In the late 2000's, the Mexico government put together a list of dozens of Narco kingpins it wanted to bring down. Only one name from that list is not imprisoned or dead, and still sitting stop the Mexican cartel world: El Mayo. Nearing 80, he's never so much as been arrested despite co-founding and then co-leading the Sinaloa cartel for decades.
Learn more ... Show More
Feb 10
The OG Yakuza Godfather, Kazuo Taoka
Orphaned and kicked out of work, Kazuo Taoka was an unlikely candidate to become one of postwar Japan’s most important characters. But by combining violence with a talent for legitimate business and corruption, the immaculately-suited gangster would lead the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza ... Show More
1h 2m
Jan 27
Italy's Unknown 5th Mafia, The Stidda
In the late 1970s, as Sicily descended into all-out mafia war, the island’s allegiances split between the ruthless Corleonesi clan, led by Toto Riina, and southern gangsters fed up with Riina’s campaign of murder that was spilling innocent lives, and disgusting the Italian public ... Show More
52m 47s
Feb 2021
El Chapo Part 1: Public Enemy Number One
El Chapo: the scourge of Mexico and America’s most-wanted. Joaquín Guzmán Loera, to use his real name, escaped from custody multiple times and dodged death many more. For years, he rode roughshod over Mexican justice and evaded the long arm of the US Government. He became an A-li ... Show More
38m 39s
Jul 2020
“El Chapo” Pt. 1: Joaquín Guzmán
Before he became the most powerful drug cartel leader in the world, building tunnels to evade authorities and growing his power even from inside prison, Joaquín Guzmán Loera was a small-town marijuana farmer in Sinaloa, Mexico. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic ... Show More
40m 40s
Jan 2024
El Chapo: Cocaine kingpin
The story of Mexican drug lord Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, better known as El Chapo, the leader of one of the world’s most prolific, violent and powerful drug cartels.BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow El Chapo from childhood in the Mexican moun ... Show More
50m 48s
Feb 2021
El Chapo Part 2: The Tunnel King
In the early 1980s, Chapo Guzmán is still in his mid-20s. But he’s already grabbed the attention of the Guadalajara Kingpin. Promoted to the Cartel's inner circle, he uses tunnels, ships and even submarines to transport contraband. Chapo assumes personal control of Sinaloa State ... Show More
41m 12s
Mar 2021
El Chapo Part 7: The Curtain Falls?
A desperate flight through a sewage pipe is not enough to deliver El Chapo to freedom. Arrested and extradited to the United States, his story closes in a packed Brooklyn courtroom, in front of the world’s media. But even as Chapo departs the stage, Mexico remains under siege fro ... Show More
35m 8s