logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
1h 3m

The Secret Rise of Female Narcos in Lati...

The Underworld Podcast
About this episode
Deborah Bonello is a Mexico City-based reporter who's distilled years of reporting on some of the most dangerous women on earth into her new book "Narcas: The Secret Rise of Women in Latin America's Cartels". Deborah spoke to Sean about Lola "La Chata", the first female narco boss in Mexican history, the bathtub violence of Argentine smuggler Yolanda Sarmien ... Show More
Up next
Today
America's Nightmare Mafia Boss: Gaspipe Casso
Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso was the Lucchese family’s brutal underboss, the brains behind boss Vic Amuso's reign, and architect of one of the Mafia’s bloodiest purges. Together they ruled the Luccheses with paranoia and brute force, wiping out rivals and even dozens of their own men ... Show More
48m 25s
Aug 19
Fidel Castro: Cuba’s Cocaine Trafficker-in-Chief?
In 1959, when Fidel Castro’s revolutionaries toppled Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, they wasted no time booting out American business owners, casinos and drug kingpins — much to the delight of US law enforcers. But as time passed, and Castro’s socialist regime sought ever-tric ... Show More
1h 4m
Aug 12
The Dixie Mafia's Texas Millionaire Murders
When Bill Richardson, a troubled oilman and pro pigeon shooter, was gunned down on his Corpus Christi doorstep in 1971, everybody assumed it was an open-and-shut organized crime hit. But when Richardson’s supposed killers walked free from court, and another body showed up in the ... Show More
1h 5m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2023
Sarah Beeny, Rebekah Staton, Spanish football kiss update, Deborah Bonello on Narcas
The TV presenter Sarah Beeny has spent much of her life in the unpredictable world of property renovation. You'll find her in programmes such as Help! My House is Falling Down and Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country. Her latest book, The Simple Life - How I found Home, is about ... Show More
57m 26s
Jul 2021
Dangerous liaisons in Sinaloa
The Mexican state of Sinaloa is synonymous with drug trafficking. With the profits from organised crime a driver of the local economy, the tentacles of ‘narco cultura’ extend deep into people’s lives – especially those of women. In the city of Culiacan, plastic surgeons service d ... Show More
26m 38s
Oct 2023
The dark but luxurious life of El Chapo’s wife
Thousands of people - including politicians, students and journalists - are killed in drug cartel violence in Mexico every year.One of the biggest cartels is Sinaloa. Joaquín "El Chapo” Guzmán led the cartel until he was jailed in 2019. He’s currently serving a life sentence. His ... Show More
15 m
Jun 2021
MEXICO: The Little Old Lady Killer
A former luchadora disguises herself as a social worker and breaks into the homes of elderly women in Mexico City. From the late ‘90s to 2006, Juana Barraza strangled sixteen victims — but that number might actually be in the forties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca ... Show More
38m 41s
Apr 2023
Episode 267: Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo', his legacy and the Sinaloa cartel
He is locked up in a Colorado jail with some of the world’s most notorious prisoners, but the legacy of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman lives on in a never ending cycle of violence and corruption in Mexico.Since his incarceration his Sinaloa Cartel has continued to flood the US with drug ... Show More
54m 8s
Feb 2024
EP53: Lucha Libre Lady Killer
Unveiling the story of Mexico's first documented serial killer, Juana Barazza, presents a narrative steeped in stark contrasts and harrowing realities. At the age of 48, this single mother's life was shadowed by a disturbing past filled with horrific childhood abuse and sexual ex ... Show More
1h 19m
Apr 2019
“The Cocaine Godmother” Pt. 2: Griselda Blanco
After a DEA investigation forced Griselda Blanco to flee New York City in 1975, she returned to her hometown of Medellin, Colombia to run her cocaine operation from the shadows. There, she met a protege who would soon become her deadliest rival: Pablo Escobar. Parcasters - The US ... Show More
44m 28s