[suspenseful tune]
[chopper whirring]
[indistinct chatter on radio]
[man 1] I remember that particular raid.
We always believed from an early time
that Mayo was, kind of,
the patriarch of Sinaloa.
[indistinct chatter on radio]
So we thought to get him would be a coup.
They were delayed in doing it.
Which always makes me nervous
because maybe somebody got to them.
[indistinct chatter on radio]
[man 1] The hour of the raid is great.
That's what everybody thinks about.
It's days and days
of monitoring and communications.
We were hopeful that we would,
if not get him,
we would get someone around him
who would lead us to him.
[indistinct chatter on radio]
It just didn't work out.
Somewhere along the way there was a leak.
[voice on radio, in Spanish]
Go on. Go upstairs.
[in English] That's why Ismael Zambada
is still alive and free.
Has never been arrested.
Never.
[indistinct chatter on radio, in Spanish]
[ominous tune]
This is a guy that's been essentially
on the run for over 20 years.
[sirens blaring]
[in Spanish] "El Mayo" Zambada
is the mastermind
of the drug business here in Mexico.
[man wearing scarf, in Spanish]
He's more poisonous than a snake.
[reporter, in Spanish] Mayo Zambada
controls the Sinaloa cartel.
[reporter 2, in English] His cartel
is believed to be the number one supplier
of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana
into the US.
[man] Mayo, he doesn't want to be seen
[g*nf*re]
as a fragile boss.
[woman in Spanish] After 40 years
in the business of narcotrafficking
the mysterious Ismael Zambada Garcia
"El Mayo"
has never been captured.
[reporter, in Spanish] Ismael "El Mayo"
Zambada for whom the United States offers
a bounty of five million dollars.
[in English] For the first time
in recent history,
opioids k*lled more Americans
than g*n homicides.
[female reporter] The opioid epidemic
is the deadliest drug overdose crisis
in US history.
[child wailing]
[man] It's easy to get
and it's easy to smuggle.
It's a pretty scary epidemic.
Because it takes so minimal of it
to k*ll you.
If you make one wrong error, you're done.
My name is David Lorino.
I was the agent that managed the group
of investigating agents
that put the case together.
This investigation started from
what we would consider the lowest levels
[scoffs] of narcotics business
here on the West side of Chicago.
[indistinct chatter]
[Lorino] We were buying ounce quantities
of heroin
from a g*ng banger on the corner
here in Chicago.
[phone ringing]
[Lorino]
We started intercepting his phone
[speaking Spanish on phone]
[Lorino] which took us
to another guy
which took us up the food chain.
And the next thing you know
we're onto cartel members.
Uh and the guys that we're buying
the dope from on the corner
it's coming from Chapo and from Mayo.
That's when now, we got real targets.
[suspenseful tune]
It's like a narcotics agent's dream
to to start buying ounces on a corner
and end up with a cartel member.
You-- It just doesn't happen.
[man] Mayo Zambada is a foe
that we've never dealt with before.
He understood at an early age
the importance of maintaining a low key.
That told me something important
about Mayo.
He's somewhat of a business visionary.
In that he's very strategic
in the way that he thinks.
I'm Jack Riley.
Retired from DEA.
And I was part of the hunt
for El Chapo and Mayo.
We brought every agency in. The police,
FBI, DEA, A*F.
Secret Service was even there.
The strike force's sole goal
was to go after Sinaloa and its tentacles
to the Chicago street gangs.
[Lorino] We were trying--
We wanted to get El Mayo on the phone
to talk about lowering the price
or about quantity
so that we could verify that
that dope actually came from him.
But we didn't have the
ability at the time to structure a call
with Mayo.
[man] There is nothing on Mayo Zambada.
There is no voice recording about him.
My name is Jesus Esquivel.
I am a writer who has been investigating
narco traffic for several years.
Mayo knows
if he's too much on the phone
could be his end.
[dogs barking]
[crickets chirping]
[Esquivel] In the meetings with top, top,
top leadership of the cartel
what Mayo said?
Nothing.
When he wanted to give an order
he called the guy, went outside,
and gave the order.
Smart. He probably knew
that the DEA of the Mexican government
or even people working with him
was taping the conversation.
[cricket chirping intensifies]
[ominous tune]
[Esquivel] When the Sinaloa cartel
was in a real boom
the middle man,
the guy who makes the deals
was Chapo. Because he's a nice guy.
[phone ringing]
[man 1, in Spanish] My friend!
[man 2, in Spanish]
What's up, how are you?
[man 1, in Spanish] Good, good.
Nice talking to you. How''s your brothers?
Look, there was a gob of evidence
against Chapo, okay, in this case.
[man 3, in Spanish] If this telephone
falls into the hand of the government
our security will be heavily jeopardized.
The calls we got to Chapo
were structured through an intermediary.
[Chapo, in Spanish]
How much did they give you?
[man 4, in Spanish] They gave me 20.
[Chapo, Spanish] Alright then, I'll pick
the money up tomorrow. That's fine.
[man 4, Spanish] Yes.
Those tapes were a k*ller for him.
The tape recordings of him talking
upon the cost and the price
and the quantity of that heroin deal.
No matter what,
he could not make those tapes go away.
[man] I think it-it really goes to
how powerful Mayo Zambada is
versus El Chapo.
Mayo must be an extremely,
extremely intelligent man.
Now, he must be 71, 72, and keep in mind,
his narcotic trafficking
started in the early '80s.
[Riley] It's going to be more difficult
than Chapo.
He's very familiar with his surroundings
and doesn't go from there.
So we got to stay the hunt.
We really do.
[Esquivel] Mayo was a real ranchero
from La Sierra.
The way he talks, the way he walks.
The most luxurious car
that has been driven by Mayo
was a Ford truck.
He doesn't have to be driving a luxurious
or a Lamborghini or a Ferrari
in La Sierra. No.
He started working
-[g*n clicks]
-as a pisolero, sicario, a k*ller.
Mayo is well known that when he's angry
it's better for you to hide
wherever you can.
[g*nf*re]
[sirens wailing]
[Esquivel] Everybody asks me:
"Are you afraid?"
If they want you dead,
you're gonna be dead.
Especially if you're a Mexican journalist.
[indistinct chatter on radio in Spanish]
[man wearing mask, in Spanish]
On this van, I sh**t down anyone.
Right in the head. I never miss.
My name is Eladio.
I am Eagle One. I follow every order.
I am happy
to be part of the Sinaloa cartel.
[ominous tune, intensifying]
Mayo surrounded himself with,
you know
his own little army, if you will.
[Esquivel] With the rings.
Several rings before you get to top guy.
That's why he delegates
too much authority in the sicarios.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[interviewer, in Spanish] Who's your boss?
[Eladio, in Spanish] "El Senor Grande",
our master, gave us instructions
on how to look after ourselves.
We must never tell his name to anyone.
There are many protocols
and we must follow them.
[Esquivel, in English]
They called El Mayo "El Senor."
You don't say his name.
It is dangerous. That's evident.
That's very incriminating for you.
[man on radio, in Spanish]
There is a red Toyota.
[indistinct, muffled speech]
[indistinct voice over radio]
[Eladio, in Spanish] We have to set
an information system.
We have 150, 160 members.
Some of us
are checking the cars
and inform us about their routes.
We have people in the entrance.
Others are in the midway point.
Some guys are on the hill.
We also have people in the airport
checking flight logs, timetables
and departures.
We get information everywhere.
It has to be this way,
otherwise we may have surprises.
[interviewer, Spanish]
You don't like surprises.
[Eladio, Spanish]
No, it's too much responsibility.
It does not look good
to have your chief scolded.
[indistinct chatter on radio]
[interviewer, Spanish] How does
El Mayo always manage to escape?
[Eladio, Spanish] He is at peace
with the community.
That's essential.
[church bell tolls]
[Esquivel, in English] You ask
with the people, local people:
"They happy?"
Because the economy's good,
the narcos are doing a lot of money.
Everybody's fine.
[man in ski mask, in Spanish]
This car will go tomorrow morning.
This one goes directly
to the border.
And the car will come back
here, loaded with money.
[in English] Follow the money.
[buzz]
[motor revving]
[tires screeching]
[Riley] The Robin Hood theory
that Mayo is a hero
he's building soccer fields
and all those other things, churches
uh that also is built into
his security plan, and his business plan.
[church bells toll]
[Riley] Because
it really makes the locals
voices, in terms of them seeing things
and reporting it up the road.
[church bells pealing]
[sirens blaring]
It's difficult for any agency
uh to go after a guy as accomplished
in organized crime as Mayo Zambada is.
So, what we needed to do
was concentrate on the people around him.
[phone ringing]
[Riley] If we're targeting Mayo,
we're targeting everyone around him
because they're usually least cautious
when they use phones.
[phone ringing]
[Riley] By doing that, we can build
a life pattern on Mayo.
[upbeat tune]
[man, in Spanish] My name is Victor
Gerardo Garay Cadena.
I was in charge
of the Federal Police Anti-Drug Unit.
In July 2008
an American agency representative
contacted me
to give me information
on a man called Rey Zambada
and a house in the neighborhood
of Linda Vista.
"El Rey" Zambada,
brother of Ismael Zambada Garcia
was controlling the drug transport
in Mexico City Airport.
I received the information
and he asked me for help.
"Of course I'll check it," I said.
So we were monitoring the place.
We were certain that
something was happening in that house.
On October 20, 2008
there was a raid.
[repeated g*nf*re]
There was a huge shootout.
He tried to escape.
But we'd surrounded the house.
Desperate, Reynaldo Zambada
calls the Chief Research Officer
of the Federal Police Anti-Drug Unit.
He said to Rey Zambada,
"Hey boss, what can I do for you?
Don't worry. I'm coming to help you."
As the shootout was getting closer
"El Rey" Zambada called again
and told him,
"What the hell is going on?
Why aren't you here?"
He said, "Sir, I'm almost there.
Don't worry. I'm on my way."
We found out that the head
of the police investigative unit
was working for the Zambada brothers.
[indistinct chatter]
[sirens blaring]
[man, in Spanish] "El Rey" Zambada
was caught. He was the main operator
of Mayo's cartel.
[Cadena, in Spanish]
Zambada was very well protected.
Today, we understand why.
He was surrounded by policemen.
Because he paid them.
As the saying goes, money talks.
The police is state-funded,
but drug dealers pay more.
So they obey their orders.
They call them "boss", "chief", "sir".
Throughout my career
in some areas I've been
I noticed half of the officers
were involved with them.
[Riley, in English] It's part
of their terror strategy.
Number one, we're going to try
to convince you to come to work for us.
And if that doesn't work
or you're hesitant,
then we're gonna attempt to bribe you.
And if we feel that you're that vital
to our operations,
it could be hundreds of thousands
of dollars repeatedly.
However, if you turn us down after that
we're gonna put a round in your head.
[suspenseful tune]
They were trying to make a deal
with the DEA.
Can you believe that?
Mayos and Chapos making a deal
with the DEA. Well, it was real.
So Mayo Zambada sent his son
to Mexico City to talk to the DEA.
Vicente was essentially
doing logistics for for Mayo.
Mayo was prepping him to be
his replacement.
He would've been the guy that stepped up.
And had something happened to Mayo,
Vicente would've been
the guy in line.
[Esquivel] It was in the hotel Sheraton
in Mexico City.
A few meters actually
from the US Embassy.
There were three DEA agents
Loya-Castro, El Vicentillo's lawyer,
and Vicentillo.
[Riley] When
wanted guys want to approach DEA?
What we want to do is find out
if it's even worth it.
And they need to understand
if you're gonna tell us something,
you gotta tell us everything.
And if we catch you lying, the deal's off.
[Esquivel] They make a deal
to give the DEA information about
the whereabouts of the enemies
of "El Cartel de Sinaloa."
Talk to the US government. And give them
information about your enemies.
And they're gonna keep you aside.
To continue doing business.
It happened, kind of, that way,
but it wasn't set up, if you will.
If one bad guy wants to give up
another bad guy
That's what informants
do all along, right?
If we can take information
from one bad guy
and take another bad guy
out of business is that a bad thing?
[Esquivel] They spoke
for a couple of hours.
They left the room.
[sirens blaring]
[Esquivel] And a few hours after that,
"El Vicentillo" was arrested
by the Mexican military.
The obvious question
and the obvious situation
that is drawn from that is,
who gave information
to the Mexican military
that el hijo de El "Mayo" Zambada
was in Mexico City?
There is a dirty agreement
that we don't know the details.
[in Spanish] The Secretary of National
Defense informs me that on the 18th
the Army arrested
Vicente Zambada Niebla,
aka "El Vicentillo"
son of Ismael Zambada Garcia,
aka "El Mayo" Zambada.
[in English]
He was arrested and extradited
back into the United States.
[chopper whirring]
[Lorino] I met Vicente
as he came off the airplane.
I think he was shocked
that he got arrested.
We transported him in a van
with state police escort
from the airport directly into
the Metropolitan Correctional Center
here in Chicago.
[Riley] I remember
he was in a a tracksuit.
And he stuck his hand out to shake my hand
and I wasn't gonna shake his hand.
The first thing I wanted to do was ask,
"Where's your father?
What's his phone number? What's he drive?
Who's around him?" So we could go now.
[scream echoing]
I told him, just, you know:
"You gotta think about your position.
There's no getting out now."
The conditions they kept Vicente in
for two years
were literally draconian measures.
Complete isolation.
[Esquivel] No communication,
even with his wife.
He was kind of, crazy.
He said, "I was so sick, I was
you know, losing my mind in that cell."
So, he gave up.
He was ready. Vicente was ready
to cooperate at that point.
We told him, "You're gonna have to tell us
about your dad, and your dad's activities.
That's your only option
for probably ever seeing
the outside of a jail cell again."
[Lorino] I understand his his dilemma.
For a lot of those guys, you know
their immediate families
is a big deal to them.
That's blood. You know,
that's a tough spot to be in.
We finally went to, as an option,
to try and get past that hurdle
was through some intermediaries,
if you will.
We were able to structure
a telephone call
between him and his father.
Through a number of attorneys,
we got a cell phone number to Mayo.
[phone ringing]
Finally, in the middle of the night,
uh, Mayo calls.
[Esquivel] Around midnight,
the DEA agents
opened his cell
and took "El Vicentillo" out
and gave him a phone.
[static]
Who was in the line?
Mayo Zambada.
[Lorino] That phone call was strictly
for the purpose
of him explaining to his dad,
"I don't really want to tell them
but it's the only real shot I have."
Mayo told him:
"You do what you have to do, son
to help yourself and help your family."
That was a big day.
[busy telephone tone]
He led to probably hundreds of arrests.
[sirens wailing]
[Riley] Quite frankly, he showed us
how they operate.
They forced him to betray Chapo.
That was the reason of that call.
To say,
"Papa, I don't have other option.
It's us or him."
Will you sacrifice your son
for your compadre?
No.
He was over.
Especially, if you call the attention
of international media, the governments.
For the narco-traffic business,
you have to be quiet.
Towards the end,
Chapo got a little stupid.
And he began to go places he shouldn't.
He began to do some public things.
I know, because we know from Vicente
that Mayo was very upset
with the way that he was going,
because he was concerned
that Chapo was gonna lead to more heat
for the organization as itself.
Chapo became an international problem
because his name was known
all over the world.
[Eladio, in Spanish] He felt
over-confident about his safety.
This kind of person,
you can't say anything to them.
He let himself be seen
where he wasn't supposed to be seen.
-That's why he is in jail now.
-[banging on door]
[indistinct voices on radio]
[g*nf*re]
[rapid g*nf*re]
[Marine officers shouting indistinctly,
in Spanish]
[officer, in Spanish] Two here.
[Riley, in English]
He's coming off the plane,
and, uh, he's crying.
And I had that freeze framed,
and I got it in a frame now.
[interviewer] Did you meet Chapo?
No. Good thing, too. 'Cause I probably
would've dropped him.
I would've cold-c*ck him right there.
[reporter, in Spanish]
Drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman
was sentenced to spend
the rest of his life in prison.
[reporter 2, in French]
El Chapo will spend his life in prison.
[reporter 3, in English] "El Chapo" Guzman
was sentenced to life in prison.
[in Spanish] Breaking news.
Vicente Zambada Niebla, "El Vicentillo",
was sentenced in Chicago
to 15 years in prison
and five years of probation.
[Esquivel, in English] The sacrifice
was to be in jail for a period of
fifteen, fourteen years?
And then: "Mi hijo, you're gonna be free."
And under the custody
of the US government.
What an irony!
His father, the biggest
narco-trafficker ever, in Mexico
and his oldest son, being protected
by the US government.
What about El Mayo?
Now that you have El Chapo, that's it?
Sinaloa disappears?
No.
[sirens blaring]
[reporter, in Spanish] A very violent day
in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa.
[sirens blaring]
The Mexican Army
and the Guardia Nacional
were working on a tip
about the hideout of Ovidio Guzman Lopez,
one of Chapo's sons.
And they found him.
[indistinct conversations in Spanish]
[officer, in Spanish]
Get out, get out! Get out, Ovidio!
[men discussing indistinctly, in Spanish]
[officer, in Spanish] Calm down.
-[officer] Do you have weapons?
-[Ovidio] No, not anymore.
[Esquivel, in English]
Even when El Chapo is in jail forever,
his sons are under the protection
of his compadre,
Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia.
[in Spanish] The federal authorities
have found
one or two sons
of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
This triggered a violent reaction
from the Sinaloa cartel.
[g*nshots]
[Esquivel, in English]
The sicarios, pistoleros or K*llers
started to intimidate
the society of Culiacan.
And it was all this crazy stuff.
[rapid g*nf*re]
-[heavy g*nf*re]
-[people shouting indistinctly, Spanish]
[voice 1 on radio, in Spanish]
What do you say, boss?
[voice 2, in Spanish]
What did "El Senor" tell you?
[in English] When they refer to "El Senor"
he's talking about Mayo Zambada.
Nothing moves in Sinaloa without the order
or permission of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.
He was in charge.
He was giving the orders.
[voice 3 on radio, in Spanish] Go ahead!
Our man has been captured,
the other commandant said to go ahead.
[voice 4 on radio, in Spanish]
Let's kidnap families,
and until they don't free him,
we will not release them.
[g*nf*re]
[voice 5 on radio, in Spanish]
Cool down, bro. Cool down, all is good.
We are negotiating.
[Esquivel, in English]
The Mexican government
was so intimidated.
That's when they sent the orders
to let Chapo's son go.
The message sent to the Sinaloa cartel
by that action is:
"You guys are untouchable.
You are the owners of the State.
This is your home."
[indistinct chatter]
[in Spanish] The arrest of a criminal
is not worth
human lives.
[policeman, in Spanish]
We arrived here at 2 a.m.
Later, we started to notice
the smell that comes
from this kind of labs.
They produced nearly a ton a day.
Methamphetamine.
[interviewer, in Spanish]
Arresting Mayo Zambada is a priority?
[in Spanish] Our priority is to guarantee
the people's safety.
Arresting him is not our priority.
Do we arrest him because it's priority?
No, it isn't our priority.
[man over mic, in Spanish]
We've finished with the strategy
of operations
to arrest drug lords.
We've wasted a lot of time doing that
and it didn't work.
There is no w*r.
It's official: "The w*r is over."
We want peace.
We'll achieve peace.
[Esquivel, in English]
The reason that he wants
peace with the narcos
is the insecurity in Mexico.
Now Mexicans, we are used to the death.
And it's too sad.
We don't get surprised
if we saw people dead on the streets
or hanging from a bridge.
It's normal for us.
It's not normal for any society.
[church bells pealing]
[prayers in Spanish]
-[prayers in Spanish continue]
-[woman weeping]
[in English] We still think Mayo may be
the number one bad guy in the world.
[chanting, in Spanish]
[in English] We gotta keep the pressure up
on all angles
and not let this thing go
you know, in the moth ba*ls
for another ten years.
[man on radio, in Spanish]
[Eladio, in Spanish] Empires never end.
Empires never fall, never crumble.
If one falls another takes his place.
Stronger and steadier.
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