The Underworld Podcast - Episode Summary

Podcast: The Underworld Podcast
Episode: The Cartel World's Donnie Brasco w/ Ian Frisch
Date: October 21, 2025
Host(s): Danny Gold (with guest host Ian Frisch)
Guest: Ian Frisch, co-author of Inside the Cartel
Main Theme:
This episode delves into the untold story of Martin Suarez, the first and only FBI agent to infiltrate the Colombian cartel underworld as an undercover operative. Journalist and co-author Ian Frisch discusses his book Inside the Cartel, revealing Suarez’s harrowing exploits smuggling over a billion dollars in cocaine and laundering tens of millions, operating for over two decades and playing a key role in breaking previously impenetrable drug and money-laundering systems.

Episode Overview

The Cartel World's Donnie Brasco offers listeners a rare inside look at transnational organized crime through the lens of FBI agent Martin Suarez’s unprecedented undercover career. Ian Frisch, journalist, writer, and magician (and temporary co-host in Sean Williams’s absence), guides listeners through Suarez’s transformation from Navy officer to the Bureau’s most successful deep-cover operative—outwitting both criminals and the system for decades. The discussion covers:

• The mechanics of cartel smuggling and money laundering
• The psychological and institutional challenges of undercover work
• The structure of the Colombian drug underworld in the late 1980s and 1990s
• Suarez’s survival after being targeted by cartel assassins
• The personal cost of a life lived in the shadows

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage—Who Was Martin Suarez?

• Suarez was the first FBI agent to go undercover within the Colombian cartels (06:10).
• Posed as a smuggler and money launderer for 23 years, operating in Miami, Puerto Rico, and globally (06:10).
• Smuggled a billion dollars in cocaine (all seized by law enforcement), laundered over $50 million, and ultimately helped dismantle a Colombian narco empire (06:10–06:59).

“He began his career in 1988. He worked continuously undercover for about 23 years... helped smuggle $1 billion worth of cocaine... helped launder over $50 million and dismantle a Colombian narco empire.”
— Ian Frisch (06:10)

2. The Unprecedented Nature of Suarez’s Work

• Suarez’s exploits were unknown, owing to his humility and Bureau secrecy (07:05).
• The FBI leveraged Suarez’s Navy background, language skills, and street smarts—he fit the role of a smuggler in ways the Bureau had never seen (08:56).

"To him, he was doing his job. And also, too, Martin's role at the FBI was so singular and so important that the FBI as an institution couldn't afford to let the public know...”
— Ian Frisch (07:05)

3. Going Undercover: Building a Legend (12:45)

• Suarez’s transformation involved observing cartel customs, learning not to draw attention, and establishing credibility as a "hard-to-get" smuggler.
• Used tactics taught by a real Medillín pilot-turned-informant (Diego), including playing hard to get, flaunting wealth but never checking bills, and projecting legitimate criminal aura.

“Never wear resold shoes. Cartel men have the nicest, shiniest shoes… don’t check the bill. Cartel guys don’t check the bill…”
— Ian Frisch (12:45)

4. Smuggling Operations—Industrial Scale

• Suarez orchestrated massive shipments, including a $500 million drop involving aerial airdrops in the Caribbean (19:01).
• Used complex ruses, like welding cocaine into barrels to delay distribution, thus enabling wider surveillance and eventual mass arrests (22:14, 24:22).

“A bale of cocaine of that size that hits the water—it's like a refrigerator being dropped out of an airplane…”
— Ian Frisch (19:01)

• Manipulated cartel psychology (“gambler’s fallacy”) to handle repeated seizures, convincing criminals it was their fault and getting them to trust him even more (24:46).

5. The Money Laundering Revolution

• Transitioned from smuggling to laundering to infiltrate another cartel "core group," the North Coast Cartel (35:09).
• Became expert through "Tony," a source who taught him the business, starting with the basics (“smurfing”)—breaking up cash, using cashier’s checks, cycling through banks under $10,000 to elude detection (39:51–41:09).
• Discovered and exposed the “black market peso exchange”—a global, nearly untraceable cycle converting US street money to clean Colombian pesos via shell companies and legitimate goods imports (43:03–45:46).

“…money never crosses borders. It's all done through legitimate transactions.”
— Ian Frisch (46:05)

“This system…is still being used today because it's the perfect way to launder money.”
— Ian Frisch (46:52)

Involvement of Legitimate Companies

• Major global firms like Philip Morris were (knowingly or unknowingly) enmeshed in this laundering process (45:50).
• Entire banks (e.g., Aruba’s Moore family bank) facilitated cartel operations at the highest levels (55:05).

6. The Cartel Hierarchy—Snail and El Toro Negro

• The North Coast Cartel’s leader “The Snail” (Alberto Gamboa), and head launderer “El Toro Negro,” a master manipulator-operator who ultimately is revealed as a Colombian senator (The Marlboro Man) (49:21, 66:09).
• Political connections and corruption were essential components of operational security and longevity (63:00).

7. Operational Risks, Close Calls, and Survival

• Suarez’s wife, Maria, was a silent pillar, sometimes witnessing the danger first-hand (33:41).
• Survived an assassination attempt by a hitman sent by El Toro Negro, escaping through quick thinking and physical confrontation at his own home (59:31).

“He hears from behind him...there's a sicario...pointing a pistol at his face. And the guy says, get on your fucking knees...He was given a picture, and he was told, this is the man you're supposed to kill.”
— Ian Frisch (61:00)

• The failed hit followed the unsealing of a massive indictment—cartel logic dictated that someone missing from the indictment must have betrayed them (60:23–63:29).

8. Building Post-Operation Capacity: Suarez’s Lasting Legacy

• Continued covert work under new identities, deployed Bureau assets built from his years undercover (70:09).
• Became a coordinator and mentor for the FBI, teaching the next generation of undercover operatives and ensuring legends and backstops were ironclad in the digital era.
• Retired 2011, still making “cameo” undercover roles through the end of his career (70:09–73:34).

“He wrote the textbook on how to do this in a long term capacity...”
— Ian Frisch (71:55)

9. The Human Story and Book Purpose

• Suarez's ALS diagnosis motivated him to finally share his story for posterity and for his family—his sons now serve in the DEA and FBI (73:48–75:06).
• Much of the deeply personal content had never before been discussed with his family.

“His future is uncertain, and he knew he had one shot to tell his story, both for public consumption... but also to create a legacy for his kids and his grandkids.”
— Ian Frisch (73:48)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “When Martin went undercover, he was performing a magic trick for a spectator that didn’t know they were on a stage.” — Ian Frisch (07:51)
• “To the cartel, drugs are much less important than money. Money is the key to everything.” — Ian Frisch (48:23)
• “When we started this book, it was like, but El Toro Negro—whatever happened to him, never found. That guy is crazy.” — Ian Frisch (66:09)

Essential Timestamps

• Suarez’s background and early operations: 06:10–08:56
• Undercover integration / smuggling details: 12:45–14:49, 18:28–22:14
• Manipulating the cartels: 24:46–27:21
• Money laundering evolution / black market peso exchange: 35:09, 39:28–46:52
• Involvement of legitimate companies & banks: 45:53–57:04
• Hierarchy/characters (“Snail, El Toro Negro”): 49:11–52:27
• Assassination attempt & aftermath: 59:31–66:09
• Post-operation, legacy & book motivations: 70:09–75:06

Final Thoughts

This episode provides a thrilling, complex, and highly human portrait of a previously invisible world. Ian Frisch’s storytelling, backed by years of on-the-ground reporting and access to Suarez himself, sheds light not only on the mechanics of the drug trade, but the sacrifices, ingenuity, and emotional toll of life undercover. The discussion underscores both the scale of the challenge and the institutional evolution triggered by one man’s unique undercover odyssey.

Recommended Reading:
Inside the Cartel: How an Undercover FBI Agent Smuggled Cocaine, Laundered Cash, and Dismantled a Colombian Narco Empire — by Martin Suarez and Ian Frisch