EP 1: The Fixer

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman’s high-security trial in New York serves as the backdrop for an investigation into the global drug trade and the violent reality of the Sinaloa cartel. Keegan Hamilton reports from the ground in Culiacan, Mexico, alongside local journalist and fixer Miguel Ángel Vega, to demystify the mechanics of heroin trafficking. The narrative highlights the perspective of an independent trafficker who operates within the cartel’s shadow, detailing the logistical complexities of moving drugs into U.S. cities and the constant threat of lethal retribution. Beyond the business of narcotics, the report exposes the pervasive climate of impunity in Mexico, where journalists face extreme danger while documenting a conflict that remains largely unresolved, leaving local communities to navigate a cycle of violence that has become a grim, everyday reality.