Eric Balliet spent more than 25 years as a federal law enforcement agent investigating some of the world's most dangerous drug cartels and criminal organizations. From patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border to helping capture notorious cartel leader El Chapo twice, Eric takes us inside the hidden world of drug trafficking, human smuggling, underground tunnels, and corruption. He also served as a top law enforcement advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security under both Obama and Trump, giving him a rare perspective on what really happens behind the scenes at ICE, the border, and the highest levels of government. Now retired, Eric reveals the realities of fighting organized crime and the stories behind his book, Kingpins & Coyotes.
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Thank you to AG1 & GLD for sponsoring this episode:
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GLD: New customers get 40% Off with code LOCKEDIN at https://www.gld.com/
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Connect with Eric Balliet: Website: https://www.kingpinsandcoyotes.com/bio
Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H9JSVJT2?lv=shuf&bestFormat=true&channelId=704&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_C1GTVD3KQ35B9YVK5WES&plpRedirect=mhFallback
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-balliet/
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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://ianbick.com/
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Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction: 25 Years Chasing Cartels
00:00 Early Border Patrol Years
00:31 Growing Up in Syracuse
02:30 Finding Law Enforcement
05:40 College Years and Joining Border Patrol
28:00 Becoming an ICE Agent
31:30 Early ICE Career
34:20 The Main Drugs
39:20 Following a Vehicle
44:10 Playing Whack-a-Mole with Stash Houses
47:00 Life Inside a Cartel
50:00 Cartel Comms Evolution
51:20 Cartel Communication
55:00 Cartel's Desert Scouts
56:10 Cartel Counter-Intel and Comms
57:00 Why Interdiction Fails
59:00 How Cartels Absorb Losses
01:01:10 Inside Cartel Recruitment and Crews
01:02:40 Violence on the US Side
01:05:00 Cartel's Stance on Law Enforcement
01:06:00 Cartel Human Smuggling Networks
01:08:00 How Cartels Tax Human Smugglers
01:11:40 US Border Security Failures
01:13:40 The 'Carry Her' Intercept
01:16:20 Terrorists on the Border
01:19:40 ICE's Shift to Civil Enforcement
01:24:40 Kingpins vs. Kingdoms
01:26:40 Dismantling the Kingdom
01:28:30 Corruption and Convictions
01:30:50 Why Banks Turn a Blind Eye
01:32:50 Not a Winning Battle
01:35:50 Public Misconceptions
01:44:00 What Comes Now
01:46:50 The Book and the Next Chapter
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