How the CIA Helped Create the First Mexican Cartel: On Amazon's "The Last Narc"
It’s not often that a documentary exposes the government's involvement in cocaine trafficking, so I wasn’t surprised when Amazon indefinitely postponed their documentary “The Last Narc” last May. I was pleasantly surprised when it appeared on the streaming service late July.
“The Last Narc,” over the course of four episodes, tells the history of the 1985 kidnapping and murder of American DEA agent Kiki Camarena. The same saga was told on Netflix hit series “Narcos: Mexico” with one big difference. In “Narcos,” Camarena was kidnapped by a mean Mexican drug cartel and killed, but in “The Last Narc,” Camarena was kidnapped by a mean Mexican drug Cartel, then interrogated by a notorious CIA agent, and then killed.
The difference is an important one. Very important. The way “Narcos: Mexico” tells it, these Mexican cartels are responsible not just for the violence in Mexico, but for the drug problems of Americans. The way “The Last Narc” tells it, the CIA is partly responsible for the violence in Mexico, as well as the crack era that ruined the lives of countless Americans.
The real hero of the story is Hector Berrellez, an American DEA agent who led the investigation into Kiki Camarena’s death. He appears frequently in “The Last Narc.” He’s not in “Narcos: Mexico.” They have a white character playing who he’s supposed to be. And instead of finding out the CIA had a role in the kidnapping and killing of Kiki Camarena, the white guy finds out it was just a bunch of bad Mexicans.
Former DEA agent Hector Berrellez.
Berrellez found three witnesses to the torture and murder of Kiki Camarena: Jorge Godoy, Ramón Lira, and Rene Lopez, all former law enforcement officials who also worked as bodyguards for the Guadalajara Cartel, which was responsible for Camarena’s kidnapping. All three claimed to have seen notorious CIA agent and George H.W. Bush confidante, Felix Rodriguez, interrogating Camarena before he died. The men claim that Rodriguez was asking Camarena, a DEA agent, what he knew about the CIA’s relationship with the drug trade and corrupt Mexican officials.
Berrellez and others came to the conclusion that Rodriguez's involvement in the interrogation was to protect the CIA: to hide from the DEA their involvement in the drug trade and their illicit support of the Contras—the U.S-backed rebel groups in Nicaragua at the heart of the Iran-Contra affair, in which top government officials sold arms to Iran to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
Pretty fucked up shit. Crazy that Amazon, the same streaming service that produced “Jack Ryan,” a CIA propaganda show that paints the CIA as heroes who save Latin America from evil communists, would expose them as drug dealing torturers. “The Last Narc” even lets you know that Rodriguez was cool with George H.W. Bush, who was Vice President during the Iran-Contra affair.
So while I’m happy that a mainstream documentary is targeting the CIA for their involvement in the drug game, I wish it went a little bit further.
Felix Rodriguez is not your average CIA agent. He is like the evil Forrest Gump, finding his way into some of the most important events in American history for the past 60 years. In some way, Rodriguez has been involved in the failed Bay Of Pigs Invasion, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Watergate, the Vietnam War, and the Iran-Contra affair.
A Cuban-born, staunch anti-Communist who came from a wealthy family, Rodriguez dropped out of a Pennsylvania boarding school in the late 50s to join the Anti-Communist League Of The Caribbean. Although it is unclear how Rodriguez joined the CIA, it has been alleged that he was personally recruited by George H.W. Bush. There are documents that show that George H.W. Bush of the CIA was serving as a liaison to anti-Castro Cubans, such as Rodriguez, during the JFK years.
Felix Rodriguez as a young man.
Rodriguez joined the CIA-sponsored Brigade 2506, who would be part of the failed Bay Of Pig Invasion of Cuba. He was also listed as a member of Operation 40, a CIA-sponsored counterintelligence group of Cuban exiles—and a serious who’s who of drug dealing spooks, Watergate burglars, and Bush administration cabinet officials—that was created to assassinate Fidel Castro and destabilize Cuba.
Many of the anti-Castro Cubans and CIA types blamed President John F. Kennedy for withdrawing air support during The Bay Of Pigs Invasion. Kennedy pissed them off even further by firing the head of the CIA, Allen Dulles.
Any historian that’s covered the JFK assassination that isn’t a CIA propagandist or brainwashed idiot has come to the conclusion Operation 40 was then used to assassinate JFK and have Lee Harvey Oswald made a patsy.
Rodriguez would later make a name for himself by capturing, interrogating and killing Che Guevara. He took Guevara’s Rolex as a trophy which he wears to this day.
“The Last Narc” does a decent job exposing Felix Rodriguez's role in the Iran-Contra affair. Not only was he involved in DEA agent Kiki Camarena’s interrogation and torture, but according to Hector Berrellez’s three witnesses mentioned earlier—Jorge Godoy, Rene Lopez, and Ramón Lira, lawmen who also worked for the Guadalajara Cartel—Rodriguez was involved with the cartel at a deeper level.
All three men said they saw Rodriguez meeting with high ranking members of the Guadalajara Cartel, sometimes taking money, sometimes dropping off weapons. The men also claimed that infamous drug lord Rafael Quintero coordinated with the CIA to train the rebel Contras at his ranch, which also served as a hub for drug and gun trafficking. “The Last Narc” even presents a transcript from Camarena in which his interrogator asks him what he knows about Rancho Veracruz, Rafael’s Quintero’s ranch.
“The Last Narc” is not the only documentary that accuses Rodriguez of involvement with the cartels and the Contras on behalf of the CIA. In the PBS Frontline documentary, “Guns, Drugs, and the CIA,” Ramon Milian Rodriguez, a former accountant for Pablo Escobar and Manuel Noriega, claimed that Felix Rodriguez was knee deep in the coke game. Ramon would testify under oath that he laundered 10 million dollars from Colombian cartels to the Contras at the request of Felix Rodriguez during the early 80s.
Felix Rodriguez meeting with President George H.W. Bush.
Ramon also said that Felix Rodriguez had him believe that he was reporting directly to then Vice President George H.W. Bush. This would not be too crazy as several documents (and the photo above) show Rodriguez meeting with Bush, having phone calls with Bush, and meeting with Bush’s top aide Donald Gregg, with whom Rodriguez had served with in Vietnam.
Many people have accused Rodriguez of being a big time drug dealer—one of the major players for cocaine trafficking used to illegally fund the Contras. All of their stories fit together to paint the picture of Felix as an evil narco-terrorist with the license to kill, deal drugs, torture, and lie.
Why would “Narcos: Mexico” leave out such a colorful arch-villain as Felix Rodriguez, and such a fearless hero as DEA agent Hector Berrellez—two figures integral to the murder investigation of Kiki Camarena? I can’t say for sure, but the CIA does a good job at using Hollywood to glorify what they do without exposing their darkest secrets. “Narcos: Mexico” is an attempt to rewrite history to create a favorable view of the American government, with noble DEA agents fighting evil Mexican drug dealers.
The true story is far more damning to the American government. “The Last Narc” shows how CIA drug running led to the rise of the Mexican Cartels. The Guadalajara Cartel, which was fully supported, armed, and protected by Rodriguez—acting on behalf of the US government, the CIA, and George H.W. Bush—was the first full-fledged Mexican drug cartel, spawning most of the others active today.
In “Narcos: Mexico,” the main villain is drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo. In “The Last Narc,” the villain is Felix Rodriguez, a shady CIA agent with a penchant for torture, interrogations, drug dealing and warmongering. In relief, the villain is George H.W. Bush, the former head of the CIA turned Vice President turned President, the man to whom Rodriguez would answer.
“The Last Narc” is dope and salute to Hector Berrellez for being brave enough to tell the story. They left out some names at the end—maybe that’s why it got delayed—but they put Felix Rodriguez and George H.W. Bush on blast and exposed the CIA.
However, “The Last Narc” is just one piece of a big puzzle that exposes the true extent of CIA drug trafficking, gun running, assassinations of foreign and domestic leaders, and other dirty deeds. For those interested in going deeper, here is a list of other documentaries you might like.
In Search Of the American Drug Lords: This documentary by “Barry And The Boys” author Daniel Hopsicker covers Barry Seal’s accusations against Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and other government officials of drug and gun trafficking out of Mena, Arkansas.
Guns, Drugs, and the CIA: This PBS Frontline documentary features Ramon Milian Rodriguez, Felix Rodriguez, and more. It examines the CIA’s role in the drug trade in both Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and in Central America during the Iran-Contra affair.
The Mena Connection: This documentary is based on Terry Reed’s book “Compromised” and also deals with the CIA, Bush, Clinton, and Barry Seal.
Chip Tatum - Presidential Secrets: Iran-Contra & CIA Drug Trafficking: This documentary focuses on Chip Tatum, a CIA operative turned whistleblower who worked with Felix Rodriguez, Barry Seal, and George H.W. Bush.
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