All language subtitles for Drug Wars s01e02

The war on drugs is now in its fifth
decade.

America's public enemy number one in the
United States is drug abuse.

Fueled by consumers in the United
States, it continues to generate

the cartel.

For three months, Fusion embedded with
the men and women fighting the modern

-day war on drugs.

And they gave us an unprecedented look
inside a new international anti

-narcotics operation called Martillo,
the ham.

While we were there, the operation
seized $400 million worth of pure

This is Drug Wars.

Colombian ports are the gateways for
drug exports to the United States.

The supply chain begins deep in jungle
labs and reaches the coastal cities like

Uraba and Cartagena.

So the Colombian Coast Guard or Armada
are the first line of defense for

We can

distribute

to Central America, Mexico, and the
Caribbean.

And the distances are short.

The decline of the major cartels in the
90s loosened their grip on power in

Colombia.

And the police are now well -organized,
well -trained, and heavily armed.

But for all their firepower in the drug
wars today, it often comes down to one

critical factor, informants and spies.

This agent has been working deep cover
for over 15 years.

Toledo has become a trusted middleman
for the cartel. He connects drugs to

overseas clients, then provides intel to
U .S. and Colombian authorities.

But human intelligence also comes from

the civilian population.

And with any delivery of a ton, two
tons, they felt good with 20 million

pesos that they gave them as a reward
for that amount of drugs.

We received in the afternoon, in the
National Army, in the Guard Coastal

of Urabá, a call to 123, in which the
Guard Coastal Station was notified of a

boat.

Registered to the African city of
Monrovia and Liberia, The ship is about

sail for international waters.

This tip is pretty light on details,

but the Armada officers are told it's
reliable.

The contraband may be on this ship or
some other nearby.

So they have little choice but to do a
random search and hope to get lucky.

The patrol looks carefully at the ship's
cargo manifest, and they notice

something strange about one particular
container.

The cargo crew records everything.

If drugs are found, this could keep them
in port for days.

An empty container seems suspicious.

But it doesn't get this investigation
any closer to a bust.

In Panama, the national police are also
acting on a tip. This time, about a

shipment from Colombia, possibly
involving street gangs in Panama City.

We have a situation now that's most
relevant in that the Colombian cartels

delivering into Central America now. And
from Central America to changing hands

into the Mexican cartels for further
distribution into the United States.

This shipment is coming from Las Perlas,
a group of islands off the coast of

Panama.

The National Panama Police are acting on
a tip about Colombian drug runners, and

according to the officials, it demands a
large -scale response.

The commander has entrusted us with
another mission for which they have been

summoned here.

There is intelligence information that
the Pearl Archipelago, our mission in

Defensor 1 and Defensor 2 boats is to
intercept that boat and neutralize its

occupants and try to recover the drugs
that they carry on board.

If we don't have any other questions,
then we are going to board the boats.

From the front, go!

The commander dispatches the troops for
the sea operation.

But there's also a SWAT team at the
ready in case the traffickers make it to

shore.

Since

they started

dealing with Colombian and Mexican
cartels, Panamanian officials say the

here have become more organized and more
violent.

Previously, no civilian cars could
enter, no people could enter, walking,

without the criminals coming and
attacking them. In other words, they had

sector completely controlled.

These areas are known as the Red Zone of
San Miguelito, the

area where the greatest concentration of
crimes, homicides,

robberies is maintained.

The police here rely on a system of
street informants to track the gangs and

their drug trafficking.

But according to American officials,
these aren't just local problems.

These organizations are destabilizing
local communities, cities, even to some

extent the potential to destabilize
countries.

That's why we and all of our partners
are engaged in this effort to combat

Panama police also call in air support.

The team heads out to the Pacific in two
boats.

one capable of chasing down high -speed
targets, and the other for pursuit in

shallow waters.

According to the intelligence, this is
the place to intercept the go -fast.

And almost immediately, radar picks
something up a mile out.

Ufec, Defender, Ufec.

Ufec, Defender, Ufec.

Out of the darkness, a boat with three
fishermen motors pass, surprised to

encounter two heavily armed police
boats.

But they are allowed to pass through.

The wait continues.

After striking out with the cargo ship,
the Coast Guard chases a new tip.

Another patrol hauled in suspects with a
small cargo of bananas.

They think this time they've got the
right boat.

But finding the drugs might not be so
easy.

The police struggle to find any sign of
a hidden compartment at first sight.

So they drill holes inside and start
poking until something hits.

As the officer is pulling out the drill,
he catches a net covered in white

substance.

A closer look at the drill bit confirms
white powder.

But they need proof in the form of a
field test.

If it turns blue, that's a positive ID
for cocaine.

A Panama SWAT team has crossed Panama
City to the suburb of Veracruz, ready

any orders from the team in the bay.

The helicopter spots a go -fast heading
right for the police boats.

The go fast continues at full speed
trying to outrun the police.

The GOFAST turns and heads for shore.

The two police boats split up. Only one
can enter shallow waters.

The boat sank.

The three who were on board proceeded to
escape through the area of Chumical.

Copy that. They proceeded to escape.

Defend the harpoon. Defend the harpoon.

The boat maintains, maintains, maintains
the sack. Copy that. Maintains the

sack.

Copy that. Through the area of the
village. They were mobilized through the

of the village.

They entered the village. We are going
to maintain the boat safe with the load.

I maintain approximately three sacks.

We're going to wait for the competent
authorities to come up with those

The land personnel is already in search
of the descriptions you're giving, copy?

Copy, commander. We're going to keep the
area safe until the competent

authorities come, copy?

Affirmative, that's right, that's right.

They're staying there, but the personnel
I have here, we're going to the land,

brother, we're going to the land.

Copy, copy, copy.

Two men in black, one in white, fleeing
to the Chumical village in Veracruz.

We were not able to activate the
personnel of the special forces, since

anti -drug personnel gave an execution
to a boat.

The drug traffickers managed to get to
the land.

Well, the teams proceed to the sector of
Titopiedra. Titopiedra, have you

located it? Have you copied it? Let's
go.

Copy, copy. Copy.

While the manhunt continues in Panama,
Colombian police have found some white

powder inside a detained boat.

They perform a field test.

If the test comes back blue, that means
it's cocaine.

The officers confirm the presence of
cocaine.

But how much are they smuggling?

The police arrest the suspects and
inform them of their rights.

The police pulled a total of 32 kilos
from the boat.

As for the indigenous traffickers, they
will face up to 10 years in jail.

Just outside Panama City, the police are
tipped off on a possible drug smuggler

hideout.

We already have the building surrounded,
so we are going to proceed, depending

on the degree of aggressiveness that
there is, so we are going to enter.

Team A is going to go to the right side.

Team B is going to go to the left side.

The man number one immediately enters B
to the right.

Advance, advance, advance.

I can't hear you. Report, report,
report.

The important thing about this operation
is that we were able to capture

The men will be taken back to Panama
City Police headquarters for processing.

If convicted in a Panamanian court, the
Colombians captured today could get up

to 10 years in prison.

But ultimately...

Just like in the Columbian case, the key
in making this bust was a so -called

human intelligence, informants.

According to officials, the newest
cartels in Colombia, such as the

have transitioned into a
microtrafficking strategy.

In fact, we're running them over the
border in smaller lots, never more than

kilograms, sometimes as little as 20,
smuggling them over small time and then

doing it all the time, all the time and
building up.

We see the same thing in maritime.

We used to, years ago, have huge boats
with tons and tons of cocaine on them,

but it's smaller than it was before.

Mexican cartels buying a kilo from a
Colombian lab can pay up to $2 ,500 a

with 90 % purity.

By the time the same kilo hits the
streets in the U .S., dealers will have

it at least three or four times, selling
each kilo for about $45 ,000, reducing

its purity to about 60%. And crack
cocaine has been diluted so much it

just about 10 % pure cocaine.

On the next episode of Drug Wars.

U .S. Navy Sip Wren heads out for a
mission in the Pacific.

I wasn't kidding when I said we've got
about 25 feet on either side.

And the Columbian Armada get a tip on a
hidden drug stash.