While much of the United States may see the power wielded by the Mexican Drug cartels first hand, it’s multi-million dollar beast that is just as powerful as any government law enforcement agency.
It was during a military tour in Vietnam that Celerino Castillo III first witnessed the control drugs had on a person after a comrade overdosed on heroin. That event had a profound impact on him and after his military service was completed, he could have taken a safe government job, but instead opted a spot with the DEA in 1979.
The latest piece of Vice’s coverage of the ongoing drug war documents Castillo’s stint in the Salvadorian jungles and eventual role as an undercover drug lord on the battle lines in the Mexican/US Drug War.
Unlike many of the politicians drawing out the drug laws in the United States, Castillo is a man who’s seen the drug war from both sides and has a profound understanding of the futility in trying to stop this never ending war.
If we were to stop drug trafficking today, our banking systems would collapse.”