Podcast
Borderland: Narcosis with Vincent 'Rocco' Vargas
Hosted by IRONCLAD · EN
New Episodes Every Monday. An unfiltered look at real stories from America's Southern Border. Each week, special operations combat veteran, actor, writer, and veteran BORSTAR Agent Vincent “Rocco” Vargas sits down with guests to discuss the ruthless forces driving mass migration—organized crime.
This season, Borderland: Narcosis takes an unfiltered look at the criminal networks fueling the crisis, from human trafficking and the drug trade to extortion and corruption embedded at every level of society. An IRONCLAD Original
45episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Canada's Secret Cartel Crisis: Inside the Underground Narco Trucking Network
6d ago00:53:30Tap to summarizeSam Cooper is Canadian investigative journalist known for his reporting on cartels, organized crime, money laundering, and political corruption. He is the founder of The Bureau: https://www.thebureau.news/ Follow him on X: https://x.com/scoopercooper Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original Episode Chapters: (00:00) Intro & Sam Cooper's background(03:34) How long-haul trucking became a cartel pipeline(07:48) The Indian mafia, Khalistan networks & Ryan Wedding(13:50) Border corruption and Vancouver's Delta Port(20:34) Drug flow patterns & Canada's rise as a production hub(28:55) Violence, corruption & the Dubai/Iranian connections(35:55) China's role in global narcotics & the Wuhan lab leak(44:07) Spain migration crisis, Canada's political future & closing thoughts Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Joe Kent: Terror Suspects Have Infiltrated the Interior of the U.S
2w ago00:50:33Tap to summarizeJoe Kent is the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. He resigned in March 2026 following the Trump administration's decision to attack Iran. Is also a former CIA paramilitary officer and Army Ranger. Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6w9YAIljxWKXsetl10w9Qp?si=8a5eb53e12b74e3a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Ghost Ranch: A Kentucky Cartel Mystery - Mysterious Mansions, the CJNG, and Billions of Dollars Missing
2w ago01:44:31Tap to summarizeIn this supercut, we look back at three recent interview with Jon Griggs, as he tries to solve a strange mystery on a cattle farm in Kentucky. Jon began his career in law enforcement in 2006, serving in various capacities including Corrections Officer, Corrections Supervisor, Police Officer, Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Deep Water Horizon and Gang Task Force. But, when his security company was hired to look after a cattle farm in Kentucky after the owner died, things took a strange turn. Chapters: (01:23) - Part 1: Jon is hired to watch over the farm and makes strange discoveries (38:16 )- Part 2: Jon digs deeper and finds possible connections to the crypto underworld (01:04:59) - Part 3: The case gets stranger, and makes connections to trafficking rings and well-connected powerbrokers. BORDERLAND: NARCOSIS is an IRONCLAD Original For more information, read the document - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ipDfTYR3nAMvVKB3FSi3vfniRFPoa-Nr/view?usp=sharing Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6w9YAIljxWKXsetl10w9Qp?si=8a5eb53e12b74e3a SPONSORS: 1stPhorm Go to https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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INSIDE the Secret Cartel Network: The Biggest Threat in the Western Hemisphere
3w ago00:57:29Tap to summarizeToday's guest is Dr. John Sullivan. He is a retired Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department lieutenant. He is currently an Instructor in the Safe Communities Institute (SCI) at the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California. Dr. Sullivan is a researcher, author, and one of the country's leading scholars on transnational organized crime. Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6w9YAIljxWKXsetl10w9Qp?si=8a5eb53e12b74e3a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Inside Secret CJNG Cartel Human Trafficking Networks Operating in the U.S.
4w ago00:59:50Tap to summarizeAli Hopper is a nationally recognized expert in human trafficking and serves as the President of GUARD Against Trafficking, a nonprofit she co-founded to combat exploitation through research, education and advocacy. She has testified before Congress on child trafficking and has delivered numerous congressional briefings on human trafficking and conducts on-the-ground research in the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America.Learn more about GUARD here: https://guardiangroup.org/Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →CJNG & Sinaloa vs. ‘Batman’? The Controversial New Leader in the Fight Against Cartels
Jul 600:43:18Tap to summarizeToday’s guest is Jaeson Jones. He is a retired Captain from the Texas Department of Public Safety's Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division, and a recognized expert of Mexican drug cartels and transnational crime. He is also a correspondent for Newsmax. Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters (00:00) Intro (02:33) Landing the Interview with Secretary Omar Harfuch (05:58) Inside the Operation That Killed El Mencho (09:27) The Shift From Cartel Bosses to "The Company" (12:54) Why Cartel Figures Are Turning Themselves In (16:47) Current Border Conditions in Roma, Texas (21:15) Meth Trafficking Ties to Sinaloa Factions (28:41) Cartel Infiltration of Oil and Mining in Texas (35:02) "It's Over": Jones' Prediction on Cartel Collapse (40:06) What's Next for Jaeson Jones Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Kubota Tractor Corporation: https://www.youtube.com/user/Kubotatractorcorp Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6w9YAIljxWKXsetl10w9Qp?si=8a5eb53e12b74e3a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Cartel Insider Exposes the Russian Mob, CJNG & Hells Angels Operating as One Network Inside America
Jun 2900:54:02Tap to summarizeDavid Holthouse is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker best known for his immersive "gonzo" reporting style and his work infiltrating extremist groups, criminal networks, and other hard-to-access subcultures. His films and series include Narco Mennonites, Sasquatch, The Last Narc, Krishnas: Gurus, Karma, Murder, Night Stalker, and more. Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters: 00:04:29 Building Trust with Cops and Criminals 00:07:07 Patterns Across Criminal Organizations 00:10:21 The Hells Angels & Cartel Connections 00:13:11 Cartels: A Global Enterprise 00:17:41 Under-the-Radar Threats: Militias & White Nationalists 00:19:23 Kratom, Designer Drugs & the Legal Drug Wave 00:21:07 Why the War on Drugs Isn't Working 00:35:31 Undercover with Neo-Nazis 00:39:35 The Gun Trade to Mexico 00:46:28 What's Next: Ryan Wedding & CIA in Mexico 00:50:07 Should We Legalize Drugs? Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Norwood Sawmills: Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironclad Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6w9YAIljxWKXsetl10w9Qp?si=8a5eb53e12b74e3a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Beyond Drug Trafficking: 4 Dark Turns in the Violent Evolution of Mexican Drug Cartels
Jun 2201:52:17Tap to summarizeIn this 4-chapter film, Borderland: Narcosis host Vince ‘Rocco’ Vargas looks at four stories from the world of cartels and organized crime: The missing women of Juárez, the rise and fall of MS-13, the strange role that Santa Muerte plays in cartel culture, and how the CJNG infiltrated America’s living rooms with elaborate phone scams.Each of these stories initially ran as part of Borderland’s Reasonable Fear series. Borderland: Narcosis is an IRONCLAD Original. Sponsors:1st Phorm:Go to https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products.Norwood Sawmills:Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironcladSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/borderland-narcosis-with-vincent-rocco-vargas/id1730589324Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6w9YAIljxWKXsetl10w9Qp?si=8a5eb53e12b74e3a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The New Era of Cartel Warfare — How Modern Wars Are Reshaping Cartels
Jun 1500:56:53Tap to summarizeOn today’s episode, Vince welcomes back Katarina Szulc, investigative journalist and host of the Ironclad Original, Borderland: Dispatches. Kat shares insights from her recent reporting in Ukraine, where authorities are investigating claims that foreign fighters with cartel ties traveled to the front lines to learn modern combat tactics before returning to Latin America. The conversation also explores foreign mercenaries in Ukraine, the evolution of cartel warfare, U.S. pressure on cartel leadership, corruption in Mexico, and what these developments could mean for the future of organized crime. Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (01:44) Cartels, Ukraine, and FPV Drone Warfare (03:26) The Colombian Connection & Drone Schools in Lviv (09:52) American Mercenaries & Background Checks on the Front Lines (11:33) Gamers vs. Combat: How Simple is FPV Drone Flying? (15:24) Behind the Scenes of the Global Mercenary Recruitment Machine (25:06) US Boots on the Ground & The Standoff over Drone Strikes in Mexico (29:51) Cartel Corruption & Political Gaslighting in Sinaloa (34:22) The 2026 World Cup: A Cartel Moneymaker? (47:17) 2026 Wrap-Up: The Year of the Fallen Kingpins & The Endless Drug War Sponsors: 1st Phorm: Go to https://www.1stphorm.com/borderland and get free shipping on any orders over $75, free 30 days in the app for new customers, and 110% money back guarantee on all of our products. Norwood Sawmills: Learn more about Norwood Sawmills and how you can start milling your own lumber at https://norwoodsawmills.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=ironclad&utm_campaign=ironclad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The CJNG Kentucky Cattle Conspiracy (Jon Griggs Supercut)
Jun 1202:17:50Tap to summarizeWhat started as a routine security check in rural Kentucky unraveled into what might be the largest cattle fraud scheme in U.S. history, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. This compilation brings together the complete, escalating investigation by Borderland into a massive criminal enterprise that the authorities seemingly refuse to touch. Follow security contractor Jon Griggs as he risks everything to expose a web of corruption that stretches far beyond the pasture. Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original Chapters: 00:00 – Part 1: The Phantom Herd 15:42 – Part 2: Six Months Later (The Danger Escalates) 32:15 – Part 3: One Year Later (The Cover-Up & The Unseen Evidence) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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