Javier Peña, the retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent whose fight to take down Medellín Cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar was dramatized in Netflix’s “Narcos,” sits down with hosts Giovanni Rocco and Dutch McAlpin to share the real story of his career. After starting his law enforcement career in a Laredo, Texas jail, Javier Peña never expected the world’s most violent drug trafficker would know him by name and put a $300,000 bounty on his life. In this episode, Peña details his work as a DEA agent, setting the record straight about how he was portrayed in the show. He also discusses the key role the Colombian task force played in the takedown of Pablo Escobar.
After 30 years of service, Peña retired from the DEA in 2014 as the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Houston Field Division. Though best known for his role alongside Steve Murphy on the Pablo Escobar case, Peña worked hundreds of cases that took him around the globe as an undercover agent, helping to dismantle and diminish drug trafficking networks.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:08:13 Learning the drug trade
00:12:32 Undercover stories
00:21:22 Almost a rogue agent
00:28:47 The search for Kiki Camarena
00:42:03 Going after Escobar and his Sicarios
00:53:16 Taking the fight stateside
00:56:43 Pablo Escobar, the devil himself
00:57:53 Los Pepes take over
1:00:43 Netflix's Narcos and the lingering impact of Escobar
Produced by The Mob Museum.
Presented by Levy Online and Levy Production Group.
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