Toft played a key role in Colombia's successful hunt last year for Pablo Escobar, the Medellin cartel chief killed in a rooftop The DEA agents in Florida looked further into the source of that information and followed the trail to several other DEA informants. But Escobar found his true calling in contraband. If they are true, there will be no brushing them aside at pre-scripted press conferences; everyone who becomes aware of these allegations will be forced to consider where we go from here in that so-called war. Informants working for the Florida agents sent samples of the cocaine-laced acrylic to the DEA, but the agencys chemists couldnt figure out how to extract the cocaine. Feistl's history in Colombia provides some hints as to what the show would tackle if it stayed in Colombia, namely by turning its eye to the No. (Kent wrote his memo in late 2004 only after he became aware of the alleged corruption and then had exhausted other internal channels within DOJ for addressing the problems.). By shortening the timeline, Newman was able to focus more on the characters, including his villain. Murphy explained that Pea had just been called away on other DEA business: Sure enough, hes on his way to the airport when they killed Escobar. So thats how I know he didnt commit suicide. The traffickers eventually gave the Florida agents copies of confidential DEA reports, which the Bogot agents allegedly had handed over to the traffickers. He was gunned down by a North Valley member. Part of the reason it was so hard to catch Escobar was that he was willing to kill anyone who came after him. Once it was determined that the agents in Bogot were lying, the informants were released. He described this season as being "50 to 60 percent accurate,"but for serialized drama's sake, the timing had to be condensed. Did he really move to Guadalajara, Mexico and work for the DEA? Worst of all, he continued to run his operation. US reexamines murder of federal agent featured in And although the charges raised by Kent in his 2004 memorandum have now passed before many eyes, they have still not been addressed in the light of day. As a result, the Florida agents decided to have the informants come to the United States with a sample of the acrylic, so they could walk DEAs chemists through the extraction process. "In real life, David was well-educated and smart, but he was put in a tough position and he tried to takeover and run as best he could," he says. Narco News is supported by: As he lay dying, a cartel doctor was ordered to keep him alert by administering drugs.. "Salcedo got into something that wasnt quite what he thought and that was more than he bargained for when he was recruited to help in Cali in killing Escobar," says Feistl. The trio Salcedo, Feistl and Rempel also appeared on a 2012 This American Life podcast on NPR, which caught the attention of Narcos showrunner Eric Newman. Ernesto Don Neto Fonseca and Rafael Caro Quintero were other cartel leaders involved. We put a lot of pressure on and it was that relentless pressure that we later learned is what really got him killed.". They kept us alive when we were out doing operations. He agreed and thats how that first meeting transpired. WebA location manager was shot and killed when scouting locations in the north of Mexico city for this last season 4. It was just revenge because of all the cops he had killed, along with all those innocent people. ", The family did ultimately leave Colombia for Argentina. Informants tipped off the Florida agents that that this drug ring had developed an ingenious method for smuggling cocaine into the United States, a method that seems to have been lifted right out of the script of the drug-war movie Traffic. It is the series premiere. He also claimed that one of the targets of the FARC-related investigation was not involved in narco-trafficking even though the Bogot office had previously identified that individual as a narco-trafficker. On the show, Feistl's inner torture of catching Miguel but also keeping Salcedo's"rat" identity a secret is something that is well-captured. The narco-traffickers, crooked cops, and thieving politicians in the drug war are always over there, in Latin America, and elsewhere, and U.S. law enforcers and government officials are always the good guys battling these forces of evil. ", So when Salcedo's friend was arrested in Operation Cornerstone (mentioned on the show), Feistl says they had a mutual friend to link them up. Sources told Narco News that these corruption allegations involve cases launched in 1999 or 2000, but which resulted in investigations that carried on for months or years. ", Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day, Inside the business of TV with breaking news, expert analysis and showrunner interviews. The writers just really astound me. In addition to phone calls, where he says he mainly fielded questions to help solidify the timeline and accuracy of events,Stahl-David visited him at his home for several days. "He wanted to ensure he could do the best job possible based on the information that he had," says the agent about the inquisitive actor, who got a crash-course from Feistl during the home visit before shooting. "When I went to Colombia, it was great to interact with Michael and Matt [Whelan] in Cali," he says. The Bogot agent was called on his claim and could not provide any evidence. The agent then switched tactics, arguing that the DEA could not work with the informant because the FARC might end up with the communications equipment. A look at the nature of the alleged corruption may give us some clues. "That really opened our eyes to the corruption that we were dealing with there.". In real life, Camarenas wife was indeed named Mika, and she is the mother of his three children. Warning: Because the real story so closely tracks the fictional one, this article will contain spoilers for Narcos: Mexico. "This was the kind of story that was always in the shadows., In telling Cali's story, Feistl praised the Narcosteam and Netflix for how they portrayed the godfathers. The Times noted that the bodies appeared to have been tortured and were found near a ranch in Michoacan state. Pena had a long I think he retired from the Colombian National Police and did some work with the Cali Cartel until they were taken down, and I think he eventually went to prison. In the beginning of season two, Connie Murphy (played by Joanna Christie) left Steve Murphy behind in Colombia. Murphy says they didn't focus on her, but that her portrayal on the show was aligned with what they could piece together. He came back in 1999, where he overlapped with Pena, and until 2002 they were working against the North Valley cartel. For how much longer will nations in Latin America and around the world accept U.S. drug warriors imposing presence in their lands, when those same agents and bureaucrats get neck-deep in the very drug trade they are supposedly trying to wipe out, with complete impunity and protection from their superiors back home? Javier Pea at the Colombian National Police Headquarters following a seizure of some of Pablo Escobars money, gold, and a .45 caliber gold-plated pistol. DEA ), Connie's departure, however, worked well for the drama. ", The day Miguel was captured was a short-lived celebration. Pena left in October 1994. In March 1985, the DEA recovered the body of Kiki Camarena, 37, who left behind Mika and three children named Enrique, Daniel, and Erik. Javier Pea: The DEA Agent Who Hunted Down Pablo Escobar. Kuykendall is quoted in the book Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs, and the Press by Alexander Cockburn. Feistl adds, "All of those things contributed to them then contacting me to give them a little bit of background on Cali.". Though many viewers went into the first two seasons knowing details about Pablo Escobar, Cali was a lesser-known story. "After Escobar is killed, maybe two or three years later, we find out the real truth that one of our officers at the Search Bloc was hand-in-hand with Los Pepes. On Dec. 19, 2004, Thomas M. Kent, an attorney in the wiretap unit of the Justice Departments Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs Section (NDDS), sent off a memo to his section chief. He fell into crime at an early age in the Colombian city of Medelln where he forged diplomas and report cards for high school students as a teenager. Wikimedia Commons1977 mugshot of Pablo Escobar. We also speak in favor of the Red Ribbon campaign and drug awareness. Indirectly, they (the CIA) have got to take some of the blame. He alleged the CIA protected the DFS for decades, and stated, The DFS just got out of hand., Kiki Camarena Death: The Real Story of the DEA Agents Murder, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. "I gave them a tour of the city, showed them where actual houses and events took place, where the bloque of the Colombian national police actually was and where we did surveillances from. "She was benefiting from all the illegal things her husband was doing," he says about Tata, who was 15 when she married 24-year-old Pablo. The acrylic was then shipped to the United States and Europe where, during processing, the cocaine was extracted from the acrylic.. In the 1970s and 1980s, Pablo Escobar held the country of Colombia in an iron grip as he and his Medelln Cartel terrorized the nation with a wave of killings and constant bombings in support of their drug trade. The kidnappings were a common things. "There was a lot of corruption," says Murphy. There were ten to fifteen car bombs on a daily basis, Pea later said. All Rights Reserved. During that 18 month period, there were 143 Colombian National Police Officers killed as a direct result of the manhunt for Escobar. In the first episodes of Narcos: Mexico, Kiki Camarena (played by Michael Pena) and Felix Gallardo (played by Diego Luna) are juxtaposed as twin protagonists: One trying to solidify the drug trade and the other trying to stop it in an era when the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was still an underappreciated agency headquartered over a strip club. So he and his partner used Salcedo's intel to approach Pallomari's wife, Patricia, at her workplace and explain that Cali had a hit out on her husband. Pablo Escobar died in a rooftop shootout in Medellin on Dec. 2, 1993. Whats the true story? The book alleges that DEA officers investigating Camarenas death knew that the drug agents murder was a joint operation between the drug cartel and the DFS, an agency with intimate ties to the CIA., Kuykendall said, The CIA didnt give a damn about anything but Cuba and the Soiets. Escobar's son, Juan Pablo, details the days after his father's death in his book, Pablo Escobar: My Father. ET. "She knew, just like his mother, what he was doing. WebJavier Pea is a former DEA agent whose story formed part of the framework for the Netflix series Narcos. When he surrendered it was just deflatingbecause of all the cops he had killed. 33 Ancient History Facts You Definitely Didn't Learn In School, Nurse Reunites With Doctor She Cared For As A Premature Baby In That Same Hospital 28 Years Ago, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Actor Pedro Pascal (left), who portrays Javier Pea (right) in the Netflix hit. For Murphy, he says it's important to draw a strong line between the humanization of the character on the series and any takeaways that the real Escobar had good intentions. Thats the only thing that kept us alive.". So when you walked back in, it looked just like a dresser. [Laughs. "Basically, our work here was done and it was time to go.". But through it all, Escobar always seemed to stay one step ahead. he recalls. Authorities pose with Pablo Escobar just after this death. ", Though Fesitl balks at their self-described label of being "gentlemen," he does admit that it is rare for a group of cartel bosses to not betray each other. Details: citywinery.com Don Berna was at the base [the Colombian National Police Soon, he graduated to stealing cars and sanding down tombstones from the local cemetery to resell them. I thanked him numerous times for what he did, but I also told him that I dont know that I could have done what he did in that capacity. On the show, the character is shot by Salcedo as the DEA agents are approaching Pallomari(Javier Camara) to transport him to the U.S. NARCOS: MEXICO Official Trailer "Agent Kiki Camarena" (HD) Michael Pena Series, SUBSCRIBE for more TV Trailers HERE: goo.gl/TL21HZ He gave his life for his work. English. In other words, someone outed the Florida groups informant, making him into a target for many dangerous people including the FARC guerrillas, and the tool used to expose him was proprietary DEA information that appeared to have come out of the Bogot DEA office. Pablo Escobar is then shown in the wilderness, where a group of Colombian police who are frozen with fear simply let him pass. ", He also downright rejects the notion that Escobar was truly devoted to his family:"Fortunesays hes worth as much as 30 billion dollars. It was ironic and very coincidental that he was killed that day that we went to pick up Pallomari and bring him to Bogota.". They kept us alive when we were out doing operations, Pea said. While the Florida agent was out on leave, the Bogot agents set up a meeting with one of the informants. To find out that he could have taken us out at any time he wanted to, we kind of attribute it to the grace of God. He did so by making a videotape of a conversation he then had with a member of the FARC in jail in which they discussed their desire for him to provide them with communications equipment. Something Feistl helped them with were the small details, such as the mannerisms and personalities of each. But the DEA had nothing to do with killing Yusti. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day, Inside the business of TV with breaking news, expert analysis and showrunner interviews. Oftentimes, the people Pea worked with funneled information directly to Escobar. Thats where his stronghold was and given his situation, I cant imagine he would leave that area. Kent details three further cases of extreme corruption in his memo, all involving Bogot DEA agents persecuting or conspiring to kill Colombian informants who threatened to bring down their activities. He was raised in California, graduating from Calexico High School in Calexico, California in 1966. WebJune 21, 2013 / 12:51 PM / AP. Eric took it in good stride. But we all know, thats not what he chose to do. And why, as Kent contends, is it all being covered up? The tape recordings that revealed this damning information were turned over to both the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Inspector General, Kent states in the memorandum. After Dec. 17, 1997, extradition was in play in Colombia for Colombia nationals who committed crimes after that date. "It was a good day for not only DEA but also for the Colombian government, but it was short-lived because we realized at that point we still had a lot of work to do," he says. Will they step up to the plate on this story, given their penchant for adhering to the standard drug-war script? Season two of 'Narcos' takes place in the early 1990's, around the same time of Escobar's death. "He said, 'Im not going anywhere. Alyssa Diaz and Mika Camarena attend the Netflix Original Series Narcos: Mexico, special screening at LA Live in Los Angeles, CA on November 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Web"Descenso" is the first episode of Season 1 of Narcos and the first episode overall. His misrepresentations were backed by another agent in Bogot, Kent states. "Thats how much we enjoyed it. "Because of who his father was, he was able to act or get away with certain things. There's stuff in there that's never been told. BOGOTA, Colombia A DEA agent has died in an apparent robbery attempt in Colombia, U.S. The corruption allegations raised in Kents memorandum are startling, but agents in the Bogot DEA office are not the first to have been accused of participating in a narco-trafficking conspiracy. "We kept on getting disappointed and it wasn't worth the grief., So the pair blew off forthcoming offers, until they met with those who would become the creators of Narcos. Gallardo was sentenced to 37 years in 2017 for the death of Camarena by a Mexican court (as well as the murder of Alfredo Zavala, a Mexican pilot), according to The Times. WebIn March 1985, the DEA recovered the body of Kiki Camarena, 37, who left behind Mika and three children named Enrique, Daniel, and Erik. Fesitl worked in Colombia for a total of 12 years. During Gilberto's capture, the godfather was actually hiding in a caleta in a bookcase in the wall, not under the bathtub as shown in Narcos. I wanted to find out what made the guy tick, and I did a lot of research and thank God I spoke with Mika (Camarenas wife), he told Newsweek. But both of Miguel's raids were wholly accurate. Working with the Colombian national police and navy forces, Feistl and the DEA stormed the 10th floor of Miguel's apartment hideout and arrested him just as he was getting into a celeta to hide. More From Oprah Daily The next installment of Narcos: Mexico picks up in 1985, after Camarena's death has changed everything for the DEA agents in Mexico, for the Guadalajara Cartel, and for the show itself. How would I go into the building and what kind of papers would be of interest? On December 2, 1993, upon realizing that hed been found, Escobar made a run for it along the rooftops of the barrio Los Olivos near his hometown-hideaway. As he recalled: I got to Colombia in 88, at the height of the Escobar search. In real life, his name was Cesar Yusti. The agents who reported the allegations (of corruption) did so to correct wrongs committed by other members of the DEA and OPR, Kent states in the memorandum. ", As for the Narcos storyline that shows Pena having a relationship with Don Berna, the agent says he was fine with the drama: "We never crossed that line, but that's what makes the show exciting and interesting.". As the show explains, the Rodriguez brothers are serving out life sentences in North and South Carolina prisons,Pacho Herrera was murdered in his Palmira prison and Chepe Santacruz Londono (Pepe Rapazote) was killed shortly after escaping his Bogota cell by paramilitary groups. He talks about how He chose the drug business, he chose his greed and his ego over his family. A DEA agent in Bogot, it turns out, had told Colombian officials to lock them (the informants) up and throw away the key, according to Kent. Betrayed by Don Berna (Mauricio Cujar), the narco is shipped off to the United States and Pena's plan to bring her on as an informant is foiled in the season finale. He decided not to become a police officer because his dad thought it was too dangerous, according to NBC San Diego, which quoted him as saying, I grab a little bit from one supervisor, I grab a little bit from another, and added on to me to become who I am today., Judge Enrique Camarena Jr. is speaking to @MSASanDiego 6th Graders. Pea began working for the DEA in 1984 and started working in Bogota, Kiki is also shown confronting Felix in the streets for no good reason. He soon couldnt understand why everyone seemed disappointed by Escobars surrender until he discovered the type of prison that Escobar had in mind for himself. Kent says his claims are supported by a number of DEA agents in Florida who the agency muzzled and retaliated against after they tried to expose the corruption.

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