Borderland: Narcosis with Vincent 'Rocco' Vargas

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New Episodes Every Monday. An unfiltered look at real stories from America's Southern Border. Each week, special operations combat veteran, actor, writer, and veteran BORSTAR Agent Vincent “Rocco” Vargas sits down with guests to discuss the ruthless forces driving mass migration—organized crime. This season, Borderland: Narcosis takes an unfiltered look at the criminal networks fueling the crisis, from human trafficking and the drug trade to extortion and corruption embedded at every level of society. An IRONCLAD Original

  1. 3 days ago

    The New Era of Cartel Warfare — How Modern Wars Are Reshaping Cartels

    On today’s episode, Vince welcomes back Katarina Szulc, investigative journalist and host of the Ironclad Original, Borderland: Dispatches. Kat shares insights from her recent reporting in Ukraine, where authorities are investigating claims that foreign fighters with cartel ties traveled to the front lines to learn modern combat tactics before returning to Latin America. The conversation also explores foreign mercenaries in Ukraine, the evolution of cartel warfare, U.S. pressure on cartel leadership, corruption in Mexico, and what these developments could mean for the future of organized crime. Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (01:44) Cartels, Ukraine, and FPV Drone Warfare (03:26) The Colombian Connection & Drone Schools in Lviv (09:52) American Mercenaries & Background Checks on the Front Lines (11:33) Gamers vs. Combat: How Simple is FPV Drone Flying? (15:24) Behind the Scenes of the Global Mercenary Recruitment Machine (25:06) US Boots on the Ground & The Standoff over Drone Strikes in Mexico (29:51) Cartel Corruption & Political Gaslighting in Sinaloa (34:22) The 2026 World Cup: A Cartel Moneymaker? (47:17) 2026 Wrap-Up: The Year of the Fallen Kingpins & The Endless Drug War Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Norwood Sawmills: Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironclad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    57 min

  2. 5 days ago ·  Bonus

    The CJNG Kentucky Cattle Conspiracy (Jon Griggs Supercut)

    What started as a routine security check in rural Kentucky unraveled into what might be the largest cattle fraud scheme in U.S. history, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. This compilation brings together the complete, escalating investigation by Borderland into a massive criminal enterprise that the authorities seemingly refuse to touch. Follow security contractor Jon Griggs as he risks everything to expose a web of corruption that stretches far beyond the pasture. Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters: 00:00 – Part 1: The Phantom Herd 15:42 – Part 2: Six Months Later (The Danger Escalates) 32:15 – Part 3: One Year Later (The Cover-Up & The Unseen Evidence) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    2h 18m

  3. 8 Jun

    Kentucky's CJNG Money Laundering Network - From Ghost Cattle to a Crypto Torture Mansion (Jon Griggs Returns)

    Jon Griggs returns to Borderland: Narcosis for his third appearance, picking up a story that's grown far beyond where it started. What began as a routine assignment to secure a Kentucky cattle farm in 2023 has unraveled into a $4.5 billion money-laundering case with alleged ties to the CJNG cartel and a string of connections Jon never expected to find. Listen to Jon's previous appearances for the full background on the Kentucky cattle case. Part 1: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324?i=1000705242380 Part 2: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324?i=1000746748432 Chapters: (00:00) Welcome Back & The Case So Far (02:40) How the Ghost Cattle Scheme Worked (06:37) The Federal Case Was Dismissed (09:06) $10 Billion in Bank Transfers and No Arrests (13:18) Someone Impersonated Jon to Set a Trap (22:04) Inside the Mansion: The 911 Call and the Party (31:25) Following the Money to Florida (38:39) The Hemp Fraud Playbook (42:14) The Sheriff Election and Civil Rights Investigations (49:00) A Message to Federal Investigators Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Norwood Sawmills: Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironclad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min

  4. 1 Jun

    A Former Mexican Customs Official on Cartels, Corruption, and U.S. Strikes (with Karlo Villalpando)

    On today's episode, Vince sits down with Karlo Villalpando, a 10-year veteran of Mexican Customs and former Port Director in Sonoyta, to discuss the recent surrender of Sinaloa's Secretary of Public Safety to the DEA, the SDNY indictment naming Sinaloa state officials allegedly on the cartel's payroll, and what President Claudia Sheinbaum's government is and isn't doing about it. They also cover the cartel's parallel governance over U.S. companies operating in Mexico and whether U.S. operators are already on the ground. Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (03:05) What Americans Get Wrong About the Cartels (05:17) The Cartels Are a Parallel Government in Mexico (12:17) Why Corruption Runs Mexico's Government (16:38) "They Offered Me Cash, Cars, and Properties" — A Cartel Bribe Attempt (21:21) A Sinaloa Cabinet Official Surrenders to the DEA (22:21) Cartels Inside U.S. Companies Operating in Mexico (33:26) Is Sheinbaum's Government Actually Fighting the Cartels? (44:30) Will the U.S. Strike Mexico? And Why U.S. Operators May Already Be There Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Norwood Sawmills: Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironclad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    58 min

  5. 26 May

    ‘They Don't Want a Helo Landing Outside Their House’” Why Sinaloa Narcos Are Turning Themselves In

    On this episode of Borderland: Narcosis, Vince Vargas speaks with retired Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens about the risk of the Northern Border, the state of border security, and threats to national security. Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original Sponsors: Watch ‘Pressure’ in theaters starting May 29th. 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Norwood Sawmills: Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironclad Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6w9YAIljxWKXsetl10w9Qp?si=8a5eb53e12b74e3a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    50 min

  6. 18 May

    Cartel Smuggling Ops: Former Pablo Escobar Pilot Explains How He Flew Millions in Product to the US

    Today's guest is Roger Reaves. He spent more than 30 years prison, having escaped five different times. He was heavily involved in smuggling operations for the Medellín Cartel and Pablo Escobar. Is the author of the book Smuggler: https://www.amazon.com/Smuggler-Mr-Roger-Reaves/dp/0692630538 Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Norwood Sawmills: Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironclad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    48 min

  7. 11 May

    3 Russians, 12 Miles Inside California: Inside the San Diego Pipeline Still Wide Open

    Cory Gautereaux, founder of the GOAT Initiative, returns to Borderland to discuss what he and his team are seeing on the San Diego border. He covers a recent incident involving three Russian nationals found 10–12 miles inside California, the discarded passports and documents his team continues to recover, the role of contractors along the border, and the disconnect between federal messaging and what locals are reporting on the ground. Follow Cory: X / Instagram: @TheCoryGoat | @GoatInitiative Support the GOAT Initiative: https://www.thegoatinitiative.org/ Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters: (00:00) Intro (01:00 ) 4 Years Later: What's Changed (and What Hasn't) on the San Diego Border (05:50) "Zero Crossings" Was a Lie: 3 Russians, 12 Miles Inside California (08:25) Why Border Patrol Can't Respond: Agents Pulled to Deport Grandmas (13:35) What the GOAT Initiative Actually Does With Captured Intel (15:55) Special Interest Aliens Still Crossing: China, Pakistan, Iran on Turkish Docs (22:25) Mexican Military Crossed 300 Yards Into the U.S. (26:20) California's Sanctuary Loophole: Why $50K Buyers Go Home Free (31:25) The Documents Nobody Will Process: Mauritania, Ethiopia, and the Warlord Problem (42:55) "The Guys With Beards": Why Contractors Are the Most Secure Part of the Border (49:00)Breaking Down the White House "Zero Crossings" Claim Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Norwood Sawmills: Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironclad Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6w9YAIljxWKXsetl10w9Qp?si=8a5eb53e12b74e3a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    57 min

  8. 4 May

    The Hunt for Iván Guzmán Intensifies: Ex-DEA Boss Who Hunted El Chapo on What Comes Next

    On today's episode, Vince welcomes back former DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, the man who led the hunt for El Chapo, for a breakdown of where the hunt for Iván goes next, why the Chapitos can't survive the way their father did, and what the U.S. government's new whole-of-government strategy actually looks like from the inside. Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (01:31 The Chapitos on the DEA's radar during the El Chapo case (02:03) Why Iván is the last man standing in Sinaloa (03:13) CJNG fractures and the battle for Sinaloa (07:35) Iván vs. El Chapo: who's more dangerous? (11:21) Sheinbaum's shift and the new U.S.–Mexico collaboration (13:39) How the U.S. really took down El Mencho (16:18) The CJNG power vacuum (17:15) Iván Guzmán: public enemy number one (31:37) How Ray would take down Iván today (33:53) Hunting Iván vs. hunting El Chapo (35:05) China, fentanyl precursors, and the financial side (40:07) How cartels are using technology and social media Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to⁠ ⁠https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland⁠⁠ and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Norwood Sawmills: Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironclad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    47 min
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New Episodes Every Monday. An unfiltered look at real stories from America's Southern Border. Each week, special operations combat veteran, actor, writer, and veteran BORSTAR Agent Vincent “Rocco” Vargas sits down with guests to discuss the ruthless forces driving mass migration—organized crime. This season, Borderland: Narcosis takes an unfiltered look at the criminal networks fueling the crisis, from human trafficking and the drug trade to extortion and corruption embedded at every level of society. An IRONCLAD Original

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