An official website of the United States government. Whether our stories challenge and inspire intellectually or simply entertain, we know that we are making a positive contribution to our audiences across the many diverse regions and countries in the UK, Europe, The Middle East and Africa. Arriving in Bogota with his wife, Connie, in tow, he initially clings to her as his lifeline to the real world, before parting with her in Season 2 when the threat to her life becomes too great. Much of this corruption was run-of-the-mill, such as DEA agents ripping off dealers for cash and drugs, which went largely unreported. In 2012, 24-year-old Daniel Chong was detained by DEA agents in San Diego after his friend's house was targeted by a drug raid. If that name sounds familiar, it's because Narcos introduced him as a character in his own right in Season 2, quite possibly so they could have Carrillo do stuff that might have otherwise brought a lawsuit down on their heads. Another agent was also shot but not killed in the operation. The head of security for the Cali cartel, Salcedo is shown as a fundamentally decent guy trapped in a life of crime by circumstance and the need to protect his family. Basically, these were a scary bunch of guys, and it was their civil war against the government that gave Escobar space to flourish. But he wasn't released, and agents who heard or saw him over the next five days did nothing, each believing he was somebody else's responsibility. Its getting a lot more violent than it used to be, said Cornelius Dougherty, a DEA spokesman at the agencys headquarters in Washington. FARC fighters were trained by both the Soviet Union and the IRA (via Telegraph). Open Tuesday - Saturday You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. The US State Department once called Fidel Castao "more ferocious than Escobar.". Joseph W. Floyd, an agent with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Internal Revenue, was killed in Houston, Texas, on May 17, 1922, while attempting to serve a search warrant. It's probably Narcos' most Hollywood moment, and it feels weirdly out of place in a series that otherwise prides itself on being realistic. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of theTerms and Conditions. As theDaily Beast describes, they ran social cleansing operations in Cali that exterminated homosexuals. Cali, by contrast, is coke done NYC business style, with Pacho just as likely to take you golfing as he is to massacre your family. Sometimes, life is stranger than fiction. In fact, Cali and Medellin were so close that they knew one another's operations intimately. The fourth episode of Narcos centers around one of the major incidents of the Colombian civil war: the 1985 Palace of Justice siege in Bogota. Admitting that it is, in fact, less harmful could have been especially awkward for Leonhart, considering the DEA at the time was in the midst of an aggressive crackdown on medical marijuana facilities. Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo, The 'Godfather' Of Cocaine Trafficking DEA corruption was particularly rampant in the late 1980s. Facebook later told the DEA to stop violating its policies with this bizarre scheme. ", In a prime example of the extreme lengths to which the DEA can go to combat drug use, the agency attempted in 2001 to ban popular symbols of rave culture at a prominent New Orleans club that had become associated with Ecstasy. According toNACLA,Cali was the first major cartel to arise in Colombia, but it had no interest in being the only one. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Three weeks before that, on New Years Eve, 1986, Special Agent William Ramos, 30, was slain while trying to arrest a narcotics suspect three miles north of the Mexican border near Pharr, Tex. But it also does a disservice to the real Connie. DEA report: Drug overdoses top cause of death for Americans The Real DEA Agents of 'Narcos' Break Down What Season 2 Got Right Our people are our strength, and our differences are celebrated. Your favorite DEA agent, Javier Pea (Pedro Pascal), is back battle worn and weary . Thousands of dollars' worth of liquor, a quantity of drugs, and several weapons, including two automatic pistols, were seized during this operation. 1 Fallen Officer. Detroit, MI. While some of these tweaks are minor, others are like watching a "historically accurate" Lincoln biopic open with Honest Abe taking part in a shirtless rap battle. Confidential informants people who pose as criminals so they can provide information to the police or some government agency have helped crack some major U.S. cases. After transporting drug evidence seized by the Kansas City District Office to the DEA Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois, he was en route to St. Louis, Missouri, to return the DEA aircraft. At one stage, they owned a bank in Panama together, and both were equally instrumental in the "Death to Kidnappers" project to hit back at guerrilla groups, which is something Narcos depicts as completely excluding Cali. The Drug Enforcement Administration was established under the Justice Department in 1973 by President Richard Nixon. He was 35 years of age at the time of his death. Escobar himself made very clear it was so if they were captured and tortured they couldn't give information on him. Read part two here. The agent created an entire fake profile purporting to belong to Arquiett, using personal information and pictures taken from her cell phone following Arquiett's arrest in a cocaine case. This is a big, crazy guy with big, crazy appetites. Learning is part of the journey at A+E Networks EMEA and youll be offered personal and professional development opportunities throughout your career with us. The murderous matriarch stood only 152 centimeters (5'0) tall. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? See our Wall of Honor page for more information and a list of our fallen FBI Family members. The Tucson incident was one of three shootings in the past week that left at least 4 agents killed or wounded. Pena, meanwhile, goes and takes down Cali (which, as we've discussed, didn't happen), before retiring to his father's home on the Mexican border. The reason is that Berna only had a relationship with Search Bloc itself and not the DEA. He really was gay, and the other Cali godfathers really didn't mind. In the aftermath, most of the M19 survivors were tortured and executed. We anticipate change, identify future opportunities and are excited by the potential that tomorrow brings. Nor was Escobar shy about the family business. Wood, as they attempted to execute a search warrant on whiskey smugglers at the Shearman Ranch in El Paso, Texas, near the U.S. - Mexico border. Ahead of season two's premier in 2016, Juan Pablo Escobar sat down with Spain's El Pais to complain about the show. Moreover, according to DEA statistics, 160 agents have been assaulted in the last three years, compared to a total of 50 assaults in 1983 and 1984. Based on 11 salary profiles (last updated Jun 27 2020) The agency has even killed people on foreign soil. He was assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York Joint Task Force. It's a major turning point in Narcos, the moment when Escobar finally wins election to the Colombian Congress. That was apparently enough to authorize a raid. "We first got hooked up . Two hours later, a pilot who had flown missions for Camarena to locate marijuana fields was abducted at the Guadalajara airport. Read more >, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent James T. Lunn, a pilot assigned to the Office of Enforcement at DEA Headquarters, died on May 14, 1976, in a plane crash north of Acapulco during a flight in support of Mexico's opium eradication program. At the time, Colombia was known as the center point for the world's drug trade . The Facebook page was eventually taken down, and the Justice Department announced that it was reviewing the tactics. Read more >, Leslie S. Grosso of the New York State Police was shot on May 20, 1974, during an undercover operation in New York City. A critical turning point in Narcos' second season comes when the Medellin cartel detonates a bomb at a Cali cartel wedding party. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( It's a dramatic, intense scene. Several tied to Haiti assassination plot were previously US law - CNN In real life, we have no idea who fired the lethal shot. Part of HuffPost Politics. Pablo Escobar was surrounded . In 2012, the lapses turned downright dangerous when one DEA agent left his loaded Glock in a crowded airport bathroom beyond the security checkpoint. Most of Narcos' poetic license is used to make real events more interesting, but not this time. A DEA agent shot himself in a classroom full of children. According to the article, Don Berna's real-life counterpart really did work as an informant for Search Bloc while also feeding information to Los Pepes. Of all the psychopaths in Narcos, perhaps none are quite so psychotic as the Castao brothers. Javier Pea and Steve . Murphy worked in Miami for four years, much of it undercover, before the DEA transferred him to Bogota, Colombia. He was 28 years of age at the time of his death. We have seen an increase in assaults on law enforcement officers that goes hand-in-hand with just the increase in violent crime we've seen across the country. With our diverse line-up of original, high-quality programming, our distribution partners across EMEA recognise the benefits of offering A+E Networks EMEA's distinctive, high quality brands on their platforms and services. At the time, M19 were considered a bigger threat than ELN, and maybe even more so than FARC. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? See how your salary compares to other Dea Agents with Comparably. Unsurprisingly, the report made no mention of the clear negative parallels between early-20th century Prohibition laws and today's laws that target drugs. According to BLS salary data, police and detectives earned a median annual salary of $65,170 in 2019. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, El Chapo sons send Mexico cartels cheap fentanyl into U.S., indictment says, Whats the matter with Portland? The girls were later handcuffed. Meet the DEA agents who captured Pablo Escobar - Khaleej Times Based on the real rebel-turned-drug-dealer-turned-paramilitary Diego Murillo Bejarano, Don Berna is portrayed by Mauricio Cujar as not just being connected to the narco-world but also having a long-standing relationship with Agent Pena. MEDELLIN CARTEL TARGETS DEA AGENTS. Shootings, theft and other crime test citys progressive strain, A pro-Russia sliver of land favored by travel bloggers tries to cling to its identity and keep war at bay, U.N. envoy says Sudans warring sides agree to negotiate, Yellen says U.S. could hit debt ceiling as soon as June 1, U.S. says 20,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war since December, Speaker Kevin McCarthy addresses Knesset amid fraught U.S.-Israel ties. DEA Agent James "Terry" Watson, Killed In Colombia, May Have Been Just as David is storming out into the streets in the final episode, looking for vengeance on those who betrayed his father, he's gunned down by a rival cartel. Netflix's Narcos has probably been responsible for teaching more Americans about Colombian history than decades of Discovery documentaries combined (and the same for Mexico with its spinoff Narcos: Mexico). The finale of NarcosSeason 2 is the culmination of two years of storytelling. Thematically and narratively, having Murphy right there when Escobar is finally eliminated makes perfect sense. In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, the real Steve Murphy explained Connie had stayed in Colombia the entire time. He'd been a sicario, or hitman, for the cartel back in the day, while his brother, Fidel, was a full member. DEA Agent Salary | PayScale But that's not because they were more urbane than Escobar's men. But while the basic outlines of the Castao's backstory is broadly true, Narcos did miss out one crucial detail. After a prolonged legal battle, he lost the suit. He also stated that the FARC's fight against the United States was also his fight and that he had been "fighting the United Statesfor 10 to 15 years." While a DEA spokeswoman has since said that the agency is dedicated to its undercover source's "safety and wellbeing," it's obvious that the original agent's negligence put the informant in needless danger. Two Mexican nationals living in south Texas were later arrested and charged with murdering a federal agent as well as possession of intent to distribute 303 pounds of marijuana. Months later, reports suggested the agency had not cooperated with local authorities investigating the incident, which led Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) to ask earlier this year: "Could U.S. agents engaged in the 'war on drugs' abroad operate without any sort of accountability?". September 16, 1988. As played by Boyd Holbrook, DEA agent Steve Murphy is the lynchpin of the first two seasons ofNarcos. Read more >, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Rickie C. Finley was killed on May 20, 1989, in a plane crash as he was returning from a jungle operation to a base camp in Lima, Peru. A few hours later, agents realized they'd ransacked the wrong home. For example, the kids were always made to travel between safehouses wearing blindfolds. In Narcos, David spends the whole third season looking like a time bomb that's one hair trigger away from exploding. His men gunned down, Carrillo is finally shot through the head personally by Pablo Escobar. Open Tuesday - Saturday Employees of DEA and its predecessor agencies killed in the line of duty. What the third season zeroed in on, however, was the DEA's dealings with Salcedo and in fact, the Cali insider was only playing for both teams for a short amount of time. An official website of the United States government. He even posted status updates and pictures of her and her children. But Carlos Castao was particularly familiar with the workings of Medellin. A deep dive into the murky world of the war on drugs, Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel, and the power plays at the top of Colombian politics in the '80s and '90s, Narcos is famed for its commitment to historical accuracy. To Colombian viewers' everlasting disappointment, they mostly failed. Most historians believe the "noble experiment" of alcohol prohibition in the 1920s backfired, creating a myriad of negative unintended consequences and serving as a lesson about the hazards of governing public morals. The soldiers that stormed the building disappeared and murdered 12 cafeteria workers they wrongly suspected of supporting the guerillas. Envigado (near Medellin), Colombia. HuffPost's top politics stories, straight to your inbox. Photo: Steve Murphy Print Cite A law known as the Mansfield amendment, introduced by Senator Mike Mansfield and passed by Congress in 1975, prohibited DEA personnel to even be present at the scene of an arrest outside the U.S. 'Narcos': Real DEA Agent Chris Feistl on What Season 3 Got Right About The showrunners used him as a useful receptacle for stuff many DEA agents did at the time. Acting Deputy Director of the ATF Tom Chittum told ABC News in an interview it has been a hard week for federal law enforcement. When Cali nearly kill Pablo's kids with a bomb outside their apartment, Escobar becomes like an avenging angel, enraged that his children are being dragged into his seedy business. Well, apart from the bit where they miss out all his insane connections to paramilitaries, white supremacists, military hardliners, and his pre-Cali role in masterminding assassination attempts (via NACLA). U.S. officials say they've identified and infiltrated the Mexican drug organization that's largely responsible for the fentanyl crisis killing tens of thousands of . He was 30 years of age at the time of his death. Betrayed by his own? Unsurprisingly given the series' genre, that relationship is a classic informer/informant one, with Don Berna slowly feeding Pena information that benefits both the DEA, and psychopathic paramilitary group Los Pepes. By now we know the DEA has had trouble keeping track of its weapons, and apparently that carelessness also can occasionally extend to physical evidence in the cases it's pursuing.