Pallas Television - Ciudad Juarez Cartel Wars (2018)
In the past ten years 200,000 people have been murdered in Mexico. It is more than in Iraq or Afghanistan. Many of these victims fell in the streets of Ciudad Juarez, very close to the border with the United States. Today it is the most dangerous city in the world. And the bloodshed never ends. Since the beginning of 2018, a thousand people have still been killed there. Cause of these assassinations? Cocaine, which leaves Ciudad Juarez before crossing the border and flooding the American market. To control this market, competition is raging between the two most powerful cartels in Mexico the Sinaloa cartel, led by “El Chapo” (now imprisoned in the United States) and that of La Linea. Kidnappings, settling of scores, torture, executions… a merciless war with billions of dollars at stake. For several months, journalist Alejandro Delval infiltrated the La Linea cartel, following the cocaine trail to New York. Our investigation begins in Ciudad Juarez. It is from here that most of the drugs leave for the United States. It first crosses the border, towards El Paso, Texas, where it is stored for a few days. Drugs then take the direction of the big American cities - Los Angeles, Las Vegas and especially New York - where the traffickers sell several tons of cocaine each year. To combat these cartels, the Mexican authorities have deployed more than 250 federal police officers throughout the region. On the US side, border guards patrol relentlessly. But nothing seems to make a difference. For several months, our journalists infiltrated the La Linea cartel and were able to follow the cocaine route. A journey of several thousand kilometers at very high risk, filmed with a hidden camera and sometimes openly, in the company of the traffickers themselves, in particular rogue cops and unsuspicious family fathers, but also buyers (resellers and consumers). Filmed at high risk, this report gets to the heart of the Mexican-US drugs trade.
A Film by Alexandre Duval; Pallas Television Production
Full Version Available Upon Request
Preview is in French.