Julian Dorey Podcast #392 Summary

“It’s all STAGED!” - Top Cartel Journalist EXPOSES El Mencho’s Assassination (w/ Kat Szulc)

Date: March 6, 2026
Host: Julian Dorey
Guest: Kat Szulc (Investigative Cartel Journalist)

Episode Theme & Purpose

This episode delivers an investigative deep dive into the recent death of El Mencho, the notorious CJNG cartel leader, and scrutinizes the circumstances surrounding his supposed assassination. Kat Szulc draws on her firsthand reporting from the scene in Jalisco, Mexico, presenting potential evidence of a staged operation. The conversation further covers cartel history and operations, corruption in Mexico, U.S.-Mexico narco politics, cartel media myth-making, and the controversial recent arrest of Canadian cartel figure Ryan Wedding.

Key Segments, Discussion Points, & Timestamps

1. Accessing El Mencho’s Compound: The Aftermath [00:35–05:00]

• Kat describes arriving at the alleged El Mencho compound in Tapalpa, Jalisco, 1.5 days after the operation.
  • The location is strikingly calm and resembles a tourist retreat, not a crime scene.
  • No police presence, burned cars/businesses, but otherwise “really nice, super safe” [00:45–01:15].
• Official story: El Mencho fled through forested area to a country club, where he was ultimately killed during a shootout that killed 25 National Guard and ~12 cartel men [01:30–02:50].
• Kat points out oddities: No crime scene tape, empty compound, no ongoing investigations.

2. Reputation & Accuracy in Cartel Journalism [05:00–08:44]

• Julian calls out how Kat’s work is often doubted or ridiculed until later proven accurate (notably the CJNG baby trafficking expose).
• “You put all the pieces together... you can make a pretty informed hypothesis.” – Kat [05:11]
• Discussing the baby-trafficking racket between CJNG and La Línea, which was widely doubted until U.S.-assisted arrests confirmed Kat’s reporting [06:29–07:50].

3. CJNG’s Origins, Operations & Narco Branding [08:44–13:14]

• Kat recounts how El Mencho, born in Michoacán, rose from illegal immigrant and ex-cop to CJNG leader and married into the Valencia “Los Cuinis” family, old-money narco royalty.
• “They literally are the Kennedys of Mexico... probably the richest family in Mexico.” – Kat [10:21]
• CJNG is a fusion of violent paramilitary force (Mencho) and established financial empire (Valencias).
• Details on cartel payrolls: police/military on the take, use of Excel spreadsheets to track payments [12:29–13:05].

4. The Real Story of CJNG’s Power & Expansion [13:14–21:17]

• CJNG combines financial and military strength to become Mexico’s most expansionist cartel.
• “They’re the fifth largest employer in Mexico.” – Kat [20:08]
• They expanded by absorbing local mafias and forming strategic alliances, even with rival Sinaloa factions.
• Kat outlines potential CJNG successors—El Cerro Tres (“03”), El Jardinero, El Yogur, and El Sapo—but notes a suspicious lack of infighting after Mencho’s death [21:19–26:01].

5. El Mencho’s Leadership & The Operation’s Logistics [29:33–41:12]

• El Mencho’s unique low-profile leadership style—a mythic figure, not flamboyant like El Chapo.
• “He was like a typical Mexican guy from the rancho... family man.” – Kat [38:31]
• U.S. intelligence provided Mexico with Mencho’s location; Mexico conducted the raid. Kat is deeply skeptical of the “official” story and describes the “kingpin strategy” as ultimately counterproductive [41:12].

6. On the Ground: Investigating the "Staged" Scene [47:53–62:00]

• Kat’s walkthrough of the compound: burned-out forests, intact homes, 50-caliber shell casings but NO bullet holes or physical evidence of an intense firefight.
• “There’s not a single bullet hole. There’s... zero shattered windows... four of us spent hours trying to find something.” – Kat [53:49–54:13]
• Scene appeared completely staged—fresh food was actually two weeks old, personal belongings left out, no bodies, almost no blood. (“This is bullshit,” she laments, exasperated [114:09].)

7. Theories & Implications: What Really Happened? [62:10–78:24]

• Kat presents three hypotheses:
  1. Operation happened but was embellished for PR.
  2. The wrong area was staged for press; real action went down at the country club.
  3. Mencho was already dying or dead, and CJNG/government cooperated to "gift" his capture to the U.S.
• Lack of chaos and infighting supports theory that power transition was pre-arranged.
• Symbolic, lavish funeral for Mencho is a “slap in the face” to ordinary Mexican families who lost loved ones to cartel violence [70:13–71:56].

8. U.S.-Mexico Strategy, Political Optics, and "Tacit Agreements" [75:20–80:47]

• Discussion about whether Mencho’s killing was coordinated for U.S./Mexican political benefit or media distraction.
• “Maybe you give us a pound of flesh once in a while so we can market it to the public, but... we’re not going to actually do what we did in Afghanistan.” – Julian [76:01]
• Kat pushes back on pure “distraction” theory; believes multiple truths can coexist but acknowledges the PR and tactical motivators.

9. Cartel-State Relations & Corruption (Power, Law, Impunity) [80:47–101:05]

• The conversation drifts into broad systemic corruption: politicians, cops, National Guard, courts all in the pay of cartels.
• “It’s a narco government and economy. How do you even separate that?” – Kat [113:32]

10. Ryan Wedding: Canada’s Most Notorious Narco [128:57–153:53]

• Kat recaps Ryan Wedding’s unlikely rise: from Olympic skier to cartel enforcer/trafficker, connected to both Sinaloa and Chapitos.
• His violence, connections, and business acumen made him a natural fit for high cartel ranks.
• His recent arrest came via self-surrender, coerced by U.S. threats to “something close” to him (details undisclosed by Kat).
• Details on “Cocaine Lawyer” Deepak Paradkar, a Canadian attorney–accomplice indicted for facilitating hits and acting as cartel mole [154:24–155:49].
• Insights into the mind-boggling leniency of Canadian justice for cartel crimes [156:06].

11. Ukraine: Cartels, Mercenaries, & War [157:20–170:02]

• Kat reports on Colombian mercenaries recruited to fight in Ukraine, later drawn into Mexican cartel violence.
• Cartels exploit global conflict: Colombians travel to Ukraine for mercenary duty, get combat/tech training, then hired by cartels on returning to Latin America.
• “The cartels have transnational nexus between every possible hostile environment... you could imagine.” – Kat [175:23]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the staged crime scene:

  • “There’s not a single bullet hole... four of us spent hours trying to find something.” — Kat [54:13]
  • “Let’s leave. What the fuck are we doing here? This is such bullshit.” — Kat [114:09]

• On narco mythmaking:

  • “His brand honestly brought more notoriety... music made people want to join CJNG... this is fiction! But for some people, it’s convincing.” — Kat [18:21]

• On cartel government fusion:

  • “It’s a narco government and economy. How do you even separate that?” — Kat [113:32]

• On the kingpin strategy:

  • “You chop off the head of the hydra and two worse ones grow back... Just causes more violence. Doesn’t work.” — Kat [41:15]

• On the lack of infighting:

  • “The leader is taken out, we should see three different guys vying for power... There should be a war in Zacatecas, a war in Veracruz, a war in Sinaloa... and they’re not. No. It doesn’t add up.” — Kat [100:22–100:48]

• On the realities of female journalism in cartel lands:

  • “A lot of people know where I’m at, know what flights I’m taking... but I don’t know if, down to the very bottom of, like, a cartel lookout... they’d recognize me.” — Kat [88:52]

• On Canadian legal impunity:

  • “If your boyfriend cheats, just kill him... you’re not going to do any time. You’ll be fine. This is a perfect example.” — Kat [156:06]

Additional Noteworthy Segments

• CJNG Media Propaganda & Narco Corridos:
  Detailed discussion on how CJNG fostered a media/propaganda machine—using music to mythologize cartel life and even inspire recruitment [17:07–19:47].

• Culture of Distrust & Desensitization:
  Mexicans are so accustomed to violence and impunity that even children run for cover instinctively, but it rarely makes international news anymore [112:17–112:58].

• Ukraine Mercenary Pipeline:
  Kat tracks the journey of Colombian mercenaries supplying both sides of the Ukraine war, their eventual recruitment by Mexican syndicates for specialized violence [157:20–170:02].
  “Cartels are exploiting a war that already has very little resources... using Ukraine as a training ground, then bringing them to Mexico.”

Closing

Kat’s fieldwork provides a rare, unfiltered vantage on the state-crime symbiosis governing Mexican narco-politics. Her reporting raises serious doubts about official accounts of El Mencho’s demise, offers context to recent kingpin strategy failures, and uncovers new narco-military intersections on a global scale.
Her Borderline Dispatches podcast and social channels host her video coverage of these investigations.

Follow Kat Szulc:

• Instagram: @katarinaszulc
• Podcast: Borderline Dispatches

For more:
All the supporting videos and maps referenced in this episode will be available on Kat's YouTube/Instagram and Borderline Dispatches.