The Real Narcos: A Journey Through the Underworld of Narcotics (Arizona - Mexico - New Orleans) 1979

In this episode, we're diving deep into the world of narcotics trafficking and the real-life narcos who shaped the underworld of organized crime. Our journey begins in the 1940s, a time when Vito Genovese was laying the groundwork for drug routes through Sicily, weaving a web that would link Italy to the heart of America's underworld. We’ll explore the birth of intelligence operations that would come to impact this world—the transformation of the Office of Strategic Services into the Central Intelligence Agency, and the murky alliances that started to form between these agencies and organized crime.

As we move into the 1950s, we’ll shed light on the Korean War era and examine the challenges the Kennedy administration would inherit in the 1960s—a time when the ties between intelligence agencies and criminal syndicates were deepening, especially in the narcotics trade. This history reveals a dark undercurrent, one that entangled intelligence networks with the narcotics world, among other illicit ventures.

Once we've established this background, we’ll jump to 1979—a critical year for the narcotics underworld. Our story shifts to Arizona, Mexico, and New Orleans, examining each of these regions as hubs of drug trafficking. We’ll spotlight the notorious bosses, captains, and key players in each syndicate, tracing how their operations connected back to powerful Mexican organized crime groups. These criminal networks flooded the United States with narcotics from diverse origins: some through Italy and Montreal (via the infamous "French Connection" with Marseille’s merciless routes) and others through Mexico, crossing into states like California and Arizona.

These three locations—Arizona, Mexico, and New Orleans—will serve as our foundation for understanding the crime landscape of 1979. During this time, three rising syndicates were transforming the drug trade: a new generation of Italian-Sicilian gangsters, the young John Gottis of the world, moving eagerly into the narcotics business; the newly emerging Colombian cartels, ruthless syndicates that would soon challenge the Colombian government and unleash waves of violence; and, finally, the Mexican Mafia, a cartel steadily gaining power and forging alliances with American criminal groups.

The 1979 article we’ll be referencing captures this shifting landscape, as the old guard of mobsters began to fade and a new era of gangsters took their place. This episode will explore these pivotal figures and their connections, painting a vivid picture of a world where organized crime was rapidly evolving, fueled by a booming narcotics trade that spanned from Colombia to Mexico to America.

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