Raids on legal marijuana facilities have slowed in recent years, and Leonhart's stance on the drug war has appeared increasingly at odds with the more progressive views of Attorney General Eric Holder. The Cali and Medellin cartels in Narcos are both cocaine empires, but they have business models so different that it's almost like comparing JP Morgan to al-Qaeda. Agent Loftus was providing air support to the Kansas City, Kansas District Office as part of a Title III Investigation. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Sep 6, 2016, 9:43 AM PDT. But while David wanted to be his father's muscle, William was a lawyer who stayed away from the grisly side of cartel life. DEA agents have lost their guns in weird places, including an airport bathroom. The Facebook page was eventually taken down, and the Justice Department announced that it was reviewing the tactics. 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. Perhaps the most notorious killing of a DEA agent occurred in February, 1985, when Enrique S. Camarena was kidnaped outside the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara. He vanished off the grid, so any show that wanted to tell his story would be forced to make something up. What it's really like to work for the DEA. ine Cain. Our hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to the families, the friends and to those officers that have been subjected to this gun violence.. The DEA again showed its rigidity in the drug war earlier this year when Kentucky legalized the cultivation of hemp, a plant that is related to cannabis but lacks the psychoactive ingredient that produces a high. In both cases, officials claimed the suspects were armed and refusing to surrender, but the episodes nonetheless underscored emerging concerns about the DEA's respect for Honduran sovereignty. ), Paige eventually sued the DEA, claiming the agency had released the video footage of him. Quite literally. In 2016,The Hollywood Reporter spoke to the real Pena about Narcos season two. 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. Marshals in Racine, Wisconsin, according to police. Those that worked in federal government agencies earned $88,060. For William Rodriguez Abadia, watching that scene must have been a surreal experience. The agents gave the drugs to an informant, who sold them and sent at least $1 million in profits to the agents over five years. The dramatic scene was captured on security camera video. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. This is part one of a two-part series. Apparently watching Narcos is like trying to watch an alternate-reality version of Downton Abbey where all the British characters are voiced by Mary Poppins-era Dick van Dyke. Gee, it's almost like real-life narco terrorist psychopaths really don't have a conscience. In fact, Cali and Medellin were so close that they knew one another's operations intimately. A federal judge ultimately barred the DEA from enacting such restrictions, finding that "the government cannot ban inherently legal objects that are used in expressive communication because a few people use the same legal item to enhance the effects of an illegal substance.". U.S. Government Line of Duty Deaths. Gee, who would want to kill such a fine, upstanding citizen? This is a big, crazy guy with big, crazy appetites. Fittingly for such a man, Escobar's romantic appetites are shown as equally large. DEA Agent Career And Salary Information - Criminal Justice Degree Schools 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. BBC News, Guadalajara Twenty seven years ago, the kidnap, torture and murder of a US Drug Enforcement Administration agent by Mexican drug traffickers sparked one of the biggest manhunts the US. But while Los Pepes were fact, the wedding bombing itself was pure fiction. It's probably Narcos' most Hollywood moment, and it feels weirdly out of place in a series that otherwise prides itself on being realistic. The Man Who Captures Criminals for the D.E.A. by Playing Them Elected in 1982, Escobar was allowed into the Liberal Party thanks to a corrupt senator named Alberto Santofimio. 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. Anyone who's spent too much time watching viral videos is familiar with this one: In April 2004, DEA agent Lee Paige was giving a gun safety demonstration to a classroom full of children when he delivered this now-famous line: "I am the only one in the room professional enough, that I know of, to carry this Glock 40." After demobilization, many M19 members were killed by cartels, including leader Carlos Pizarro Leongomez. As younger men they were both members of the Medellin cartel (via New Republic). Cannabis, Coca, and Poppy: Natures Addictive Plants. In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, the real Steve Murphy explained Connie had stayed in Colombia the entire time. To halt fentanyl, U.S. says it 'infiltrated' Sinaloa cartel : NPR 'Narcos': Real DEA Agent Chris Feistl on What Season 3 Got Right About Most of Narcos' poetic license is used to make real events more interesting, but not this time. As played by Wagner Moura, Narcos' Escobar is a guy who wants power, pleasure and money, and will go to horrific lengths to obtain them. The death of Pablo Escobar marked the end of the line for agents Steve Murphy and Javier Pena. Before Friday, the last DEA member to die was Arthur L. Cash, 39, special agent in charge of the DEAs office in Sierra Vista, Ariz. Cashs car was hit head-on by a truck in August, 1987, as he transported three prisoners from Bisbee to Tucson. Facebook later told the DEA to stop violating its policies with this bizarre scheme. 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." Probably not, but that felt like the kind of thing that we could do in the context of our story. He said law enforcement is a dangerous profession, investigating the most serious violent offenders, but as of late its been more dangerous. Come the time season two is set, the group had nearly 6,000 active fighters. Most notably, this includes Joe Toft, who really did go on the record in September 1994 to call Colombia a "narco democracy" and accuse President Ernesto Samper of being bought and paid for by the Cali cartel (via UPI). The real life Jorge Salcedo wasn't an innocent trapped in a morally gray world. Read more >, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Terrance P. Loftus was killed on May 28, 2004, when the plane he was piloting crashed shortly after takeoff from Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. 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. Nor was Escobar shy about the family business. 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. Inside the DEA | Just Think Twice AsThe Guardian reports, the producers sourced actors from all over the Americas to play the Colombian characters. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. In 1990, President Vargas and M19's leadership signed a deal to hand over the group's weapons. ", Of course, there's an open question as to how much of a willing accomplice the real Tata (Maria Victoria Henao) can be called, given that whole "married to Escobar aged only 15" thing. Another case from two decades ago suggests that DEA corruption hasn't always been so blatant. 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. Although Murphy was sent out to ID the body at which point he took his infamous photo of Escobar's corpse Pablo had already been dead for a while when he arrived. A few days after the shooting, Villareal's father was arrested on drug conspiracy charges. As you can probably guess, this is the exact opposite of what really happened. Shortly after, he began advising the cartel on certain issues before graduating to their head of security. 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?". Medellin is macho and violent, just like the city they ship to (Miami). But when it finally happens, the show pulls another rug out from under us. In effect, the bombing sets up the creation of the very-real anti-Escobar hit squad Los Pepes, who terrorized the Medellin cartel from 1990-93. Rather than doing so under Escobar's orders, M19 attacked the Palace of Justice after President Betancur violated a ceasefire agreement with the group. Chong was trapped in a windowless 5-by-10 enclosure without food or water, all for the crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. On February 7, 1985, a group of corrupt Mexican officials kidnapped DEA agent Kiki Camarena, who had infiltrated the Guadalajara Cartel. ]]> As played by Boyd Holbrook, DEA agent Steve Murphy is the lynchpin of the first two seasons ofNarcos. Narcos is clear that Pablo Escobar is one bad dude. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. Once he took his seat, Escobar divided his time between splurging cash in Medellin and trying to get a treaty allowing the extradition of drug traffickers to the United States scrapped. Special Agent Garbo was shot multiple times during the interdiction and succumbed to his wounds. Kiki Camarena - Wikipedia Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco was known as "La Madrina" ("The Godmother") after she successfully pioneered a Miami-based cocaine drug trade for nearly five decades from the 1950s to the early 2000s. But there is one area where TV Pablo is shown to have something like morals: his family. His death at the season's climax, though, was handled strangely. While the show is right to say the real Agent Pena was out the country when Escobar was finally taken down, the real Murphy was miles away from the action. A+E Networks EMEA Expands its FAST Footprint with Amagi, A+E NETWORKS EMEA AND BBC STUDIOS TO MAKE PODCAST-INSPIRED TV SERIES EVIL GENIUS WITH AWARD-WINNING COMEDIAN AND PODCASTER RUSSELL KANE FOR SKY HISTORY, A+E NETWORKS EMEA ANNOUNCES BRAND REFRESH FOR THE HISTORY CHANNEL ACROSS EMEA, COSMO earns three awards at the Promax Global Excellence Awards. U.S. officials defended the DEA's involvement, claiming agents didn't fire any rounds during the mission, but the incident sparked aggressive local protests calling for the DEA to leave the area. . The real-life Colonel Carrillo was Colonel Hugo Martinez. It's a nifty way of highlighting the differences between the macho Medellin cartel, and the sophisticated, upper-class Cali. Open Tuesday - Saturday In 2012, the lapses turned downright dangerous when one DEA agent left his loaded Glock in a crowded airport bathroom beyond the security checkpoint. Agents who had been staking out the Villarreal household mistakenly believed the person in the car with the teen was her father, whom they suspected of dealing cocaine. While Pacho's position meant he was immune from such treatment, he was the lucky one. Although the attempt failed, it was evidently impressive enough that it landed Salcedo on Cali's radar. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. Thematically and narratively, having Murphy right there when Escobar is finally eliminated makes perfect sense. The reason is that Berna only had a relationship with Search Bloc itself and not the DEA. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. It's a dangerous time out there and increasingly we see more rounds being fired, often in the ambush style attacks., 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Luis Guzman, who played Jos Gonzalo Rodrguez Gacha in season one, just stuck with his Puerto Rican accent. It's a major turning point in Narcos, the moment when Escobar finally wins election to the Colombian Congress. The showrunners used him as a useful receptacle for stuff many DEA agents did at the time. With Kentucky expecting a shipment of 250 pounds of hemp seeds from Italy, the DEA stepped in, impounding the shipment and claiming the importation was still illegal because under current federal drug law, both hemp and cannabis are considered Schedule I substances. In 2003, 14-year-old Ashley Villarreal was shot in the head by a DEA agent while driving just blocks away from her San Antonio home. DEA continues to honor their sacrifices with a redesigned space featuring newly commissioned portraits, a dignified brass display area, respectful 24-hour illumination, and an interactive kiosk that shares the stories of each hero. In many ways, Narcos gets its portrayal of Pacho right. An official website of the United States government. There are conspiracy theories pointing the finger at everyone from Search Bloc, to the Colombian police, to Escobar himself committing suicide (although that last one is unlikely). Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo, The 'Godfather' Of Cocaine Trafficking Based on 11 salary profiles (last updated Jun 27 2020) To Colombian viewers' everlasting disappointment, they mostly failed. According to a 2017 interview with Javier Pena, Murphy was at headquarters when a major came by to tell him "viva Colombia, Pablo is dead!" Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Police. September 16, 1988. It's a powerful moment, and it more or less really happened the "more" part being that Escobar really did get elected to the Senate and really did get denounced, the "less" part being that his political career didn't last a single day. Earlier this year, the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group dedicated to drug law reform, issued a report showing how the DEA has systematically rejected scientific evidence in order to maintain current prohibitive drug scheduling laws. One agent was found guilty of pocketing $700,000 during the operation and sentenced to two years in jail. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 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. Shortly thereafter, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General released a report excoriating top DEA officials not only for the incident itself, but also for failing to immediately report it to their office. But the real Cali and Medellin weren't so different. When they started out, they were practically brothers. She struck a deal with prosecutors and served only 15 years in prison. When agents stormed into Kirking's house, they found a small baggie of weed, enough only for a misdemeanor charge. Cannabis, Coca, and Poppy: Natures Addictive Plants. Netflix 'Narcos' real-life DEA agents Steve Murphy and Javier Pea The whole traumatic siege took around 120 lives, with many Colombians today still blaming the authorities. 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. And serious is exactly what Narcos is until you go digging into actual Colombian history and find out just how much Narcos distorted, or exaggerated, or just plain made up. But the real Pablo was way less of a family man than Netflix makes out. On the other hand, Pablo could've done literally anything while on the run. The DEA said it is aware of reports that some assassins yelled "DEA" at the time of their attack. 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. As Newman points out in the interview, it's known that Escobar died before his dad, so it's entirely possible that something like what happened on the show is close to the truth. 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. Rather than take the embarrassing incident in stride (or limp? You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. But he and Pena barely set eyes on one another, let alone sat down for coffee. How to Become a DEA Agent The DEA's hiring process can take up to 12 months, so aspiring DEA agents should be on the lookout for job announcements on the agency's official website. A locked padlock He turned the money down. In one passage, first highlighted by the Republic Report, the report set out to combat what it called the "myth" that "prohibition didnt work in the 20s and it doesnt work now." He was assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York Joint Task Force. When he's not busy bedding smoking hot reporter Valeria Velez (a fictionalized version of Virginia Vallejo), he's surrounded by surgically enhanced prostitutes flown in direct from Brazil. But while in Narcos, the accusation is enough to make Escobar leave, in real life, he tried to turn the tables by accusing Bonilla of being a client of (irony alert) Colombia's cartels. It's a dramatic, intense scene. But Connie stayed in Bogota even in the last, desperate 18 months that Search Bloc was tracking Escobar through the slums of Medellin. The showrunners used him as a useful receptacle for stuff many DEA agents did at the time. He was 36 years of age at the time of his death. He had family connections to the darker sides of Colombia's military, connections that saw him spearhead an attempt in the late 1980s to assassinate FARC's leadership. Employees of DEA and its predecessor agencies killed in the line of duty. After leaving colleagues at a restaurant en route to his hotel, Special Agent Watson hailed a cab and, after entering the cab, was stabbed by members of a robbery crew. Historically, not so much. Among them was the bombing of Gilberto Rodriguez's daughter's wedding. Despite once being the biggest rebel group in Colombia, FARC is curiously absent from Narcos. Of all the psychopaths in Narcos, perhaps none are quite so psychotic as the Castao brothers. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Former DEA agent Mike Vigil (left) burning two tons of cocaine in Colombia in 1984. After a federal tax rate of 22% has been taken out, Dea Agents could expect to have a take-home pay of $58,011/year, with each paycheck equaling approximately $2,417 *. With offices in London, Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Munich and Johannesburg, we are a truly international company that celebrates difference and diversity. Acting Deputy Director of the ATF Tom Chittum told ABC News in an interview it has been a hard week for federal law enforcement. United States. Times Narcos Lied To You About What Really Happened - Grunge Among the most prominent was David, the violent son of Cali godfather Miguel Rodriguez. Vice has the full story. July 1992. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Police. As the godfather of cocaine tries to escape across the rooftops, agent Steve Murphy gives chase. Read more >, On November 4, 2019, Jorge R. DelRio, a Dayton, Ohio, police officer and a 19-year Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer, along with other members of the DEA Dayton Resident Office were executing a federal narcotics search warrant at a residence in Dayton. So, yeah, the one "good" narco from Narcos was actually as shady as his career would suggest. TheAssociated Press reported on the peace deal. Guns were left in supermarkets, at bars, or on top of vehicles; they were stolen from hotel rooms and purses. In real life, not only did no Colonel Carrillo ever exist, but no one in Search Bloc ever died in such an ambush (via Daily Beast). As of Apr 19, 2023, the average annual pay for a DEA Agent in the United States is $76,795 a year. In return, these incredibly costly enforcement experiments have largely failed to actually limit people's consumptive habits. The DEA is also actively involved with law enforcement agencies at the state and local level. So the showrunners compromised. The DEA has terrorized and killed innocent people. [CDATA[// >