For 30 years, DEA special agent Jack Riley led the manhunt for the world’s most wanted drug-lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.   He reveals how El Chapo cleverly wrangled the cocaine trade from the Columbian cartels, how he saw America’s growing opiod epidemic as an opportunity to branch out into meth and heroine, and how he managed to run a multi-billion dollar drug empire from a Mexican prison (until he escaped).  Jack discusses being on the dangerous front-lines of the war on drugs as head of the DEA’s El Paso, TX office, how it led to $100,000 price on his head, and what he learned about policing the border, how drugs get into America, and where they go from there.  He reveals how Guzman escaped capture so many times,  and how the Mexican government had to postpone a raid on his compound because of actor Sean Penn.  We talk about the recent El Chapo trial, the US opiod epidemic and what needs to be done to address it, criminal justice reform, Donald Trump’s wall, and Trump’s wild assertion that El Chapo put out a hit on him.

Order Jack Riley’s new book Drug Warrior: Inside the Hunt for El Chapo and the Rise of America's Opioid Crisis on Amazon, Audible or wherever books are sold.  Today’s podcast sponsored by Brother Printers INKvestment printer.  Please support the show by taking our annual listener survey at www.podsurvey.com/kick, and register to win a $100 Amazon gift card.   Please subscribe to Kickass News on Apple Podcasts and leave us a review, follow us on twitter at @KickassNewsPod, and visit our website at www.kickassnews.com.

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