Enrique ‘Ric’ Prado found himself in his first firefight at age seven. The son of a middle-class Cuban family caught in the midst of the Castro Revolution, his family fled Cuba and their home for the hope of a better life in America.

Ric joins James for today's episode - retired from the Central Intelligence Agency as the CIA equivalent of a two star general - to talk about his legendary career in the shadowy world of assassins, terrorists, spies and revolutionaries. Operating in the shadows during the Cold War and the War on Terror, Ric and his fellow CIA officers fought a little-seen and virtually unknown war to keep USA safe. Ric's memories offer a unique glimpse into the shadow wars that America fought since the Vietnam Era, and the long battle with Al Qaeda.

You can buy Ric’s book ‘Black ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior’ here: shorturl.at/qvNYZ

For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare newsletter here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries and ad-free podcasts at History Hit.