CrashOut Podcast

Ioan Grillo

Reporting on crime, drugs, and gangster politics, and the people who live and die through it, with journalist Ioan Grillo

  1. 36. Inside The Venezuelan Militias

    2 FEB

    36. Inside The Venezuelan Militias

    Those who follow Venezuela will remember news of the militias that took to the streets in the days following the U.S. operation to nab Nicolás Maduro, raising fears of a Beirut-like situation of armed neighborhoods. While these militias, known as colectivos, returned to their bunkers as Delcy Rodríguez consolidated power, they remain a wild card in the volatile Venezuela situation.  The fleeting news reports only scratched the surface and gave little info about how powerful these Chavista colectivos are and where that might stand in post-Maduro Venezuela. But a friend of CrashOut, Martín “Marty” Markovits, spent years filming with crews in Caracas, producing an incredible documentary about them. In this convo, I talk with Marty about the history of the colectivos, who gave them their guns and how difficult it would be to disarm them. He also describes a scene which his main character didn’t want in the film about a meeting between colectivos and ELN guerillas.  For more info and to support the podcast, go to www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show

    39 min
  2. 35. The DEA Agent Who Debriefed Osiel Cárdenas

    29 JAN

    35. The DEA Agent Who Debriefed Osiel Cárdenas

    Osiel Cárdenas, head of the Gulf Cartel, has eyes like the devil, former DEA Agent Mike Chavarria says, describing when he debriefed him after his extradition. “Looking in his eyes was like looking into a dark abyss,” he says. Osiel’s rival Armando “Maradona” Valencia, meanwhile, is an intellectual. He was always looking slick when Mike met the narco in safe locations and he began negotiations for a potential surrender. Azul is widely believed to be dead but Mike has heard info he could have escaped to the Seychelles.  I have talked to many current and former DEA agents over the years but Mike is one of the most fascinating. He was not only at the center of a dozen crazy cases, especially in a violent crazy period in Mexico, but he joins the dots to chronicle the bloody cartel history and has been using this knowledge to pen books, including “Junior: A Son of the Gulf Cartel,” which you can find here.  On this episode of the CrashOut Podcast, Mike breaks down how he went undercover to bust dope, his secret meetings with narcos, suspecting Mexican security chief Genaro García Luna before his conviction for cocaine trafficking, and Trump’s new war on drugs. It’s a nuts ride through a painful era.  Support the show

    1h 37m
  3. 34. The Regime Decapitation Model in Venezuela

    23 JAN

    34. The Regime Decapitation Model in Venezuela

    Reports have come out alleging that Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez coordinated with Washington before the special force attack on Caracas to seize President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. The result is a strange hybrid of Venezuela’s socialist government still in place and now working with (or rather under) President Donald Trump.  It’s not the only curious and confusing feature of the “regime decapitation.” The CIA is now openly praising working with Rodríguez and it leaked a report saying that opposition leader María Corina Machado didn’t have the support (before she gave her Nobel peace prize to Trump). Can the Chavista government stay in power or is this a temporary situation? What really motivated Trump to take out Maduro and when did he make the call?  I get deep into the historic events with great journalist and friend Juan David Rojas, “our man in Miami,” (or close by in South Florida) in this latest episode of the CrashOut Podcast. You can find more of Juan’s work in various outlets, including Compact Magazine, at his own Substack, Social Democracy With Populist Characteristics, or on X at @rojasrjuand. To find out more, go to  www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show

    1h 10m
  4. 33. Guerrillas, Gangs and Spies on the Venezuela Border

    16 JAN

    33. Guerrillas, Gangs and Spies on the Venezuela Border

    The growth of the National Liberation Army or ELN, a sprawling guerilla force of 6,500 combatants shifting between Venezuela and Colombia, has hardly got any attention in the United States. Yet it’s just one of various explosive stories from the Colombia-Venezuela border, where spies, gangs, and insurgents are adjusting to the new political situation after U.S. special forces took out Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.  Here I cut together video from a week reporting in Cúcuta and in the countryside north of the city, so you can see with your own eyes the dirt smuggling paths, border barrio of Venezuelan refugees, Colombian armored vehicles, contraband gasoline and more colorful scenes. It’s a CrashOut guerrilla podcast, but while it has a jagged edge style we go deeper than in the snappy cable news lives.  Check out more at: www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show

    16 min
  5. 32. I went into a Satanic temple in Mexico

    22/12/2025

    32. I went into a Satanic temple in Mexico

    This was a crazy and freaky experience. Check out more on: www.crashoutmedia.com Or support at: https://buymeacoffee.com/ioangrillo Support the show

    20 min
  6. 31. Secrets of Noriega and the CIA

    10/12/2025

    31. Secrets of Noriega and the CIA

    As U.S. military forces pile up in the Caribbean, pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to run, the obvious comparison comes up with the 1989 invasion of Panama to take out dictator Manuel Noriega. This makes perfect timing for a remarkable new book by journalist Cillian Dunne about Noriega through the eyes of his right hand man, and as Cillian says “attack dog,” Carlos Wittgreen.  A young writer from Dublin, Cillian gained extraordinary access to Carlos and to his trove of documents, right before Carlos died a few months ago. The story of Noriega is fascinating and complex, how he was a CIA and DEA asset yet also worked with the Medellín Cartel, how he played off Washington and Cuba, and had a personal dispute with George H. W. Bush who took him down with a shower of bombs and rock music. Carlos is at the center of this drama while leading his own crazy life in the shadow world, getting training from the United States and Mossad and ending up in a Peruvian prison. Sometimes the world chooses you to tell these surreal stories, and it did with Cillian, who makes a great guest on the CrashOut Podcast and takes us down some jaw dropping avenues.  You can find Cillian's book and info at: https://www.therighthandmanbook.com/  Check out more on Ioan Grillo and CrashOut Podcast at: www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show

    53 min
  7. 30. Joaquín Jr Confesses To Kidnapping El Mayo

    03/12/2025

    30. Joaquín Jr Confesses To Kidnapping El Mayo

    Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of El Chapo, pled guilty to drug trafficking in a federal court in Chicago on Monday, and signed a plea agreement in which he confessed to kidnapping Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada (referred to as Individual A) and flying him to the United States to hand into U.S. justice.  Any reader of CrashOut knows we have been deep into this story all the way (check out the archive), and I break down what was revealed with Joaquín Jr’s confession. The saga of the Mayo kidnapping itself is coming to an end, but the war it provoked in Sinaloa rages on as bad as ever.  Find out more at: www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show

    11 min
  8. 29. Inside Mexico's 15N Protests and Riots

    17/11/2025

    29. Inside Mexico's 15N Protests and Riots

    It was tough day in Mexico City on Saturday of protests, riots, vandalism, and arrests that highlighted some difficult divisions in Mexico. I went into report and got a good dose of gas myself. Here is the story. (Above for the video or below for the audio).  For more info, go to: www.crashoutmedia.com Support the show

    24 min
See All (44)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Reporting on crime, drugs, and gangster politics, and the people who live and die through it, with journalist Ioan Grillo

Information

  • Creator
    Ioan Grillo
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 CrashOut Podcast
  • Show Website
    CrashOut Podcast

You Might Also Like