Episode Details

Bubba and Pete trace the history of the North American drug trade from its earliest roots to the birth of the modern cartel era. The story begins with the Manila Galleons and centuries of trade between China and Mexico, then moves through opium production in Sinaloa, Chinese immigration, Civil War-era morphine demand, Prohibition and organized crime. From Bugsy Siegel and the mob to Operation Condor, Pablo Escobar, Kiki Camarena, Rafael Caro Quintero and the Guadalajara Cartel, they follow the people, politics and economic forces that transformed the trade. The journey ends in 1989, when the collapse of the Guadalajara network helped give rise to the cartel structure that would dominate the decades that followed.

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