so to speak, of the cartel, or like with cartel oversight.

Right. Okay. Okay. This is, I have so many questions. First of all, let's just talk about Ruben Rocha Moya, the former, the four, I guess he's still the sitting governor. He's still. He's technically.

Right. So he and a bunch of other high-level politicians from the state of Sinaloa, like I think was two months ago now, were indicted by the U.S. on collusion with specifically Los Chapitos, right? The ones and he goes way back with the Morena political party and with Chapo himself, like way

back to when Chapo was at his height. He basically got ran out of town. You know, they shot up his house, the Contras, the Maito's, you know, live stream themselves, you know, shooting up his house in broad daylight in Kulia Khan. What is the situation

with that? Why hasn't he been arrested? How has that that affected the Chapitos because now their political allies are in trouble. Could you go into that? Yeah, okay. This is like a really deep dive here because it's very complicated. So we have all known that like and when I say we, I mean like everyone in Mexico and particularly anyone who has any knowledge of like narcos, right?

It's always been super obvious that Ruben Rocha Moya was. aligned with the Sinolaa cartel and profiting off of the Sinolaa cartel. And like a lot of the political decisions he would make came directly from that nexus to the Sinolawa cartel. Like he was not this autonomous figure whatsoever. He was essentially a speaking head for the cartel. At the same time, he has also been, like you said,

a longstanding standout member of the, the Morena party, the ruling party of Mexico. And so there had been moments where murmurs of him being, you know, a figurehead for the cartel had really come to light. And the president of Mexico herself would come out and say explicitly, Rocha Moya is not with the cartel. And he is a major figure for the Morena party and like this standout citizen. And so here's the thing. He gets indicted by the U.S. literally for profiting off of drug trafficking or with the Sinaloa cartel, particularly with the Chapitos, who we know have been cooperating now with the United States government, which is also what led to the kidnapping and capture of El Mayo, which

started the whole war in Sinaloa, was because Chapitos set him up, okay, with the U.S. And they're all making plea deals, you know, family members were allowed to go into the U.S. through Sanisidro border crossing. It's like this whole thing where the U.S. is blatantly negotiating with terrorists as they labeled them two years ago. Now, or a year ago. The thing is, if President Claudia Shinbaum,

basically what she's saying is, we need the evidence to extradite him or expel him to the United States. If Claudia Shinbaum comes out and says, what? Yeah, the U.S. proved it to us. You know, our Mexican authorities say in their investigation that Rocha Moya is a criminal, so to speak, that is a huge hit for her politically. Not only for herself, but for the entire party. And this is someone who wants to ensure that Morena continues to rule in Mexico for decades to come. And Morena has been the ruling party for

the last decade, in fact. Her latest election or her win in this previous election was like one of the largest landslide wins in Mexican election history. She has like this unwavering support. And it seems as though the Secretary of National Security, Omar Garcia Harfuch, is likely going to run for president and will probably

likely win. You know, he's really garnering support. And so for her to come out and say, this individual who she defended so wholeheartedly is in fact a criminal with the cartels, the very cartels that are wreaking havoc on the state, it's horrible for her politically, not just like in soft optics, but actually like how her administration is operating as a whole and who's in the administration. Right. Yeah, it's fascinating. It's all such a chess match because the U.S. is making plea deals with the Chapitos, but then now they have an indictment against the Chapito's ally, which are the politicians in Cina Loa. So it's, you know, it's all smoke and mirrors.

It's all political theater from what I can see. So let's talk about you because you're literally the only journalist that goes down there at this moment, you know, besides like, BBC, you know, guarded people. And local journalists. Like there's really, you know what's crazy? Like everyone always tells me like, you have balls, whatever. If a lot of the journalists who are there like all the time, if they spoke English and like did the same things that I do like on podcasts,

whatever in social media, they would fucking blow me out of the water because they are just like, they have balls of steel and the shit that they're encountering and day in, day out, absolutely insane. And like, yeah. You know, there's like BBC, CNN go down and do stories and not to their fault, but I think a lot of the times, like a lot of those stories where they're like going in. I just saw one on YouTube yesterday. I don't remember. I think it was DW.

I don't remember. And I'm not trying to like shit on anyone whatsoever. But I think a lot of them are misled by like shitty fixers and connections that are taking them to like this. fentanyl lab or like with this high level Sinolaa cartel narco and a lot of that is just like really not yeah that's a way for like local people in Quilicah to make money is to tell like shitheads like us

who are trying to get content like hey I pay me and I'll take you to where you can film and it's like some dudes with like they're just wearing balaclavas and they're actually nobody's and they just have like they're like showing you their lab but it's just like bleach and some cooking flour like they're making rice

in the plot. It's crazy too because like a lot of my so a lot of my contacts over there that are obviously actually heavily involved in the cartels

will actually sometimes they'll send me this stuff or they'll like reach out to me and they're like this is bullshit like nobody knows what this is like this is not us and it's not like a propaganda thing it's like they just actually find it amusing

in a way. Most of these people especially in Sinaloa right now who are like high up in it and like very deep in it, they will not meet with even with me in person, even though we've spent years chatting, we know each other like there's trust. And it honestly comes down to a safety thing.

I wanted to go to one region while I was there this summer. That's like a big hotspot. And I don't want to say where it is because there's still like a chance that I might be able to go. And I reached out to some context who could definitely grant me access and one of them was like you do know that there's like um bonds dropping from drones right there right now so i don't want you to come and then we get blamed because you fucking got knocked out right and i was like but that's how you know that's a real fucking source that's not

bullshitting right and so sometimes there's a lot of shit that i encounter i can't even show it yeah i mean but i've just seen from your social media like you're you're at the sites of fresh murder scenes. And there's people getting killed every day in the city of Kulia Khan. So can you talk about that a little bit and just talk about some of these stories and who who is winning in the battle of Kulia Khan right now for the city? Because that's been traditionally controlled by the Chapitos. So yeah, please update us.

So I don't answer that because it can get me killed, especially if I go back to Kulia Khan. I think, you know, yeah. Yeah, so we're just not even going to get into that. And who knows anyways, right? That's all objective. It is constantly changing too. Yeah. You know, one day it could be one group, another day it could be another group.

But at the end of the day, no one wins because like it's the city, it's literally hell. Like, it's burning the fuck down. And the main difference that I noticed from two years ago was that like two years ago when I went, there were these like really performative brazen. murders where like the city would wake up and there would be five people laid out dead naked with like either a pizza box or the white hat depending on which faction they belong to and who's trying to send the message whereas now it's almost like they're just doing the work so like when I was there and you saw on the social media it was like homicide after homicide after homicide. But, you know, they're typically not being left with, like, messaging anymore. And it's not, like,

this huge show. Because right now, it's a matter of just, like, killing everyone off that they possibly can. And sending more internal messages as opposed to, like, public messages. So one of the first murders that I attended when I got there was at this, was at a Walmart parking lot. This guy was murdered. and like as we were driving to the scene, I noticed like all of my sources were posting about this murder. So I immediately clocked that like he was a boltedo. He switched. He was with the Chapitos faction and he switched to Maitos Flakos faction, which is why he was killed. And like a lot of people were boasting about it on social media.

And so that's also like a worrisome. situation when we're going to that because it's not just like, okay, they killed this guy who owed a debt or said something wrong and like they just shot him and he's dead. This is like we're going to the scene where there are still going to be

lookouts looking who comes to the scene. What's going on? Who are the investigators? How is this reported? They want to know which journalists are there so that they can watch our reports after to see what kind of shit that we're saying. So that's like very stressful.

but this is kind of the reality now where it's constant murders every fucking 30 minutes on the minute. That's literally how it felt. And it's not, you know, this big showcase. It's just, okay, boom, we killed him. On to the next. Kill him. Now, kill him. And when I spoke with authorities, like the same notion kept being repeated.

they're not there to prevent these killings. They're just there to attend. They are at the point, and I guess this is kind of what the U.S. wanted, is they're just letting them kill each other off. Right. They're just, the military's kind of just there to make sure it doesn't spill into civilian everyday life, I guess, right?

Like, even then, that's not even a priority. I think the priority is just like, all right, show face, write the report, pick up the ball, body. Same thing. Over and over again. You know, there aren't these like checkpoints of do you have guns in your vehicle or like even looking, you know, for like right. You know, typically like in any place like in the States or in Canada, someone gets murdered. There's like this manhunt. Like who killed this guy? Like we're searching for these plates and this guy with this description. That's not happening at all. Like they're not even taking statements from people who were around during the crime. So, so like the majority of these homicides go unsolved. Yeah. And there doesn't even seem to be incentive to, to solve them because it's so much bigger than just the cicario. Right.

Of course. So, yeah. Okay. So in that sense, it's, it's business as usual in Mexico. Because I don't know, like I was down in Mexico City for the World Cup. Like Mexico's image culturally, like putting aside the narco shit. culturally Mexico's like winning right now you know like they're helping out Cuba like this awful blockade we're doing to the Cubans they're speaking out against uh what's going on in Gaza although

they're buying a ton of weapons from the Israelis that's the dirty little secret but but in general secret well right I know it's it's something that they they try not to talk about though shame bomb tries to talk about right and it's but but culturally they're kind of the darling of the west while the United States is like the bad guy and there's There's a lot of merit to that. But Sinaloa is, so yeah, so part of me, I'm down there and I'm like, Mexico really is like turning a corner for the better, you know? To be fair, I feel like Mexico has always been this like cultural hero because it has such

a vibrant culture. Like I talk about this all the time. Also because I feel like sometimes I have to say this because people are like, she's like a fucking racist who just wants to show the bad side. incorrect. Like if you have any critical thinking skills that's like very obviously not true. But like the World Cup here was so insane.

And like people were living their best lives. Like actually it was unlike anything I've ever seen in Mexico City. And it was super cool and very safe, I must say. Yeah. But then it's like that dark underbelly, right? Of like the crime that's going on. And also to be like right. right before the World Cup, everyone was asking me like,

oh my God, are we going to be safe going down there? Are you going to? I'm like, this is probably the safest fucking time in Mexico because there's going to be so much money from tourists and people going to the World Cup that like cartels are going to make a fucking bank. Like, and every business is going to make bank. So that's always been this like unspoken agreement.

Just like don't fuck with the tourists because they make us money, right? Yeah. Yeah. So. Yeah, but that's why Mexico is so fascinating to report on is because on the one hand, you have this extremely modern, developed country, you know, and you have Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterey. But then when you go to Sinaloa, it still is like the 1970s.

It's, I mean, that's what it sounds like. I haven't been there a while. Honestly, like going from Mexico City to Kulia and back to Mexico City, it's like going to two different freaking planets. Totally. So that hasn't changed, like, in terms of the cartel stranglehold on the region and on the city of Kulia Khan, there's still lookouts everywhere, information everywhere. Do you think there's police corruption still? Like, do you think the cops are playing? Blatent. Yes. Right. Entirely. That's like... Our innocent people, you know, we saw that streamer yesterday. We were just talking about get shot to death on streaming.

Are innocent people targets? I wouldn't group him in with like innocent civilians because he was very active on social media about his sort of allegiance with Maito Flakos faction of the Sinaloa cartel. You know, he was even wearing the white hat, which in Kulakan, you just do not wear that because you... And I know that that can sound very pathetic

because it's like really like of all things. But that is what people are using. to show their allegiance. So you just don't do that. But innocent people are typically, like in terms of actually being murdered, innocent people are kept out of it. But when I went to that Walmart shootout

where that man was killed, a 25-year-old girl was shot three times. She survived, but she was like an innocent bystander. She got caught in the crossfire. So that's, of course, happening. But innocent people aren't the top. targets. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That makes sense. So what are they fighting for? What is the goal? The goal is to take over the drug spots in Kulia Khan to take over the fentanyl cooks? Like what is

economically the strategic goal of all of this killing in Kulia Khan? The goal is to have complete control over the Sinaloa cartel. So either the Chapitos win. and they kill everyone or end the Maitos faction or vice versa MF kills the Chapitos, weakens them and kills their faction

and they have complete control and like obviously there is like this desperation because Chapitos have made an alliance it's like a year old now with CJ&G for like

increased manpower weapons, resources, you know, all of it. And then MF is also going hard. So there's basically, they're vying for control. Because they both feel betrayed at this point.

And so, because El Chapo and El Mayo had this alliance. You know, they were in a partnership for a very long time. But as soon as El Mayo ended up on that small aircraft, in the United States and was taken into custody,

all hell broke out because it is said that El Chapo Sands, the Chapitos, set El Mayo up, right? And one of his sons was with him on that plane, gave himself up to authorities, and they were actually supposedly on their way to a meeting with Rocha Moya. Right, right. What governor is like taking a meeting with heads of cartel

and then saying he's innocent. Right. So yeah, that was like the ultimate betrayal, which is what sparked the war. So you don't see this war ending as like, okay, now we have two cartels in CLO. We have the MF, the Maito Flaccos, and the Chapitos. You think it's got to be decapitation

and one group has to regain total control in order for there to be more peace. Is that kind of it? I really don't see that with them both, existing and buying for power that there will be peace. Like I don't think they will come to this like agreement. It's too far gone. So it will unfortunately have to just like end up with someone having complete control.

But this is like a war with no end in sight because I don't think anyone will like I just don't see this happening where like someone will, you know, throw in the towel. Right, right, it's not that organized. It's not like, you know, trying to come up with an MOU with Iran. Like it's, it doesn't really work like that. Now, speaking of the CJNG and their alliance with the Chapitos, what has Mencho's death done to that? This is a great question because, you know, I think that the whole point of applying the kingpin strategy with CJNG was to engage exactly what happened in Sinolawa. except that didn't happen. CG and G did not fracture internally.

I mean, I have been told, and I have not been able to report on it yet because some confirmation, whatever, that there have been some kind of disputes with some high-level people in CG and G, some disagreements, but certainly nothing that has led to like this fracture of CG and G.

It was like, he died 24-hour hours later, we all knew that Zero-Tres, El Mensual's stepson, was now the leader of C.J&G, and it just kept going business as usual. However, what I do know is that when El Mentiono was killed, all of the CG reinforcements that were sent to Sinaloa to backup the Chapitos faction, they all retreated. And they all went back to Michoakan and to Halisco. And then time went on and that kind of the flow continued and it was business as usual. So it seems for the most part

of its business as usual. However, that could obviously change at any point in time, right? For the most part, CG and G is fighting against Mexican authorities and military. Like, they're maintaining their stronghold. They seem to still be strong

with a lot of their smaller alliances across Mexico and, like, certain territories. that they've sort of absorbed in a way. But yeah, it's, it's, I don't think the entire goal of the Kingpin strategy was fulfilled with CG and G, which, like,

from a human perspective, is good because you do not want a fractured CG and G. That will literally be war across the entire country. Yeah, Ed Calderone thinks that it's possible down the line, Because the CJNG is so strong and so militarized and so well-funded and so disciplined, it could almost turn into like a guerrilla army the way that, you know, the FARC in Colombia for years was fighting against the government. Like with a political ideology.

It's possible. Yeah. So CERO3 is the new guy. Wow. That's fucking crazy. Which is like basically a resurgence of the millennial cartel. right because he's a valencia and so like at this point i mean cj and g was essentially always backed by like valencias and it you know it came from kind of the millennial cartel in a sense but now this is just millennial cartel 2.0 so for people who don't know the millennial cartel was the the predecessor to the halisco cartel it was who it was one of the first cartels in mexico and it started with the

Valencia family. They were from Mitruca and they were agriculture exporters. And then obviously because they already had the roots, they transitioned into cocaine with all the Colombian cartels and started making a shit ton of money that way. And in fact, a lot of those like original Valencia women were in, have been in charge for money wandering for CJ&G. Right. And Mencho worked security for the bosses in that cartel while I think he was just getting out of the Halisco state. police where he he was flipping all these cops and absorbing them into the cartel and that's and so this guy said o tres who famously if you follow the internet he was born in california he's from orange county but he's connected to the family the valencia's he's by blood yeah he's rosa linda's son

with el mchencho or sorry not with el mchencho el mchencho is the stepfather um but rosalinda valencia you know she's one of the o gs of wow what Malenio is of what the Valencia family. They're like the Kennedys of Mexico is the best way to put it. That's crazy. Now, do you think he's in Mexico, Sero-3, or do you think he's hiding abroad? I think he would have to be in Mexico, especially at least since February, for sure. Yeah.

But it's also worth to keep in mind that most of the high ups within CG and G, which differs from a lot of other cartels, they have their own loyal followings, right? So like if one, like if El Sapo, for example, wanted to like branch off and kind of start his own cartel, he has that loyal manpower to in a sense do it. But I think that they know and because there's been so much money flow in CG and G, they know that staying united is what keeps the money coming. And that organization helps them. definitely so turning back to sinaloa where you were um did you go out into the countryside at all yeah a little bit um it was like very obvious that you know doing that right now was like obviously not the best idea why what happened it's just like it's just cartel everywhere and it's just

lookouts everywhere like they clock you no matter where you go and especially because like you have to get out of the car and film and stuff and then you're immediately clocked and I like right before Sinolawa I had an assignment where it went it went wrong and

we got clocked by like the wrong people they tried to run me off the highway and they pointed a gun at us and I was like fuck my life like I don't want this to happen again but when you're kind of like going off the beaten path

I mean, even on the beaten path, it's not ideal, but off the beaten path, you are like so exposed. And it's very obvious, like, who controls a lot of the pueblos outside of Kulayakan, and there's a lot of violence. And there is just, like, really a lack of law enforcement. It's, it's, that's why when I tell you, like, oh, who controls the state? Like, it's the cartel because you're not driving by. like police and military. You're driving by lookouts

and Sicario's and did you see any convoys of what, of cartel? Sicario convoys, yeah, you know, like back of the truck or in big you know, trocas blindados, right? Yeah, armor vehicles.

Yeah, when you see like the guys that look that could be mistaken for military, but they're wearing like fucking Nike Air Max, you're like, yeah, okay. Oh my God. And they're in broad daylight. They're still caravaning. like they do not give a shit and like when i went to um el mencho's house or like the cabins in

in in halisko that's all i saw were those convoys and and then when they're fucking driving behind you on a windy one-way fucking mountainous highway you're like please just pass me like right to go around whatever you see the kids with the hats pulled low you're like stay the walk away from them, dude. And a long arm rifle. And you're, oh, my God. Because, like, also those guys are fucking trigger-happy, a lot of them. So I'm just like, please go around.

Like, everyone, cameras down. And, like, dude, like, I'm with some, you know, with a shooting team. Stop looking through the fucking the side mirrors. Like, you do not need to be looking at these people. We do not need to have them see us clock them. Just act like it's business as usual. because I don't want to make anyone paranoid, you know? Right.

But that's also why I drive everywhere because, oh, this bitch driving like the, obviously it's fine, right? Like if they were serious, like they'd make a man drive. So like, read, right? It looks so unsurious. For sure, for sure. At least they know about content. At least they know that this is a thing gringoes do is they come trying to get content

because the world's fascinated by it. So it's not like it is a little more. or you're not going to have a lot of mistakes, I don't think. Because, you know, I've hung around with some of these guys. And even though their soul has been kind of depleted from having to kill, a lot of them are really nice guys. And they just don't know any different. Well, yeah, I always tell people that.

I'm like, you know, they're obviously, there's like a level of like sociopaths and just like people who they just, you're so, you become so jaded that you can't feel or see humanity. But at the end of the day, it's still a person. Like, they still have, like, certain music that they like. And, like, that's why people are like, how do you talk to these people? And it's like, it's really no different than, like, talking to anyone else. I mean, how many sociopaths do you think that you encounter on a daily basis without even

knowing, you know? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Coming from show business. Trust me, there's more sociopaths in Hollywood. But, yeah, I don't think these kids are sociopaths. I think they're like child soldiers. in Africa.

It's almost the same shit, dude. When you come up like that, I mean, I think some of the bosses are sociopaths, for sure. But I think the kids just, they have a rifle in their hands by the time they're 12, 13, 14 years old. They kill somebody by the time they're 16. They're snort and Coke to try to forget it. And so by the time they're 22, 23,

it looks like a sociopath, but it's really just a person who's been brainwashed and broken. Business as usual. And they've been witnessing this violence their whole lives. So it's super normalized. Super. If I had kids and brought them up in Kulia Khan,

I don't think they would give a shit about death or murders. You know, obviously, like they're, I'm being dramatic with that. But it's the way you're processing it is very different than someone who is never, you know, you're not walking to school and seeing just murdered bodies on your route. Right. Now, how old are most of these people getting killed in the cities?

All ages. Okay. All ages. Young and old. Any women getting killed? I didn't see any when I was there. There are women getting killed, but it is few and far in between. There's, you know, some cicarias that get murdered.

And then, of course, like, there was that very famous. case of Valeria Marquez, the TikToker who was murdered on live stream last year. Yeah. And they just, Mexico just announced that like who they think the suspect is. Right. But that's with Halisco. It seems like Halisco is more ruthless when it comes to murdering like kids and women because they recruit, they have more diversity.

It seems like in, in Sinaloa, it's old school. Like, I'm sure there are some cicadias, but it's mostly men. You know what I mean? And it's also. Also because if you keep in mind and you consider who the cartel bosses were of Sinola, like, it was very much an old school style. And even right now, like there's a lot of rhetoric about how like El Mio was like the last old school kingpin because of the way he was very under the radar and the way he operated business. So that could be a part of it. But it is predominantly men.

Okay. So are they making any money? They got to be hurting for cash. because, you know, people are constantly getting killed. They have to bring up new manpower. It's incredibly expensive to run a cartel even in peacetime. So in wartime, it's like, you know, I mean, the overhead's got to be millions of dollars a month. Tell us, did you see any fentanyl labs?

Did you see any meth labs? Like, what are they focusing their efforts on the business side? Have they diversified at all? I think right now, in terms of, of business, it's booming for cocaine. I mean, US and Canada are completely losing the war on cocaine because so much effort has been diverted into stopping fentanyl, which means cocaine is coming in at like, really like unprecedented rates. And I was actually just told by a source the other day that Canada is stopping massive shipments of cocaine and not putting out press releases and

like not telling the public, which is really interesting because typically that's like a, oh, big win type of thing, right? But I think because of how much cocaine is coming in and how profitable cocaine has always been and still is, that they don't want to make it seem like there's a loss, like in both Canada and the U.S. Right now, though, in terms of like Sinaloa cartel, a lot of resources are going into this war. And I think, like, obviously, that alliance between Chapitos and CG and G, like, it speaks for itself. I'm also under the impression that, you know, the cartel as a whole, the Cynol cartel is,

in terms of Sicario's, they're really hiring, like, anyone at this point. And when I say, like, hiring, I don't mean, like, you know, they're not, like, putting in a fucking resume and shit. It's just, like, anyone's being recruited to take. out hits for like around $200 USD. So yeah, it's like $5,000 pesos. So obviously when you have anyone working for you or like taking out these hits, that becomes very dangerous because this is someone who's like not experienced.

Also like a lot of the Sicario's I'm told that a lot of the Sicarioes are even like not doing it for money. They're doing it for a fix. So, like, they're just being supplied with drugs or, like, they're, like, paying off their debt. They're taking out hits. I believe it. I totally believe it. So it seems like, you know, the CJNG is expanding all over the place still. They're still trying to fight and gain territory in Mishua Khan. They're as far east as Veracruz, right?

They're in Mexico City, try to take, you know, Teppito, that neighborhood. Which you and I should go film in, by the way. I got some contacts, holl out you after the podcast. But it seems like Sina Loa, like, are they trying to take more territory? Or are they just all just fighting for their state? They're fighting for their state. And like the territories within the state are kind of like constantly changing. Like one day I'm told so-and-so controls this area.

And then like two days later, nope, it's switched. And like that's just status quo across the entire state. Yeah. Okay. Now, the guy, the Yvonne Archivaldo and his brother, the ones who are still, what's his name? Jesus Alfredo. Right. Do you hear anything from your contacts about, you know, their involvement?

Like, you know, they're super low right now. Like, I'm assuming they're hiding out in the mountains and not keeping, not popping their heads out. what is their yeah what's up with them like are they going to surrender that's what I think you think they're going to surrender they must right like I think they're probably already

like that those talks are probably already happening 100 and they will go together if Ivan goes Jesus will go so and they're you're talking about with the DEA it's turning themselves into the Americans to the Americans yeah I have a feeling that they will surrender

to the Americans it'll probably it could be like a Ryan wedding situation again. But who knows? I mean, it all comes down to like what the U.S. feels like their value for, like whatever information. And if they can, you know, supply that and then give themselves up.

I just, it's beyond me how they have been able to evade capture. Like, El Manchel got capital. and killed before them, below my fucking mind. Well, that's why I think it's because Bencho was out in the open

and he got caught up in the politics of trying to clean Mexico up before the World Cup. And I feel like Mexico needed a good PR. They needed a good headline. I think that was part of it. And then he was betrayed. Have you seen a photo of a Mensho dead?

No, I haven't. Exactly. Is he not dead? Is he alive? No, I don't know. You know, I always bring that. up because there's like a part you know it's so crazy because when you this is going to sound weird but when you report on someone for so long and you are trying to learn about every inner working of their life and their business in a way it's like this weird parissocial relationship okay and i'm

not that bitch like i don't get a fuck about taylor swath i don't even like i'm not that's not me right But and I always was like, I would kill to get, not literally, but I would love to get an interview with Mencho or like as close as possible. And so when the news broke that he was killed in a capture operation, I was like, what the fuck? Because there's no point in killing Mencho. Like the whole point would be to get him. and like he had probably more information than fucking anybody especially when it came to the Mexican government he was the Epstein he was the Mexican Epstein he had dirt on all these

motherfuckers yes actually um so then that makes sense why they would kill him in my opinion no I was going to say like who carried out the operation the Mexicans but and like obviously then it you know this is like this becomes very nuanced in a way of like how bilateral operations work between U.S. and Mexico in terms of like kingpin stuff and the war on drugs. This is like so murky.

But the fact that he was killed is like, and like I was like, what the hell? Really? And so, but anyways, the fact that he was killed and captured, and I don't think it had anything to do with him being out in the open or the World Cup or anything like that. I think whatever.

it was is like so beyond any individual's comprehension who reads about this a lot um there's a lot of things that i could get into but it's just really the only people that know um what really happened there is probably elmelo and the national guard yeah maybe not even i mean i think it's safe to say that he was killed because he knew too much. And in my opinion, if we're just going to take it at somewhat face value, the Americans were putting a ton of pressure on the Mexican government. And I think the generals who control the country, the generals are the ones who really benefit the most from the relationship with the cartel. I think they had to shut them up. If we can just accept that for a minute.

No, I agree. Mexico needed a win because there's been so much pressure from the U.S. And I honestly think because the U.S. has been giving Mexico a list, right, of people that they want gone for like the since January of last year. Mexico wasn't fulfilling this list every every month. And so they just needed like a one and done. Give us grace type of thing. Right. So seeing that and then you're like, then you look at the two sons, Chapo's sons, the only ones left running the cartel.

You're like, what could what value? everybody's gone. All the Chapos literally, all the Guzman Loetas are all everybody ratted and chopos at ADX. So like what could they offer the DEA what could they offer the DEA that would get them out of like a life sentence?

And also tell us what's going on with Ovidio Guzman and Chapo, does he have any action on maybe turning over some information that he has on the government to try to get out. Just go into all that. I think Chappo was like,

they used him as an example, right? And that allows the U.S. to say, like, we don't negotiate with terrorists while they're still in talks with all of his kids and, like, other family members. I see. Because it's like, is different, right? Because Chappo was, like, globally notorious in a way.

I think that whatever Ivan and Jesus have to offer, it's certainly political. And that's clearly the direction that we're seeing the U.S. go in, right? They are kind of like, the kingpins are kind of like ran through at this point. What they want is to be able to like tackle Morena and have control of Mexico's interpolitical workings from within.

And the best way to do that is to get this leverage from the very guys who Mexican politicians should not be in collusion with. And so if they have this like hard evidence, which obviously like with Rocha Moya, they did where it's like, yeah, he was being handed begs of cash. You know, they have something like that all the way high up into the Morena administration. That's their in. Then who's to say that, you know, the U.S. doesn't have their say in who runs for president and shit like that. Right. And then every time I feel like it's that same threat of, do you want boots on the ground?

Oh, oh, okay. do this then you know because that's like a big thing for Mexico is to maintain to maintain their autonomy as a state to not allow the US to put boots on the ground in Mexico and I do like for the record want to say I don't want to see American boots on the ground in Mexico I think all hell would break loose it would be fucking horrible but I also don't think it would have if it were to happen or if it isn't already it wouldn't happen in the sense of like like an Afghanistan you know it wouldn't be like this blatant thing. It would be like what we saw happen in Juarez a few months ago.

Oh, two CIA agents dressed in Mexican police uniforms died in the car accident. It's that type of boots on the ground. So, yeah. So it's political. So maybe the Chapo kids who are still running the Chapitos, maybe if they can get, if they can arrest Rocha Moja and his party of politicos, politicians and they extradite them,

maybe they turn themselves in and say, hey, we'll testify against them in U.S. court or something like that. Totally. Yeah. I gotcha. Okay. That's obviously been the M.O. for like all the Chapitos lately. They were like, fuck the old school. What do you want to know?

Bro, our dad was telling, you know, all his kids were telling, I'm telling. I'm jumping up board, dude. Just put me up in a nice house in Ohio afterwards. Right. New passports. Right. Right. Exactly.

Okay. So do you think, check this out for this theory, if his two kids turn themselves in, who's going to run the cartel? Don't you think the C.J.NG will use that opportunity to move in and literally take Sinaloa? Right. Yeah. That's the whole point. Like this, the alliance, they both had like different incentives for the Chapitos. it was like, fuck, okay, we need the manpower.

For CG and G, it was like, all right, we're going to fucking absorb this shit. They've got to know that. They're too smart. That's the whole point. And CG and G have always been masters of absorption. They make these alliances or they put men in. They're super friendly and they're helpful.

Okay, I'm using like very casual language to split, but like. Corporate language. They're super friendly and helpful. That's like not the case. I mean, in terms of like cartel, right? Right. Right. No, no, but they are more, they're as shrewd as they are violent. You're right about that. Yeah. And so, and they're really good with business in a way.

So good. So they know that, okay, if we go in and we offer a helping hand, if these guys fail or if it comes down to the wire, this is, this becomes our territory. Right. And I wouldn't be surprised if that were to happen, like looking ahead, right? hypothetically, if CG and G were to absorb Chapitos territory, they would just make an alliance with MF and be like, all right, let's run it together like back in the day. And it would be a fresh start.

That's honestly the ideal situation is, you know. And it would be very ideal for people in Sinaloa because like the war needs to fucking end. Like sucks. Yeah, I mean, day to day, you know, You know, you can't imagine the kind of stress that causes on normal people. And their economy. Their economy is shit.

And Sinaloa had such a booming economy because of their culture, their music, Massadlan, the food, everything, right? Like, Sinaloa's culture was a standout in Mexico. Still is, right? Like, there's so many unique things. Their economy is, like, non-existent. It's because businesses are shutting down because nobody wants to. go out, that kind of thing? Is there still

like a curfew in the city? Not right now. Right. But just it's, people just don't go out after a certain time probably because it's like... Everything closes at dark. You know, bars. Yeah. Like in my, I posted a YouTube video, spent 48 hours of me

in Kulia Khan, where we're going from like murder to murder to murder. And then we just go back to the hotel bar with like, it's, people commented they're like are you the only one in there and there was like three people and we're doing karaoke and that's but that's like the extent of it right yeah yeah it feels like a ghost town and like mazalan is still very vibrant but obviously it's like a tourist hot spot but there's also

still like a shit ton of violence happening in masadlan because that was myos turf right no or it was back in the day but what what are they what's what is Mazatlan offer a cartel? Do you know what I'm saying? Like, why is that strategic? Okay. They have access to the Pacific. So anywhere like Puerto Bayarta, Masadlan, in Baja California, these are, you have access to the ocean, you have access to the world. True. Now, what about places like TJ? I don't know if you know anybody or have contacts in Tijuana. That's my next video because I literally went to T.J. right after. Oh shit. Okay. Talk about TJ. I love TJ. One of my favorite cities because I'm a

Californian. So I love anything. You know, it makes me miss home. What is happening in Tijuana? Because that's been notoriously difficult. That's always been contested. It's like you can't control that city. What is what is going on there now? It's fascinating. It's so funny when you're like, I love T.J. Because anytime I hear a man say that, I'm like, you're nasty. I'd never even been to Hong Kong. I've never I drove by it and I Ed was like do you want to go in and have some lunch and I looked at I was like not on your fucking life not even at my scummiest when I go in there because you've never been to even I've been to Hong Kong I've never been to Hong Kong I know it kind of like I'm kind of lame for that right but no I don't like going in because it just feels like I feel like a typical I feel like okay I'm better than these profile exactly and I'm better than these motherfuckers so I oh I have been to buddies still noce though and ensanada and i can't sing that that place is praises enough it's like a turned down version of hong kong very nice and you don't feel like you're going to get kidnapped and i'll leave you know what i'm saying yeah um so i went to tj because i was doing a human trafficking story

like a sex trafficking story right obviously like all roads lead to tj with that stuff especially when you're covering it in mexico um and so um um um um um um and so um um um um um um um um I mean, TJ is like, same shit, right? But while I was there, there were like two murders, I think. I don't remember the exact details of it, but it was something kind of sick. One of them was pretty significant. I ended up going to Tecate because one of the human traffickers I wanted to meet with was like, let's do the interview here.

So we go to Tecate and like I got there very early in the morning. and I was with a local journalist and he covers the Notta Roja like the Breaking News. So I ended up accompanying it was like basically fucking Kuliakan 2.0 because we ended up just going to like

all the murders all day long the difference is the murders in Tecate a lot of them were distractions so there's like this older man it was actually very sad okay and I know like

murders are sad, but when I'm in Kulayakan and I go to the murders, it's, this is going to sound bad, but you have to understand with the context of my job, you get to a point where you're not fucking internalizing everything, right? You're going to these murders in Kulayakan and then you're getting the context of like, well, this person was involved in this and blah, blah, and it's, it just becomes work. In T.J., some of the people being murdered are just like innocent and they are distractions. Disraction from what? What do you mean? Distractions from, so this guy older man was shot up, dude, 15 fucking rounds in this like old guy walking home, like pulling like this, this thing with all his shit on it. And they unload 15 rounds into him.

He's dead. So all the police go there. Later that evening, we find out at the same time, huge fucking drug shipment was being moved. Right. So that's what they're doing. Or like they're crossing a ton of people or they're crossing a ton of drugs. Yeah. will they kill someone so that all the authorities and all eyes are on that while something

is happening, right? What do you call that like a false flag? No, I don't know. I think a false flag is more like 9-11, right? You create a mass event in order to-screen, right? It's a smokescreen, right? I'm so bad with idioms. It's like a throw-off method.

They used to do that in the hood in America back of the day. You get a guy to like, boom, boom, boom, boom, and all the cops swoop down. At least the cops come. unlike in Kulia Khan, at least the cops and TJ. And I think that's because it is a border city and there's more gringoes. I don't know why. But this wasn't Tecate, but because we were right on like those major crossing hotspots, right? Right, right.

Because most people aren't crossing like illegally like from T.J. Right. So that was that was problematic. Okay. So I want to talk of, okay, I want to talk about the human trafficking. but first let me ask you about some a little lighter. No, this isn't even lighter. This is just as heavy.

I've heard that they're kidnapping people. And I want to ask you if this is true because nobody is embedded like you. Are they kidnapping, meaning the organizations, force recruiting people to either be cicarios or be mullahs, drug mules? Yes. but they typically have some leverage. So it's not just like someone's walking down the street and they pick them up.

It's like someone who they know has a debt or is like a potential victim of extortion or someone who has responded to this fake job offer. So they're kind of like they're being lured in a way. You know, you're not just getting picked up on, you pulled into a white van walking down the street, buying cigarrows. Like it's a, there's a process to it. But yes, that is happening. There is forced recruitment. And when I really became sure of that was when we found out about the ranchoiseguire.

What was that? Like two or three years ago now, the ranch 58 kilometers outside of Guadamasata, the extra ranch. Right. A lot of those people were victims of that. And a lot of these people are being sent to like Puerto Bayarta for training. And when I say training, a lot of them are just like. It's like, okay, fight to the death. And who survives makes it to the next level.

It's like very gruesome. Yes. Yeah. So is that kind of shit happening in Bahia, California, too? Or that's more, that's more, that's more like they need runners. They need people driving over the border, you know, with drugs. But I wouldn't be surprised.

Like this is, you know, I'm not like an expert on like TG recruitment. But I wouldn't be surprised, obviously, if people in Baja obviously are being recruited and lured. But it's more common throughout, like, Central Mexico. Right. Yeah, because you've got to figure, like, I know they have a lot of kids in Kulia Khan and in Sinaloa. Like, they're old school Mexican. Like, everybody has, like, four kids by the time they're 22. But, like...

I know. Wouldn't it be nice? I don't know. Life's pretty good with no kids. but it's at a certain point they're going to kill everybody off and i know that sounds real cold but like you know i think that's why they have to draw from like mercenaries from columbia they have to fool people that's why a lot of women are joining um yeah they have to force a lot of people because a lot of people are also more scared now i noticed that when i was there there's enhanced fear before it was like very normal and people were like well yeah the cartels exist and yeah this

it's happening like kind of blazé um but now people seem to be more afraid which is really sad like that was that really stood out to me because and i know it doesn't sound like the most jarring thing but when you see it when you're living it and you see a society that's just like sad like scared it's it's it's not a nice thing to witness it's very jarring yeah to see such a large amount of people just living in fear it was like ukraine because i went to ukraine January and it was like everyone's so scared. I mean, in Ukraine there's also this level of like frustration and like let's just fuck up the Russians. Right. Because it's more of like a textbook war. But in in Sinaloa, it's like people are just like, they're drained. It's not nice to see

at all. And like people are living horrific things and they're just like numb. That's how you get PTSD. For sure. For sure. And people are afraid to like, associate with certain people because they might be from the contras and terrified like when i went to um the malverde chapel it was i because i hadn't been in two years and i love kuliacan which sucks like it's i really like it's such a cute little city well it's kind of a shithole but like it's just nice like you know what the people there like some of the best people i know are in kuiakan like just so such great people and it just fucking sucks to see their lives are destroy, well, not destroyed, but they're living in shit.

Yeah. When I went to Malverde Chapel, I noticed they stopped selling any of like the narco memorabilia because like when I went two years ago, you know, everybody knew you could buy not only Malverde and sent them what this stuff, but you could buy like Chapo stuff and all of like the cartel stuff. That's, they don't sell that anymore. They're like, they're too scared. Like we don't want to, we don't want to take sides with anybody.

A lot of bodies and heads were left outside of the chapel. And then I asked the guy who was selling the stuff. I'm like, why don't you get sold anymore? And he's like, because of the conflict. We just don't. We don't do that. Yeah. Yeah, it's not cool anymore.

See, that's the difference. It's not cool anymore. Yeah. Because back in the day, even 10 years ago, it was a kind of, it was a thing that even Mexicans glamorized with Corridos and all that. And now, but now that everybody is really living it, they're like, this is terrible. This sucks. This is no way to live.

Um, okay, so talk about, uh, I guess we'll just end it with, uh, on a high note, talk about the sex trafficking that you, you witnessed or were embedded around. That's the lowest fucking note. This is probably, I know. I say this every time, but it just seems to get worse and worse. This is the worst thing that I covered. I've been having nightmares about it. Oh, damn. Sorry. This would be therapy. I went on Julian's podcast, talked about it, but it was like so fresh that I was like, you know, just like getting into it.

and then it like hit me like a fucking train afterwards. Yeah, a lot of women are being lured from central Mexico, you know, the lover boy method. And then under fake pretenses, they're taken to TJ Houston, New York, San Diego, where they are literally sex slaves. Like there's no other way that I can put it. And their lives are being destroyed. and a lot of them are virgins too dude it's fucking horrible

I interviewed one woman who was a victim of this exact textbook method and she said she had to give service to up to 30 men every night for 10 years and that was in Mexico or that was on the U.S. side

No that was in Mexico so she was working in TJ and she was from central Mexico where a lot of these women are from because they're very innocent. They're growing up in small towns, very religious, you know, they meet this guy, first boyfriend, he woos her, he brings her flowers, da-da-da, unbeknownst to them, he is a sex trafficker. And that's not your boyfriend, and he doesn't love you. He loves the money that he can get out of you and your vulnerability. Right. Okay. So totally brutal. It's like the worst thing you can think about in life. It's literally the worst crime, right?

And, okay, but I don't, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think the cartels are directly involved in that, right? So most of these cases that I was covering and the people that I were talking to, it's family networks. So they are not like the cartel. Obviously, there's like a profit that's going to them in order to operate and blah, blah, blah. But the people running these operations, they are generations of families who have always done huge.

human trafficking. Think about that evil. And it's just a business to them. It's just a business to them. Like, yeah, I know my grandfather started this prostitution slash human trafficking business in the 60s. Especially in this region that I was in,

like the boys are growing up being like, yeah, when I grew up, I'm going to be a sex trafficker. Like my dad. I'm going to be a padrote. Padrote, Padrote. What do you want to be when you grow up Padrote? To the point where when I interviewed this woman, I was like,

She has a son with her trafficker. I said, he's like eight. And I was like, are you worried that he's going to follow the same path? And she was like, I'm going to have to cross that bridge when we get there. I'm like, geez. So it's almost like pimping, you know, like traditional pimping in America, but it's to a whole other level of kind of brutality. And organization.

And trafficking is the same thing. And I had a pimp try to tell me, like, I got indicted on human trafficking charges. but like I was pimping and it's like the fuck it's the same thing we could go down that rabbit hole because I've talked to a lot of like old school black American pimps where that

is not the case. You can agree to disagree but to me is one and the same. I mean it's completely vile morally no matter how you look at it and everybody is a victim of this this evil

but I do think in Mexico it's just there's levels to drug dealing and there's levels to drug trafficking for the cartel. I think there's levels to pimping and then there's levels to this kidnapping, racketeering, child abuse,

you know what I mean? Like, for sure. That's all I'm saying. There's levels to the shit. That's all I'm saying. But I feel like also after I was doing this story it changes the way you look at any of this and any of the sex work. Well, to answer your- To answer your question, that's why I don't go to a place like Hong Kong because I've heard about

this stuff and I'm like, even if I was a degenerate, it's like, just know that these are broken women and victims. Yeah, and just know that like you American men watching, if you go to TJ for a weekend to fuck, like that girl likely does not want to be there or was not expecting to ever see her life. turn out like that. Right. And okay. So TJ is obviously and the in Baja, California, the north, that's the hot spot for for where these trafficked women go. Right. Right. Right. Like where, like Houston, right. These guys that these guys that are linked to central Mexico are directly moving women to Houston. Okay. And so and then where when they're in

Houston? So they're smuggled across the border illegally, right? like with a poillero or something. Yeah. And they're working as prostitutes in Houston. Like, okay. And so where like in these little like, are they like little mostly Mexican like like, what do you call them? I don't know. And if I'm being completely honest, call me a bad journalist.

I didn't dive that deep because I just was worried about my safety. Okay. Okay. Fair enough. I'm assuming that it's a lot of like little cantinas where Mexican people go. Like that's what I'm going to know. assume because I've heard before that like in places like LA it's there they're strip clubs but they're not legal that legal strip clubs that's what I'm told is happening also in Houston okay

like the strip club but it's actually like a brothel basically right and it's usually under the radar and it's usually like not for sure for sure so so when people get traffic to TJ I'm assuming a place like Hong Kong because it's so on the map I'm assuming that that kind of of thing doesn't go on like a traffic woman is not going to get a job at hong kong is that correct of like the girls that i'm talking about are like the girls who are standing outside like in the lingerie you know like yeah they call them las paratitas like the one standing right um of course in some of the strip clubs some of the girls are like kind of lured into that but then there's just a lot of girls too who just go and and like we'll dance for the weekend to make money and they're from part but it's not

like they're not being like forced to like fuck guys and have to like give all their money up to a Pimp. Right. And so these baraditos, uh, they're the trafficked ones. That market is like lower figure, right? Like that's like cheaper. Bro, like 300 pesos for full service. Like 15 minutes, whatever you want.

Let's go. 300 pesos in USD is like what? Like $15 maybe? That's the conversion. No, it probably is. a sandwich. I think I paid $20 for a sandwich. It's crazy, dude. Oh, my God. Okay, so in terms of TJ, like,

what is the presence of the cartels and their trafficking activities? Like, does that even happen in TJ anymore? Or is it just drug traffickers getting it on? What I can tell in TJ, it's like, there's like a lot of independence. So it's not, like, you can't be like, oh, this cartel. controls, TJ. There's a lot of different and independent things and illegal activity going on. Yeah.

Yeah, that makes sense. And there's a lot of drug money in TJ. Of course. Yeah. Tons of people are buying. So, oh, fucking A, man. After talking to you, it's like, I got to go out in the sun after this and just take a rock.

Imagine living with my mind day in, day out. It's like it will drive you fucking up the wall. But do you think this is kind of an addiction that you have to chasing the story? It never starts out like that, but it does get to that point where that you, yeah, there's a level of nothing makes you feel like this. Wow. So you're like, that was so fucked up. I got to go back. I'm fucking traumatized.

Let's do it again. Right. Right. Wow. that is a pretty hopeless cycle unless you can figure out a way to that's why i do yoga yeah yeah you got to you got to man doesn't do shit yeah i mean you're flexible though that's good it's probably good for your back um it's good if i need to run away yeah no shit but i see you you're out there in these videos at a crime scene in kulia khan in flip-flops i know dude i've always gotten

shit for what I wear. I think it's also because I'm a girl so people notice what you wear as a woman. But I'm always just like comfort is key. So I wear the same fucking pair of jeans and flip-ups everywhere I go. But it's just a matter of like this is yeah. Yeah, maybe put on

some runners. I do. I switch it up. But sometimes I like to let dogs breathe. You know, I have very aggressive athletes, but so that needs to be out with the oxygen. Yeah, yeah, fair enough. Holy shit. Well, I want to go to Kulia Khan now.

Okay. Yeah, we'll do. Well, I'm really proud of you. I've watched your journey and it's like I just think the content just keeps getting better and better. The journalism. So I'm excited to see this new piece that comes out. Excited is a weird word.

But I am too because I'm hoping that in some way, because this is also quite underreported, especially how deep I got into it, that it can provoke some level of change or there is like some organization or something that can maybe, you know, step in and somehow kind of like stop or prevent, like prevent a level of of this, you know, that there's more awareness amongst the women who can fall victim to this. That's always the goal. And I think that with something like this, that that could, you know, be a body. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's just like, what the fuck. For sure. And I think it's really hard to convince people to not do drugs. Like it's hard for them when somebody...

It's impossible. When somebody buys a bag of Coke in L.A. in Hollywood, they're not thinking of like the people that got murdered in Colombia, you know, trying to stir it up and make it. The people that got bombed by the Trump administration as they were trying to move it across the sea, the people got their force recruited in Kulia Khan all the way up. You know, but like the sex trafficking,

that's like something you could tell like, hey, guys, I know it's like a funny joke and ha ha, T.J. and I was young once. You know what I mean? Really know about it? It's not so fucking funny. No. No.

So that's what I think is good too, is like you're promoting awareness and I commend you for that. And that's... Yeah, because once you get that eight ball, you snort it, you know, what's been done is already done. But when you are paying this woman to, like,

use her body, that's a whole different ballgame. 100%. 100%. Do you think... Do you think Mexico? I think Mexico's ascendant, certainly culturally, but do you think that the worst of it is behind the country? And if you think this guy Harfuge, who famously is now like going after cartels, like, do you think it's getting better in terms of less corruption, less narco money, more law and order?

I think it's more out in the open, but I don't think it's gotten better. Okay. It's just more visible. That's it. And it's more contained to certain areas, right? Because you do have so many gringoes and international people. Like when you go to Los Cabos, you know, like my parents go there, right? And they don't see anything.

They just, they love the golf courses and the ocean. It's much more. It's like in America, right? The cities are mostly cleaned up. All the ghettos are now out in like these hidden, unseen little. towns. I think Mexico is kind of, I think it's kind of like that in Mexico personally. Yeah, could be. So where are you, you're putting your full length videos on the ironclad or where can people find you? I have a lot going on. So I just started my own YouTube channel so you can see like a ton of behind

the scenes stuff. Oh great. People seem to be really enjoying it because it's like there's really like bare editing and it's like really just like real life of what I do and I felt like I had to show people that because also like I get so much shit for no reason so my YouTube channel catarina shaltz and then I still have the podcast with ironclad borderland dispatches and then I do a lot of like deep dives and hot takes and breaking news and exclusive stuff on my substack also catarralds so yeah that's great so for my audience head over our want them to hit your new YouTube channel. So go go subscribe to our on YouTube and check out all that content that I'm too scared

and lazy to make. That's where you come in. You're the best at it. Thank you. I really, really appreciate it. And then obviously she's all on socials. You're killing it.

And yeah, we'll have you back soon. And maybe we'll do like a collab on something down in Mexico. That'd be sick. Yeah. Me and this fucking DEA looking ass. Not for. Okay.

Yeah. Well, they know me. They know them. They've seen the channels. They know them all. They know I'm on their side. Okay. Thanks for having me.

All right, Catarina. Appreciate you. Katerina, appreciate you. Katerina Schultz. And we'll see you next time. Peace out.