Julian Dorey Podcast #391: “Narco HELL!” – Hunting Cartels: Occults, Mass Graves & Spiking Heads

Host: Julian Dorey
Guest: Dave (Former Cartel Hunter, Martial Artist, Expat)
Date: March 3, 2026

Episode Overview

In this riveting episode, Julian Dorey sits down with Dave—a former manufacturing supervisor, martial arts instructor, and eventually bodyguard to a Mexican general fighting cartels—to unpack the brutal realities of the narco war in Mexico. Dave details his personal journey from the Bering Sea to Russia and ultimately the cartel heartlands. The conversation delves into Mexico’s law enforcement structures, systemic cartel violence, mass graves, occult practices, and the psychological toll on those battling organized crime. The episode is laced with firsthand accounts of gunfights, betrayals, corruption, and the everyday omnipresence of death.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Personal Backstory: From the Bering Sea to the Heart of Mexico

• [02:13] Dave explains his original trajectory: After failed attempts to join the US military due to past associations, Dave finds himself crabbing in the Bering Sea, teaching himself Russian, and eventually considering joining Russian law enforcement to hunt Al Qaeda.

  • “I taught myself Russian. My second wife was Russian and my daughter is Russian and still lives there to this day.” —Dave [06:21]

• [06:35] Family sacrifices and regrets: Dave’s marriage falls apart when his wife moves back to Russia, ultimately leaving their daughter with the former KGB grandmother, affecting Dave deeply.

2. Moral Compulsion Against Cartel Violence

• [04:28] Dave’s “moral trigger”: Witnessing the Daniel Pearl beheading inspires him to act rather than remain on the sidelines:
  • “When I saw that video, it moved me to the sense of I can't morally stand by and allow this to happen...I’m going to go do it myself.” —Dave [04:42]

3. Breaking Into Mexican Law Enforcement

• [17:24] Why join the fight in Mexico?
  • Cartel’s influence and personal impact: “The cartels had given me drugs when I was a child and it shaped my life in such a drastic way. So this job offered the opportunity to go to Mexico and…confront drug cartels.” —Dave [17:24]
• [21:00] Industrial background: Dave explains his engineering and management work in LA before heading to Zacatecas, Mexico.

4. Navigating Corruption & Fear: Law Enforcement Structure in Mexico

• [31:11] Explaining Mexican Law Enforcement Tiers: Dave clarifies differences between municipal (most at risk and corrupt), state, federal, and military police, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities.

  • “Municipal, which are your the Mexican version of city cops...Generally corrupt...but also if they don't play ball, it could be just a deal breaking moment and that's it. And when Mexico, when it's a deal breaking moment, it's your ass.” —Dave [38:01]

• [36:16] Personal risks:

  • “Since leaving, two of the members of my platoon went elsewhere to become chief of police—and both had to step down because of cartel threats. In fact, one had his father killed.” —Dave [36:14]

5. Scenes of Horror: Cartel Violence Up Close

• [36:25] The family home as a torture site: Dave describes moving into a house where a family member was tortured and burned to death by the cartels—a morbid reminder of the cost of narco conflict.

  • “Where my wife and I cook breakfast and dinner, there was someone that was tortured to death there for a week...When you burn a body, the grease gets everywhere and your feet slip in it when you're trying to clean it up…You're still finding little specks of his blood in the corner.” —Dave [36:25]

• [98:23] Mass grave in Valparaiso: Discovered by local authorities, Dave and his unit responded to secure it.

  • "Body parts sticking out of the ground. Rain will start washing stuff away and then things will be revealed." —Dave [99:01]

6. Joining the Fight: Proving Himself

• [43:24] Becoming an instructor and earning trust: Dave, not a former US soldier, is hired as a martial arts instructor (Filipino weapon arts, Dog Brothers), selected for his ‘clean slate’ untouched by cartel bribery.
  • “My initial acoustic…says that this person is going to work for this corporation, is what they call it governmental corporation, doing exactly this on this date…They let me enter as an instructor. But what he wanted was a demonstration of my martial arts abilities…” —Dave [47:06]

7. Life Inside Counter-Narco Policing

• [85:53] Daily grind and unending vigilance:

  • “Typical day...get up at 4am, put on our gear, run 5 km…Our uniforms have to be immaculate because we represent our general. But we're going to be out doing tactical, too…We’d work 43 hours straight with 5 hours off 365 days out of the year.” —Dave [87:19]

• Why so few trusted?

  • “You can't trust a lot of people. So you are forced to work 43 hours straight, five hours off because you don't have enough people that you can trust…” —Dave [97:53]

8. Violence as Routine, Betrayal as Constant Shadow

• [65:15] Approached by the cartels:

  • “I’ve had three different occasions where I’ve personally been offered an opportunity indirectly to go work for a cartel myself.” —Dave [65:15]
  • “My co-worker is telling me his buddy’s kidnapped—we’re not allowed to carry weapons off base, but he wants my help...Either he’s in on it or has access to weapons they shouldn’t. Either way, that's classic cartel.” —Dave [68:41]

• [104:47] Gunfights and aftermath:

  • “I've been in probably 12 [gunfights]...You don't really have time to think about it. You react…When you're being shot at, you're trying to cycle through magazines...you’re so hopped up on adrenaline, you’re not afraid.” —Dave [109:19]

9. Systemic Challenges & Cartel Ubiquity

• [123:18] On breaking cartel influence:

  • “You have to invest in economic and educational opportunities…First education and then economic will follow…Standing around with a weapon is not creating something of value.” —Dave [126:59]
  • “A lot of the people that join the cartel don't even want to...A lot are people forced into it...traversing Mexican territory, kidnapped by the cartel, forced to work for them or be executed.” —Dave [129:40]

• [137:26] Occult brutality:

  • “A 14-year-old taped a guy to a wooden chair…opened his cranium up with a hammer, pulled out his brain and filled the skull cavity with diced tomatoes. This kid’s f***ed for life.” —Dave [137:26]

10. Cultural Context & Third-Order Consequences

• [141:07] On ‘war on drugs’ and collateral damage:
  • “If you go and attack Mexico, you're going to put the Mexican public in a position where the cartels and military and law enforcement agencies—all veterans—are against you. We should think about all the consequences that go with drone strikes or a Maduro approach.” —Dave [141:41]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "When you realize that the cartel is so omnipresent…you're just cognizant of the fact that you signed your death warrant as soon as you put that uniform on, period." —Dave [66:26]
• "You go over there and you definitely…you're knocking on doors. Like the Fayette's Bay, like…Beats of possibility and all these different things, which you can't join a foreign military or intelligence service, but you can definitely go down there." —Dave [10:17]
• “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. What happens in Mexico never even happened.” —Dave [39:29]
• “If you invade Mexico…you are going to put the Mexican country public in a position to where the cartels and the Mexican military and the Mexican law enforcement agencies…are against you.” —Dave [141:41]
• “When you're fighting that one, having direct access to your family is going to take the fight out of half of you right off the top…When you get to Mexico, everybody's a tourist. You become not a tourist once you find out that every single person on a corner is working for the cartel.” —Dave [144:04–144:44]

Key Timestamps

• [00:44] - Mass grave at Valparaiso is discussed
• [06:35] - Dave describes family history, connection to Russia, and KGB in-laws
• [17:24] - Why he writes to the Mexican Department of Justice
• [31:11] - Law enforcement structure and municipal corruption explained
• [36:25] - Family home as cartel torture site
• [65:15] - Colleagues recruiting for cartels
• [85:53] - Daily routine as general’s bodyguard
• [98:23] - Investigating mass graves
• [104:47] - Details his experiences in cartel firefights
• [123:18] - Structural answers for Mexico: education and economics
• [137:26] - Child atrocities and occult crime
• [141:41] - Geopolitical consequences of US intervention in Mexico

Tone & Language

• Raw and candid with dark humor; Dave’s tone shifts from technical/explanatory to deeply personal, reflective, and, at times, emotionally charged.
• Frequent, unfiltered language and graphic detail—true to the chaos and horror of his lived reality.
• Host Julian maintains a thoughtful, probing approach, sensitive to the stories’ gravity while offering needed clarifications for listeners.

Takeaway

This episode delivers a stark, inside account of the narco war from a rare American participant embedded within Mexican law enforcement. Listeners are exposed to the logistical, ethical, and emotional labyrinths of fighting the cartels, the irreparable toll on families, and the generational cycles of violence. Dave’s story is a testament to one man’s relentless pursuit of action over indifference—even at great personal cost—and provokes bigger questions about policy, international intervention, and the frailty of hope amid omnipresent brutality.