Ep 4 - I Need a Million Dollars like I Need Air

Summary

Cocaine Air: Episode 4 - "I Need a Million Dollars Like I Need Air"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Cocaine Air
• Host/Author: Jonathan Walton
• Description: By day, TJ Dominguez ran the world’s largest Lamborghini dealership. By night, he was smuggling tons of cocaine into South Florida for Pablo Escobar. Now out of prison, he’s telling his story for the first time.
• Episode: Ep 4 - I Need a Million Dollars like I Need Air
• Release Date: June 25, 2025

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Introduction

Jonathan Walton opens the episode by transitioning from a series of seemingly unrelated advertisements to the gripping narrative of TJ Dominguez, the man at the center of "Cocaine Air." The host sets the stage for a tale of high-stakes drug smuggling, personal peril, and intense negotiations within the dangerous world of cocaine trafficking.

---

Early Forays into Smuggling

The story begins in 1986, with TJ Dominguez establishing his initial involvement in the drug trade. Unlike many who delve into this world for quick money, TJ's journey starts with a focus on marijuana. He describes the marijuana trade as "laid back" compared to the violent and ruthless cocaine business in South Florida during the 1980s.

TJ Dominguez ([03:05]): "The marijuana guys were like, laid back. They weren't really killers. Cocaine guys were. So I stayed away from that whole world because it's not really what I set out to do."

Despite his reservations, TJ faces numerous challenges with marijuana smuggling, including operational setbacks and financial strains. His persistence, however, leads him to a pivotal moment that shifts his trajectory entirely.

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The Kidnapping and the 24-Hour Deadline

Trouble escalates when TJ's smuggling operations encounter significant failures. He recounts:

TJ Dominguez ([04:00]): "We dropped 2,000 pounds of weed on the wrong boats. But I'm responsible for all this marijuana to a Colombian in Colombia."

These mishaps result in TJ owing a substantial debt to a ruthless Colombian, culminating in the brutal murder of his partner. TJ himself is kidnapped and taken to a desolate farmhouse, where his life hangs in the balance.

In a tense exchange, TJ confronts his captor:

TJ Dominguez ([06:12]): "Go ahead, kill me, I said. I'm ready to die."

Faced with imminent death, TJ employs quick thinking and reverse psychology to buy himself time:

TJ Dominguez ([07:12]): "Go ahead, kill me. Now, if you let me talk, I can get you your money. I have two airplanes. I own four speedboats worth more than $800,000. Give me 24 hours and I'll get you your $800,000."

His audacious plea grants him an additional 24 hours to secure the owed money, which has now ballooned to nearly $2.5 million in today's terms.

---

Negotiating with Luis and Transitioning to Cocaine

In his desperate quest, TJ contacts his associate Luis in the Bahamas. Initially seeking to sell his prized airplane, TJ's negotiations take an unexpected turn:

Luis ([09:14]): "You want to make a million? I want to make a million."

Luis proposes a high-risk opportunity: flying cocaine instead of marijuana. Despite TJ's initial hesitation due to the inherent dangers, the potential reward is too substantial to ignore.

TJ Dominguez ([16:33]): "The street value of a planeload of cocaine back in 1986 is close to $100 million. The street value of a planeload of marijuana, not even a million."

Embracing this lucrative but perilous path, TJ transitions into cocaine smuggling, marking a significant shift from his previous operations. This decision not only increases his earnings but also embeds him deeper into the violent underworld of cocaine trafficking.

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Becoming a Proficient Cocaine Pilot

TJ's meticulous nature and unwavering sobriety set him apart from his peers. While many pilots in the cocaine smuggling business succumb to substance abuse and operational negligence, TJ maintains complete control over his missions.

TJ Dominguez ([18:20]): "I have three airplanes. One's going into their shop, one's flying, and I got dealing. When I'm rotating three airplanes, I got no downtime, I'm rocking and rolling."

His consistency and reliability earn him a stellar reputation, making him the "best cocaine pilot in the world." TJ's operations are characterized by precision, safety, and an unblemished record—qualities that are rare in the high-stakes environment he navigates.

---

Encounter with Pablo Escobar

As TJ's prowess in cocaine smuggling grows, so does his notoriety. This draws the attention of none other than Pablo Escobar, the infamous Colombian drug lord. The meeting is set amidst Escobar's opulent and heavily guarded jungle fortress—a testament to his power and wealth.

Upon meeting Pablo and his partner, Gustavo, TJ quickly establishes his worth:

TJ Dominguez ([27:47]): "I have a $2 million airplane. I've got a million dollar sports fishing vessel and I got half a million into the operation. Why would I come to Colombia to risk my equipment, my freedom for less money than what I'm going to make?"

Despite Pablo's offer of $3,500 per kilo, TJ counters confidently, asserting his value and demanding a higher rate:

TJ Dominguez ([27:47]): "I'm a professional. That's the difference between me and those wannabe guys."

Eventually, Pablo agrees to TJ's terms of $5,000 per kilo, provided TJ delivers 1,000 kilos of cocaine—potentially earning TJ $5 million a week.

---

Securing a Landing Strip and Finalizing the Deal

A critical challenge remains: securing a hidden landing strip in the Bahamas capable of discreetly receiving the massive cocaine shipment without raising suspicions. TJ devises a bold strategy by ambushing a high-ranking Bahamian government official responsible for airport operations.

TJ Dominguez ([31:26]): "I want to talk about making you rich. ... I want you to do nothing."

Through intimidation and persuasive negotiation, TJ persuades the official to maintain secrecy, ensuring a safe and secretive landing for his cocaine-laden airplane.

With logistics in place, TJ successfully completes the first leg of the deal, cementing his role as a crucial player in Pablo Escobar's cocaine empire.

---

Conclusion

Episode 4 of "Cocaine Air" delves deep into TJ Dominguez's transformative journey from a Lamborghini dealership owner to one of the most efficient cocaine pilots in the world. Through a combination of strategic thinking, unwavering determination, and meticulous attention to detail, TJ navigates the treacherous waters of the drug trade, earning the trust and respect of some of the most formidable figures in the business.

The episode masterfully intertwines personal anecdotes with high-stakes drama, providing listeners with an intimate look into the life of a man balancing legitimate business endeavors with illicit, life-threatening operations. As TJ continues to rise in the ranks of the cocaine smuggling world, the stage is set for even more intense and captivating developments in future episodes.

---

Notable Quotes:

• TJ Dominguez ([07:12]): "Go ahead, kill me. Now, if you let me talk, I can get you your money."
• TJ Dominguez ([18:20]): "I have three airplanes. One's going into their shop, one's flying, and I got dealing. When I'm rotating three airplanes, I got no downtime, I'm rocking and rolling."
• TJ Dominguez ([27:47]): "I have a $2 million airplane. I've got a million dollar sports fishing vessel and I got half a million into the operation. Why would I come to Colombia to risk my equipment, my freedom for less money than what I'm going to make?"
• TJ Dominguez ([15:02]): "I'm in the cocaine business, man. Not marijuana anymore. I said, don't fucking call me again."

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Key Takeaways:

• Risk and Reward: TJ's transition from marijuana to cocaine smuggling underscores the heightened risks and increased rewards inherent in the cocaine trade.
• Strategic Negotiations: TJ's ability to negotiate under life-threatening circumstances showcases his strategic mindset and resilience.
• Operational Excellence: His meticulous approach to smuggling operations differentiates him from less disciplined peers, ensuring his success and survival.
• Power Dynamics: Engaging with a figure like Pablo Escobar highlights the intricate power dynamics and alliances within the drug cartel hierarchy.

---

For More Information:

To explore more about TJ Dominguez's harrowing journey and view exclusive photographs documenting his life, visit cocainair.com. If you enjoyed this episode, consider sharing it with friends and family or leaving a 5-star review to help others discover "Cocaine Air."

Transcript

[Zoe Saldana]

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[Jonathan Walton]

Seriously.

[Customer]

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[Zoe Saldana]

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[Jonathan Walton]

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[TJ Dominguez]

Previously on Cocaine Air.

[Jonathan Walton]

I want a marijuana connection. That's what you could do for me. That would be my pay.

[TJ Dominguez]

And TJ gets his marijuana connection in 1986 in Columbia and then gets an airplane and starts smuggling tons of weed into South Florida. But every trip is not a success.

[Jonathan Walton]

We dropped 2,000 pounds of weed on the wrong boats. But I'm responsible for all this marijuana to a Colombian in Colombia.

[TJ Dominguez]

And then suddenly that Colombian kidnaps TJ and takes him to an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and points A loaded gun to his head. And TJ is not exactly begging for his life.

[Jonathan Walton]

Go ahead, kill me, I said. I'm ready to die. Foreign.

[TJ Dominguez]

I'm Jonathan Walton and this is cocaine.

[Jonathan Walton]

Air.

[TJ Dominguez]

The TJ Dominguez Story Episode 4 I Need a Million Dollars Like I need air.

[Jonathan Walton]

I never wanted to get into cocaine because cocaine were the bad guys. The cocaine world were the guys that are doing all the killing.

[TJ Dominguez]

TJ's right. In the 1980s, the cocaine business in South Florida is fraught with gruesome murders and a diabolical one upsmanship with dealers killing anyone who gets in their way. That hit movie Scarface, about a maniacal cocaine kingpin played indelibly by Al Pacino.

[Jonathan Walton]

To my little friend.

[TJ Dominguez]

Wasn'T just based on one true story. It was based on dozens of true stories. Because selling cocaine in South Florida in the 1980s is a violent and scary avocation. But selling pot, not so much.

[Jonathan Walton]

The marijuana guys were like, like laid back. Oh man, listen, we want to order a pizza, that kind of stuff. They weren't really killers. Cocaine guys were. So I stayed away from that whole world because it's not really what I set out to do. I set out to just make $14 million with a sugar mill. Now what happens is during my marijuana journey, it was like taking two steps forward and three back. Doing airdrops in the middle of the ocean is really romantic. It makes to a great movie. Having an airplane flying low, which by the way, one of the scariest things I've ever done in my life is throwing out 100 pound bale off an airplane going 180 miles per hour. When there's nothing between you and the ocean, there's only one bale that you're going to be pushing out the door. That's scary as hell because you can go out with it. Airplane doesn't want to fly at that point, it's jumping, it's bouncing and you're pushing these bales out, you know, so it's pretty scary. So I had so many problems doing all these air drops and I lost so many trips that I started owing a lot of money to a Colombian. A Colombian that was pretty ruthless. And he ends up shooting my partner.

[TJ Dominguez]

Police are investigating a shooting in Miami.

[Jonathan Walton]

It claimed one man's life. Police say that guy that introduced me, I owed him $800,000, right? That's what I owed the guy that introduced me to him. He kidnaps and shoots and kills him. So next thing I know, I get.

[TJ Dominguez]

Kidnapped and these Colombian killers who had just Murdered his partner. Take TJ to an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of Miami, Dade County.

[Jonathan Walton]

There's no furniture in the house. I remember it really well. A couple of seats, they put me in the kitchen. They had a chair on the middle of the floor. They set me down in the middle of the floor. And the guy says to me, I want my money. And I said. I started to talk, and he said, shut the F up. He said, you ain't no cowboy. This ain't no movie. That's what he said to me. I'll never forget those words. I want my $800,000. So I said, listen. He said, no, you listen. You pay me. And then he hits me with a gun. And I got three or four of these guys around me, hits me against my money.

[TJ Dominguez]

If you think about it, this kind of feels like karma for tj because it was only a few years earlier that TJ was the one kidnapping that banker who'd scammed him out of $100,000. TJ was the one taking him to a deserted farmhouse in Miami, beating him senselessly, demanding his own money. Now the shoe was on the other foot, though. The main difference here is that TJ was never going to actually kill that banker. He just wanted to frighten him, to get his money back. But these ruthless Colombian drug guys were 100% planning to murder TJ. They had already killed his partner. And TJ knew now, sitting in that chair, beaten and bloody, that he was as good as dead. And then suddenly, TJ pulls a mind of a reverse psychology move on the guy holding a cocked gun to his head, ready to pull the trigger.

[Jonathan Walton]

Here's what I said to him. Go ahead, kill me. I said, I'm ready to die. Now he's quiet. He's not expecting that. So I said, now, if you let me talk, I can get you your money. I said, I have two airplanes. I own. I got four speedboats worth more than $800,000. Give me 24 hours and I'll get you your $800,000. I said, I promise. I give you my word. I don't break my word, I'll come back here. If I don't have the money, I'll come back. And then you can finish what you started. I'll come back. So he says, you got 24 hours.

[TJ Dominguez]

A ticking clock is pounding in TJ's ears. He's got 24 hours to come up with $800,000 cash or he's dead. Which, FYI, $800,000 is the equivalent of nearly $2.5 million in today's money. And after the Colombians kill tj, they're going to kill his whole family. That's just how they operate. So TJ frantically calls up his friend Luis, a fellow drug smuggler who lives in the Bahamas, who at one point was interested in buying TJ's most prized possession, his number one airplane, Gigi. TJ needs cash more than anything at this point. So now he's willing to sell.

[Jonathan Walton]

So I fly to the Bahamas to meet with Luis. He said, what's going on, T? I said, listen, man, you want to buy Gigi. He says, but that's your bread and butter. I said, I know. He said, you tailored that airplane. What do you want to sell it? I said, I owe $800,000. I'm not gonna need the airplane. I'm gonna be dead. He goes, what do you mean you're gonna be dead?

[TJ Dominguez]

So TJ explains his dire situation with the Colombians and tries to get Luis to give him cash for his plane and his boats. But Luis refuses.

[Jonathan Walton]

He goes, you want to make a million? I said, I need a million dollars like I need air. He says, yeah, I want to make a million. What I need to do? He says, fly cocaine. I said, fly cocaine. I said, what do you mean? He says, you go to my farm, pick up a trip, bring it here, I'll give you a million dollars. I said, well, what would that entail? Because I need to get paid within 24 hours. I don't want to get paid in cocaine. I got to get paid in dollars. And I can't wait for you to sell the cocaine to get paid, because I'm going to be dead or a family member of mine is going to be grabbed. So I have to clear all this out up front. You know, relax.

[TJ Dominguez]

You're going to get paid.

[Jonathan Walton]

Then I did a little bit of the math. The airplanes that we were flying is eight hours. Six. Seven. Eight hours to go down. Six, seven hours to come back up in the length of time that it already took me to find Luis. I'm going to be pushing the envelope on the 24 hours. So I don't want this guy to jump the gun and go grab one of my. My relatives. So I said, luis, can we raise him? His handle on the radio, short ham radio was Tigre. Tigre. Tigre, which is Tiger. Can we try this? 1400. 1400. The frequency that we were transmitting on. Can we try to locate Tokayo on. On. On the radio?

[TJ Dominguez]

Tokayo is the main Colombian. TJ owes the 800 grand to.

[Jonathan Walton]

What do you want to locate him for? I'm gonna need another 24 hours, man, because I might not be able to make it here on time. And you give me my money. So he says, okay. So we locate him. Now, Luis was a big name. He was well known in the. In the world. So he. We raised him. He went by Primo. Primo, Primo. I'm Cyclone. Cyclone they used to call me. So Primo says to Tiger Tigre, he says, tito's working for me. Gotta be doing a job for me. I'm standing good on the note. Give him another 24 hours. So he bought me 24 more hours. So I said, okay, I'm ready to go. He said, you can go now. So fuel the plane. I went down to Colombia, picked up 450 kilos, I think was the first trip I ever did, and flew back to Cocaine. Landed the next day. Luis called me up. He says, here's your money. I took the million dollars in cash. In cash. Suitcase, man. I was on a Ferrari. Let me tell you something. It didn't fit in the car, okay? He paid me with shit bills, $20 and $50. Bulky stuff. It's not like I think, I don't need all that. It just. It didn't fit in the car, right? And I could tell where you're at in the way of selling by the money that you give, you know? Because if you're dealing at the volume that I was later on, we only play with hundreds. If you show up with a 50 or 20, you're a guy on the street, 5 and 10. Oh, my God. You're in the street corner, you know, let me run. I don't want to talk to this guy. So he shows up with a suitcase. I swear to God. And two boxes, a TV box and some boombox type box didn't fit in the car. I had a Ferrari 308, like the Magnum one. To take the top off the car, throw the suitcase, and if I would have hit a speed bump, I probably would have lost a box with 100 grand or 200 grand. So I go to a hotel. I can't take this money to the house, so I go to a hotel. I started counting. I was so nervous, you know, my fingers are turning green, and I'm counting all this cash that I've got. It's just a million dollars, but it was in small bills. It was bulky. So I started counting all this money. And the more I counted, the more nervous I got. And looking at the watch, I kept Screwing up. Go back to county again. I said, you know, the hell with this. I'm just gonna peel out 200,000 and. And I figured that the rest is there. So I took out 200,000 of my money, stashed that. Then I had 800 grand, and put the 800,000 in the car. And I drove over to where they had kidnapped me. I pulled in there, Jonathan, with a whole different attitude. It was a whole different attitude.

[TJ Dominguez]

But the main Colombian guy, Takayo, isn't there. He's back in Colombia. But his underlings are there. And TJ treats them with the respect he feels they deserve.

[Jonathan Walton]

I left the money in the car. Top was down on the Ferrari. Knocked on the door. They opened up the door. I said, the effing money's in the car. Go get it. And I pointed to the car. So they came out. They dragged his money into the house. I'm standing in the living room like this. And they brought the money. The suitcase that was leather, had a zipper all the way around. So they opened up this flap of this thing, and there is all this cash sitting there. And I said, It's $800,000. Let me tell you something else. I'm not hanging around here for you to count this goddamn money. You understand that? I'm not hanging around here to count this money. Now Tocayo from the Jungle calls up on the radio and he says, tocayo wants to talk to you. So they put me on the radio. He says to me, hey, my brother, they tell me you brought the cash. I said, la plata, which is what they call cash, is silver. He says to me, when are you coming back? I say, when am I coming back?

[TJ Dominguez]

At this point, those marijuana selling Colombians are super impressed that TJ was able to get his hands on so much cash in a mere 48 hours. And they want to do more business with him. They want to give him more marijuana. But now that TJ knows he can fly a planeload of cocaine, land in the Bahamas and make a million dollars, marijuana suddenly holds no interest for him.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm in the cocaine business, man. Not marijuana anymore. I said, don't fucking call me again.

[TJ Dominguez]

He's trying to hire you for another job?

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah, he wanted me to go back and do more marijuana trips. I walked out of that house. I never looked back. I started working for Luis.

[TJ Dominguez]

TJ had officially become a cocaine smuggler. I mean, it was the last thing in the world he ever wanted to be. And he actively avoided it for years. But this kind of money was just too Insane to pass up.

[Jonathan Walton]

With Luis. I was doing a trip a week with Luis, and I'm getting paid a million dollars for a trip a week. Right? This is wonderful. And I don't have to fool around with the boats. I don't have to sell the stuff. It was better than the marijuana. Marijuana. I had to bring it in, put it in a place. And let me tell you something about marijuana buyers. They're finicky, these guys. It's not green enough. It's not brown enough. It's not the smell of this or that. It was always a problem every time he went to sell pot, you know? So this is wonderful. I don't have to sell anything.

[TJ Dominguez]

And the other huge advantage flying cocaine had over selling marijuana was the fact that TJ Never had to smuggle anything into Florida.

[Jonathan Walton]

I never flew a trip of cocaine into the United States.

[TJ Dominguez]

Where would you drop it?

[Jonathan Walton]

No dropping. You don't drop cocaine. You drop marijuana. You can afford to lose marijuana. Can't afford to lose cocaine. Too expensive.

[TJ Dominguez]

The street value of a planeload of cocaine back in 1986 is close to $100 million. The street value of a plane load of marijuana, not even a million. And all TJ has to do now is fly his plane, Gigi, from Miami to Columbia, pick up the cocaine from Luis's farm over there, and fly it to an undisclosed secret airport in the Bahamas that Luis owned.

[Jonathan Walton]

This is wonderful. I don't have to sell anything. I do a delivery. I get paid. I get paid in cash in Miami, and I go hang out for four or five days. No worries, no pressure.

[TJ Dominguez]

And TJ quickly becomes literally the best cocaine pilot in the world. Because that landing strip in the Bahamas was hidden, and it was on the edge of the ocean, and it was really hard to find. But TJ Manages to locate it and land his planeload of cocaine safe and sound every single time. A lot of other pilots in the cocaine smuggling business were not so lucky. How many pilots died trying to make that land?

[Jonathan Walton]

Too many to count. Matter of fact, in the Bahamas, the count almost looked like flies on the water. Planes that almost made it, pilots that ran out of fuel. I could tell you one story of two guys that flew by the seat of their pants. I used to call them freaking frag because they didn't fly for me. I wouldn't have them. These guys didn't need an airplane to fly. They were always high on cocaine. Right. And you're gonna fly a loaded plane.

[TJ Dominguez]

And keep in mind, TJ has never done drugs in his life. He's never been high. He's always 100% sober and clear headed at all times. And that really seems to set him apart from all the other cocaine pilots of the day.

[Jonathan Walton]

So these two pilots, freakin frag, they go down there in this airplane, they land, they pick up the cocaine, 500 kilos of powdered cocaine that they put on the airplane Beechcraft twin engine, which uses basically jet fuel. They're getting high inside the airplane, they don't check the fuel, they don't check this, they don't check nothing on the ground. The crew fuels the airplane with the wrong gasoline. They put diesel, which was to have been for the other airplane. So these guys had enough fuel where they take off, off the Runway, the airplane climbs, it goes up in the air, it starts sputtering, sputtering, sputtering. Came right down to the ocean. Freaking frag died. 500 kilos cocaine were lost.

[TJ Dominguez]

That kind of thing just never happens to TJ because he's a level headed stickler for details. He checks and double checks and triple checks everything all the time. And TJ never loses a plane load of cocaine ever.

[Jonathan Walton]

And I've got three airplanes. So now one's going into their shop, one's flying and I got dealing. When I'm rotating three airplanes, I got no downtime, I'm rocking and rolling.

[TJ Dominguez]

And TJ knows better than any other smuggler out there how to avoid attention, how to keep things on the extreme DL, how to not get noticed, especially on all those back and forth trips between the Bahamas and South Florida.

[Jonathan Walton]

We're pros. We are the cat's meow of the smuggling world. We're the pirates of the Caribbean. We really are all this, right? So my airplane's gotta come in, but I'm going and coming, going and coming so many times what we would do then at that point I'd have my captain in a uniform walk up and down the airport in Nassau, for example. Hey man, I just dropped off a charter. I'm dead. Heading back to Miami. Give me 50 bucks, I'll bring you back anybody who wants to go back to Miami.

[TJ Dominguez]

So TJ's captain is approaching. American tourists lined up at the miserable air conditionless, crowded airport in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, and offering them a quick and cool flight back home to Miami for 50 bucks. And the takers are many. But TJ is looking for a certain type.

[Zoe Saldana]

Hi, Zoe Saldana. Welcome to T Mobile. Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us.

[Customer]

Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade.

[Zoe Saldana]

In you don't need a trade in. When you switch to T mobile, we'll give you a new iPhone 16 Pro plus we'll help you pay off your old Phone up to 800 bucks and you still get to keep it.

[Customer]

There's always a trade in.

[Zoe Saldana]

Not right now. @ T Mobile.

[Customer]

I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma.

[Zoe Saldana]

That's okay.

[Customer]

I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.

[Zoe Saldana]

I'm good.

[Customer]

Seriously, Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.

[Zoe Saldana]

Really, I'm fine.

[Customer]

Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.

[T Mobile Representative]

It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile, get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple intelligence on us. No trade in need. It will even pay off your phone.

[T Mobile Announcer]

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[Jonathan Walton]

I'm not looking for a hot chick or anything. I'm looking for a lady in a wheelchair because she's going to chill my airplane when we come back. If I come back all the time with a dark sunglass with a Heineken in my hand and a hot blonde under my arm, you know, I look like a player, you know, I mean, so you don't want that type of image. When you hear guys say, well, you know, you want to put a couple of good looking girls in thong bikinis, that's the last thing you want to do. Why is the last thing. It's a distraction. No, it's an attraction. They're going to pull you over and keep you there just to look at your chicken. You want an older lady, you want a couple, you want a little dog, you want to just look normal. One time I'm behind a school bus and I say to my buddy, look at the kids that just got off that school bus. My friend says to me, what's wrong with them? Nothing. I don't see anything wrong with them. I said, keep looking. And he says, I don't see anything. I said, that's the problem. They look normal. They're all wearing their pants where they're supposed to be. Normal.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

So that's what you want to be you want to be normal. You don't want to stand out.

[TJ Dominguez]

That's the truth.

[Jonathan Walton]

You want to blend in.

[TJ Dominguez]

And TJ's success rate at blending in and smuggling coke is 100%. He's flying a plane load a week for Luis, and he never loses a load, and he never gets busted by authorities. He's meticulous, he's punctual, he's confident, but he's not cocky. And he always impresses everyone he meets.

[Jonathan Walton]

Well, I started developing a pretty good reputation doing these. One a week trip, one a week trip, getting a million. Well, what starts happening? I'm starting to hang around with all these heavyweight Colombian guys, and now I start catching a little bit of traction. My name's out there in that circle that the air is very thin at that point. You know, we're not in the amateur world, in the pros. And so now my name comes up. The Power Pablo.

[TJ Dominguez]

As in Pablo freaking Escobar. The man, the myth, the legend himself. Pablo heard of you?

[Jonathan Walton]

Heard of me through a couple of people, because they were always looking for guys that are like, stand up guys, guys that are not getting high without an airplane, guys that are pros. So Pablo hears of me, and I get introduced through Pablo by the guy that built his house, who's a builder, who's a friend of my friend. He says to me, hey, you want to. You want to make some real money? I'm making a million dollars a week. What's wrong with that? It's in the 80s, right? Early 80s. He says, no, you want to make some real money? I said, what do I have to do? He says, you want to be Pablo? And I'll be honest with you. Pablo didn't mean anything to me. I'm making a million dollars. I'm all full of myself. I walk on water, you know, I'm making $4 million a month. What the hell's wrong with that? In the 80s, multiply that times three or four.

[TJ Dominguez]

Now, TJ's right. $4 million back in 1986, adjusted for inflation, in today's money is more than $11 million. That's what TJ was making every month. So he really doesn't need anything from Pablo Escobar. But he is somewhat flattered that the world's most notorious and most powerful cocaine kingpin wants to meet him.

[Jonathan Walton]

So he sets up a meeting with Pablo. I go see Pablo. I go to Pablo's house.

[TJ Dominguez]

Now, Pablo Escobar didn't just have a house. He had a 5,000 acre mythical hidden fortress deep in the Colombian jungle, Pablo Escobar was moving 15 tons of cocaine into the United States every single day. And he was making nearly $1,000 every second doing it. He owned 15 private jets and six helicopters. His estate had its own airport, and it even had its own zoo with elephants, giraffes, and lions, you know, for the kids, for security. There were multiple guard towers with machine gun wielding snipers surrounding the property. So anyone trying to sneak up on Pablo Escobar didn't live long to tell the tale. But TJ Dominguez was an invited guest of Pablo's because Pablo had a proposition for tj.

[Jonathan Walton]

So I go to Pablo's house. He's there with a whole bunch of people there, right? Gustavo is his partner. A lot of people don't realize, don't know. Pablo actually had a partner by the name of Gustavo was his cousin. They started together. So I walk up and I. And they said, they tell me that you're a transporter. So I said, yep, that's right. So he says, how much do you charge? I said, $7,000 a kilo. One guy almost fell off the chair laughing. He said, what, are you crazy? I said, no, I'm not crazy. I'm just that good. He says, that's ridiculous. We paid 3500 tops. I said, that's why you got to go out and hunt so many people and shoot them. I said, because you're dealing with a bunch of amateurs. I said, those guys. Those guys are flying in airplanes with a Bible in one hand and a rosary in the other. And I don't want to take any shots at religion because I love God and all that. I said, but I don't need all that. I'm a professional. That's the difference between me and those wannabe guys.

[TJ Dominguez]

TJ Dominguez is standing in Pablo Escobar's secret lair, surrounded by his heavily armed thugs, rejecting Pablo's 3500 a kilo offer to his face. I mean, Pablo Escobar has killed a lot of people for less. The tension in that room was palpable. But TJ shows no fear, and he refuses to back down.

[Jonathan Walton]

I had to stand strong there in front of him and show no weakness. I wanted $7,000 a kilo. I know they were paying 3,500, but if they called me and they wanted to talk to me, well, shouldn't I, you know, be worth more money? They refused to pay the $7,000. So I said to him, look, I've got a $2 million airplane. I've got a million dollar sports fishing vessel and I got half a million into the operation. Why would I come to Colombia to risk my equipment, my freedom for less money than what I'm going to make? It's got to be worth my time. So I came up with a logic. So I said, I'm not coming here for less money than that. I'll tell you what I'll do. Give me $5,000 a kilo and put 700 kilos on the, on the Strip. 7 times 5 is 3.5. If you do that, I'll come down a little, you come up a little bit, and we'll meet at $5,000. I'm willing to do that for you. So they said, when can you go? I said, I can go right now. We got radios. So I got on the radios. This happened in Columbia, so I got on the radio. So I called over here, Q. The guy that I always kept on.

[TJ Dominguez]

24 call Q was TJ's tech guy, named after that famous gadget guru in the James Bond movies.

[Jonathan Walton]

Is the herming device ready yet? Q. Not only a homing device, but an extremely delicate microphone as well. And I said, q, call up Kingfish. Tell Kingfish we're having dinner with Gigi next week. Get her ready. I'm on my way back.

[TJ Dominguez]

That was code for get my plane fueled and ready. We're gonna fly a planeload of cocaine for Pablo Escobar.

[Jonathan Walton]

And that's how that happen.

[TJ Dominguez]

In the end, Pablo Escobar agrees to pay TJ $5,000 per kilo to fly a planeload of at least 1,000 kilos to the Bahamas. That's more than a ton of Coke and potentially $5 million a week for TJ. There was just one teensy weensy problem. Since TJ was not flying cocaine for Luis anymore, he had no place to land his airplane in the Bahamas. And you can't just land a plane chock full of cocaine at a regular airport. They're gonna want to know what's inside. And then when they find what's inside, they're gonna confiscate it. So this was one hell of a crossroads for TJ Dominguez. He actually agreed to fly 1,000 kilos of cocaine for Pablo Escobar without having any place to land it.

[Jonathan Walton]

Now, I needed an airport, right? I needed an airport.

[TJ Dominguez]

So TJ flies to the Bahamas without any cocaine on his plane. And in an insane twist, TJ ambushes a high placed government official, the guy in charge of all Bahamian airports, the head of their faa. And before that official is able to turn TJ away, TJ piques his interest.

[Jonathan Walton]

I said, I want to talk about making you rich. He's making me rich. I said, yeah, I want to talk about making you rich. He said, what? What do I have to do for making me rich? I said, nothing, I want you to do nothing. He says, you're gonna make me rich and I have to do nothing? I say, yeah, that's right. So I bend over and I say, I want you to do nothing. When I land my airplane full of cocaine in your airport, I want you to go get a cup of coffee and not do a goddamn thing. Nothing. He says, how much does this pay?

[TJ Dominguez]

To see some incredible photographs documenting TJ's life, go to cocainair.com and if you're enjoying Cocaine Air, please hit that share button and text it to your friends and family right now. And if you feel comfortable, leave us a 5 star review reviews really help other listeners find us Cocaine Air was created, written and executive produced by me, Jonathan Walton for Jonathan Walton Media Executive producers Evan Goldstein and the inimitable TJ Dominguez. Audio engineering by me, Jonathan Walton. All sound design and editing was done by the super talented Puneeth Shenoy from Podcast Pundits and the Cocaine Air cover art is by Bobby Animation. We've got a lot of fascinating untold stories like Cocaine Air coming down the pike at Jonathan Walton Media, so subscribe and keep an ear out.

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