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USA V. GARCÍA LUNA

EPISODE 8. ONE BAD BUNNY

[FUTURO SONIC ID]

[FUTURO INVESTIGATES SONIC ID]

 MARIA: ÓYEME PENILEY, DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU WERE DOING IN OCTOBER OF 2007? ANY CLUE?

PENILEY: UH, WELL I WAS LIVING IN MIAMI, BUT I CAN’T REMEMBER, OF COURSE, ONE SPECIFIC DATE. DO YOU?

MARIA: I WAS AN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT FOR “NOW” ON PBS, BUT – LA VERDAD LA VERDAD – NO, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN OCTOBER OF 2007. BUT…

[MUSIC]

…IN OCTOBER OF 2007, MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES. WERE CELEBRATING WHAT IS, UP UNTIL THIS DATE, THE BIGGEST DRUG BUST IN THE HISTORY OF MEXICO. OYEME, MORE THAN 23 TONS OF COCAINE BELONGING TO A COLOMBIAN DRUG CARTEL WERE FOUND IN SEVERAL CONTAINERS IN THE MEXICAN PORT OF MANZANILLO AND IT WAS SEIZED BY THE AUTHORITIES. BY THE WAY, I’M REWATCHING “NARCOS,” SO I’M JUST TELLING YOU: IT’S, LIKE, ALL FITTING IN.

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: YEAH, AND THAT WAS LIKE PART OF THIS “NARCOS” SERIES. BUT NOW, 15 YEARS LATER, GENARO GARCÍA LUNA – OUR GUY – IS ACCUSED OF HELPING THE SINALOA CARTEL TO AVOID A $50 MILLION QUOTE ON-QUOTE “FINE” IN CONNECTION TO THAT HISTORIC BUST. 

MARIA: OKAY. I KNOW YOU’RE JUST LIKE, WAIT, WHAT JUST HAPPENED? YEAH. WELL, WE’RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS BECAUSE– I’M MARIA HINOJOSA AND, MY DEAR LISTENER, I’M BACK IN NEW YORK.  

PENILEY: WELCOME BACK

MARIA: GRACIAS. IT’S GOOD TO BE IN THE STUDIO WITH YOU, MY QUERIDA PENI. SO WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO TODAY IS WE’RE GOING TO TELL YOU EVERYTHING WE HAVE LEARNED DURING THE TRIAL OF GENARO GARCÍA LUNA ABOUT THE COLOMBIAN-MEXICAN DRUG BUST – THAT DRUG BUST IN 2007. AND WE’RE ALSO GOING TO INTRODUCE A NEW CHARACTER: 

A VERY, BAD, BAD BUNNY. QUE-QUE?

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: HELLO, DEAR LISTENER, I AM PENILEY RAMIREZ. WELCOME BACK. AND THIS EPISODE, WE’LL ALSO TELL YOU HOW AMERICAN INTEL SHARED WITH GARCÍA LUNA APPARENTLY ENDED UP BENEFITTING THE SINALOA DRUG CARTEL.

[MUSIC]

BUT FIRST, TEQUILA TIME.

[TEQUILA SOUND]

MARIA THIS, DEAR LISTENER, IS EPISODE 8 OF USA VERSUS GARCÍA LUNA Y SALUD!  

PENILEY: SALUD!

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: WELL, MARIA, I WANT TO START THIS EPISODE BY SHOWING YOU SOME PICTURES THAT THE PROSECUTORS ENTERED AS EVIDENCE IN THE TRIAL WHILE YOU WERE IN TEXAS. AND THEY ARE ABOUT THE HISTORIC BUST THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.

MARIA: OKAY.

PENILEY: SO PLEASE DESCRIBE WHAT YOU SEE

[SFX]

MARIA:  I SEE A PORT. I SEE SHIPPING CONTAINERS. OOH, . WHOA. NOW? I SEE HUGE BLACK CLOUDS OF SMOKE COMING FROM, UH, SOMETHING ON FIRE. I THINK A TRAIN OR A SHIPPING CONTAINER LIKE MASSIVE FIRE. MM-HMM. 

PENILEY: AND DO YOU SEE WHAT IS  HERE ALIGNED IN THE FLOOR? 

MARIA: WHAT IS THAT? 

PENILEY: THOSE ARE PACKAGES OF COCAINE. 

MARIA: OH, NOW I SEE IT. OKAY. SO THIS IS  THE COKE THAT WAS TAKEN FROM THE SHIPPING CONTAINERS IN MANZANILLO.

PENILEY: YEAH. MORE THAN 23 TONS OF COCAINE.

MARIA: WHOA, THAT’S A LOT.

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: WELL, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER, MARIA, THAT WE MENTIONED IN EPISODE THREE OR OUR SERIES ABOUT A RAID THAT HAPPENED IN A PORT IN THE MEXICAN PACIFIC. 

WELL, THAT RAID WAS THE MANZANILLO RAID, AND NOW IT’S BEEN PLAYING A BIG PART IN THE TRIAL.

MARIA: AND I GUESS WE WERE SO SMART BECAUSE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT IN EPISODE THREE.

PENILEY: WELL… ACCORDING TO U.S. PROSECUTORS, THE SINALOA CARTEL, EL CHAPO’S CARTEL, WAS SUPPOSED TO RETRIEVE THE DRUG SHIPMENT IN MANZANILLO, BUT THE DEA FOUND OUT ABOUT IT, AND THEY ALERTED MEXICAN AUTHORITIES. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THE COLOMBIANS WERE PRETTY MAD AND THEY DEMANDED THE SINALOA CARTEL A COMPENSATION OF 50 MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE HUGE LOSS. 

MARIA: IMAGINATE, OH,  YOU LOST OUR MERCANCIA. JUST PAY US 50 MILLION DOLLARS IN 2007.

PENILEY: BUT! ACCORDING TO THE WITNESSES IN THE TRIAL, THIS WAS A MOMENT WHEN GARCIA LUNA CAME TO THE RESCUE, HE GAVE DEA INTEL TO THE SINALOA CARTEL AND HE GAVE THEM DOCUMENTATION THAT PROVED THAT THE DEA HAD TRACKED THE SHIPMENTS ALL THE WAY FROM COLOMBIA TO MEXICO.

MARIA: ALRIGHT, SO, DEAR LISTENER, THE BIG, BAD, UGLY SINALOA CARTEL, USED DEA INTELLIGENCE – ALLEGEDLY PROVIDED BY GARCIA LUNA. THAT’S WHAT’S ON TRIAL – IN ORDER TO PROVE TO ITS COLOMBIAN PARTNERS THAT THE SEIZURE WASN’T THEIR FAULT AND THAT’S HOW THEY WERE GOING TO AVOID THIS HUGE FINE.

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: YES, AND AS YOU KNOW, MARIA, THIS ISN’T A TOTALLY NEW STORY FOR US. IN EPISODE 3 OF OUR SERIES, WE MENTIONED THAT ONE OF MY SOURCES, A FORMER FEDERAL POLICE BOSS, TOLD ME THAT HE RECEIVED A TIP FROM THE DEA, AND THE TIP SAID THAT A SHIPMENT WAS COMING FROM COLOMBIA WAS BRINGING TONS OF COCAINE TO MEXICO. 

[SFX: CASTANETS]

WELL, NOW, IN COURT, A SPECIAL DEA AGENT SAID THAT IN 2007, A SHIP CALLED ESMERALDA, LEFT A COLOMBIAN PORT FOR MEXICO, CONFIRMING WHAT MY SOURCE TOLD ME.

MARIA: OK, SO, ESSENTIALLY, WE HAVE MULTIPLE SOURCES THAT CONFIRM YOUR REPORTING. OK.

PENILEY: EXACTLY, AND HERE IS YET ANOTHER WITNESS THAT MENTIONED THIS BUST: AND THIS IS EL GRANDE. 

[SFX: HORN PLAYS]

DO YOU REMEMBER EL GRANDE, RIGHT, MARIA?

MARIA: YES. I’M TRYING TO KEEP ALL THE NICKNAMES IN CHECK, BUT YES, THE BIG ONE. HE WAS THE CARTELS, FORMER LIEUTENANT COORDINATING BRIBES TO MEXICAN OFFICIALS AND HE WAS CALLED EL GRANDE PORQUE ES BIEN GRANDOTE. BIEN, BIEN TALL. OK.

PENILEY: YES, HE’S REALLY TALL. SO EL GRANDE SAID IN COURT THAT MANZANILLO CUSTOMS DIDN’T WANT TO “RELEASE” THE DRUG SHIPMENT, TO RELEASE, MEANING, GIVE IT TO THE CARTEL. 

AND HE SAID HIS BOSS, BIG DRUG LORD ARTURO BELTRAN LEYVA, CALLED AN OFFICIAL OF THE PORT THAT HE KNEW TO SWITCH THE REAL COCAINE WITH THE FAKE COCAINE. 

MARIA: OOOOOH YES, THIS WAS THE FACTORY WHERE THEY WERE MAKING FAKE COCAINE BRICKS. YOU TOLD US ABOUT IT IN OUR PREVIOUS EPISODE. THAT’S RIGHT. 

PENILEY: SO, EL GRANDE TRAVELED TO MANZANILLO WITH A TRUCK FULL OF FAKE COCAINE, BUT THEY COULDN’T DO THE EXCHANGE.

MARIA WHAT HAPPENED?  ¿QUÉ PASO?

PENILEY: TO UNDERSTAND THAT, WE NEED TO INTRODUCE A NEW WITNESS – THAT MEANS A NEW NICKNAME.

MARIA: AY DIOS MIO! OKAY. HIJOLE, LA VERDAD VOY A TENER QUE TOMAR NOTA TO KEEP THIS ALL STRAIGHT. OKAY. SO WHAT IS THE NICKNAME OF THIS PERSON AND WHAT’S THEIR REAL NAME?

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: WELL, HIS NAME IS OSCAR NAVA VALENCIA, AKA, EL LOBO, OR THE WOLF.

[SFX: WOLF HOWLS]

MARIA: IN MEXICO, EVERYBODY’S GOT AN APODO. EVERYBODY’S GOT A NICKNAME. OKAY, SO TELL ME MORE ABOUT EL LOBO.

PENILEY:  EL LOBO WAS A DRUG LORD WHO DID BUSINESS WITH ARTURO BELTRAN LEYVA –  EL GRANDE’S BOSS. 

[ARCHIVE ABOUT EL LOBO]

“OSCAR ARNALDO NAVA VALENCIA, ALIAS EL LOBO, JUNTO CON SU HERMANO–COORDINABAN EL TRASIEGO DE COCAÍNA DESDE PAÍSES DE CENTRO Y SUDAMÉRICA A TRAVÉS DE EMBARQUES QUE TENÍAN DESTINO MANZANILLO EN COLIMA…”

PENILEY:  ONE OF THOSE DEALINGS WAS BRINGING COCAINE FROM COLOMBIA. SO EL LOBO WAS PART OF A GROUP THAT WAS ALLIES WITH THE SINALOA CARTEL. SO WHEN THE COLOMBIAN SHIPMENT WAS SEIZED, HE SAID HE WAS VERY WORRIED AND SO SAD BECAUSE 10 TONS OF THE COCAINE IN MANZANILLO BELONGED TO HIM. 

MARIA WAH WAH WAH. YOU LOST 10 TONS OF COCAINE.  

[MUSIC]

MARIA: THEN, WHAT HAPPENED?

PENILEY: HE SAID THAT ARTURO BELTRAN LEYVA SUGGESTED TO HIM TO PAY 10 MILLION DOLLARS TO GARCÍA LUNA FOR HIS “HELP” TO RECOVER THE COCAINE. 

MARIA: BRO, HE SAID THIS ON THE STAND?

[NEWS ARCHIVE]

“OSCAR NAVA VALENCIA, ALIAS EL LOBO, PAGÓ PERSONALMENTE 10 MILLONES DE DÓLARES A GENARO GARCÍA LUNA PARA LIBERAR DROGA RETENIDA EN MANZANILLO COLIMA ASÍ COMO PARA TENER PROTECCIÓN E INFORMACIÓN”

PENILEY: ACCORDING TO EL LOBO, THE MEXICAN ARMY WENT TO MANZANILLO AND THEY PREVENTED THE EXCHANGE OF THE FAKE DRUG WITH—

MARIA: —THE REAL DRUGS. OKAY.

PENILEY: OK, SO ACCORDING TO EL LOBO, GARCÍA LUNA THEN PROPOSED A SOLUTION.

[MUSIC]

MARIA: NOW, THIS BRINGS US TO WHAT WE TOLD YOU AT THE VERY TOP OF THE SHOW. 

PENILEY: EXACTLY. THE DEA INTELLIGENCE THAT GARCÍA LUNA ALLEGEDLY SHARED WITH THE SINALOA CARTEL. 

AND HERE I’M QUOTING EL LOBO. HE SAID: THE SINALOA CARTEL SAVED ITSELF “50 MILLONES DE DÓLARES GRACIAS A GENARO.”

MARIA WOW. SO, HE BASICALLY JUST SAID, WE SAVED $50 MILLION THANKS TO OUR GUY GARCIA LUNA. 

MARIA: BUENO, GENTE. YA VOLVEMOS. NO TE VAYAS.

[SFX: CASTANETS]

MIDROLL

MARIA GENTE, WE ARE BACK. AND YOU’RE LISTENING TO USA VERSUS GARCÍA LUNA. PENI IS ABOUT TO INTRODUCE ME TO ANOOOOTHER CHARACTER IN THIS COMPLEX –  OR IS IT NOT SO COMPLEX STORY? ALL RIGHT. WHO IS THIS CHARACTER AND PREPARE ME FOR ANOTHER NICKNAME. 

PENILEY: NOW WE HAVE A NEW GUY: HIS NAME IS HAROLD POVEDA, ALSO KNOWN AS, EL CONEJO: THE RABBIT OR THE BUNNY.

[MUSIC]

MARIA: NAH, NAH, NOT BAD BUNNY. THAT NAME IS ALREADY TAKEN. OKAY. HE’S THE RABBIT OR EL CONEJO.

PENILEY: THE RABBIT OR THE BUNNY. WELL… HE IS A COLOMBIAN TRAFFICKER WHO WAS A BROKER BETWEEN THE PRODUCERS OF COCAINE IN COLOMBIA AND THE DISTRIBUTORS IN MEXICO, WHO WILL THEN BRING DRUGS TO THE UNITED STATES. HE WAS ARRESTED IN 2010 IN MEXICO CITY AND EXTRADITED TO THE UNITED STATES IN 2012.

ONCE HERE, HE DECLARED HIMSELF GUILTY, HE PAID ONE MILLION DOLLARS TO THE U.S. AND HE IS NOW FREE ON BAIL HERE IN THE COUNTRY. 

MARIA: NOOOO, I LOVE IT WHEN SUDDENLY THESE LITTLE LIKE SNIPPETS OF TELENOVELA ARE DROPPED, LIKE BIG BAD NARCOTRAFICANTE. “I’M JUST GONNA PAY A MILLION DOLLARS AND I’M JUST GONNA BE FREE ON BAIL HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.” OKAY.

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: AND NOW HE APPEARED IN COURT TO TESTIFY ABOUT HIS ROLE IN THE INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRADE. 

[ARCHIVE TAPE] 

NEWS ANCHOR: DETALLÓ CÓMO SE REALIZABAN ENVÍOS DE COCAÍNA EN LANCHAS Y AVIONES”

MARIA: I THINK IN COURT EL CONEJO — THE BUNNY, THE RABBIT — GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE ATTENTION BECAUSE OF SOMETHING ELSE HE DID. TELL US. 

PENILEY: WELL, THIS WAS THE FIRST PERSON WHO ACTUALLY CRIED IN THIS TRIAL.

MARIA: OOOH, WHY DID HE CRY?

PENILEY: HE CRIED AFTER THEY SHOWED A VIDEO OF HIS FORMER HOME IN MEXICO CITY. AND THE VIDEO WAS ABOUT THE HOUSE WHEN IT WAS GETTING RAIDED OVER 10 YEARS AGO. 

MARIA: OKAY. I WANNA SEE THE VIDEO, AND I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE SEEN THE FACES OF THE JURORS WHEN THEY WERE WATCHING THIS. OKAY, LET ME SEE.

PENILEY: OKAY, PLEASE, MARIA, DESCRIBE WHAT YOU SEE.

[MUSIC]

[VIDEO PLAYS]

MARIA: ALL RIGHT. WELL FIRST I’M SEEING A HUGE LION WITH A MASSIVE MANE. UM, AND NOW I’M SEEING A BEAUTIFUL, WHAT IS THIS? A BLACK PANTHER?

PENILEY: YEAH, BLACK PANTHER.

MARIA: OH MY GOD. A BLACK PANTHER. OH MY GOD. A WHITE SIBERIAN TIGER. A HIPPOPOTAMUS. BUT OF COURSE THEY’RE ALL CAGED.  ¿SABES QUÉ? THE KIND OF POOL AREA LOOKS LIKE THE PLAYBOY MANSION POOL. THIS IS SO WEIRD…

PENILEY: WELL YOU ARE NOT TOO OFF MARIA. THIS IS WHAT I RECORDED AFTER THE COURT THE DAY CONEJO TESTIFIED.

[POLICE SIRENS WAIL BEHIND PENILEY’S STANDUP]

PENILEY: HE WAS SO PROUD OF HIS DRUGS THAT HE WAS MAKING THE PRODUCERS PUT A LITTLE PLAYBOY BUNNY IN THEIR COCAINE THAT HE WAS TRAFFICKING SO EVERYBODY WILL KNOW THAT THIS COCAINE HAD THE QUALITY LEVEL THAT HE LIKED.

MARIA: YO, I MEAN, THE THING IS, IS THAT AGAIN, IT’S. IT’S UGLY, BUT THE DRUG MARKET IS A COMPETITIVE MARKET, AND HE WANTED TO STAMP ALL HIS PRODUCT WITH LIKE, “THIS IS MY STUFF.”

PENILEY: HE SAID THAT IT WAS A QUALITY STAMP. 

MARIA IT WAS A QUALITY STAMP. 

PENI: AND EVEN GARCIA LUNA WAS LAUGHING, MARIA BECAUSE CONEJO WAS ALSO SAYING THAT HE HAD, LOOK AT THIS, A WHITE PERSIAN CAT WORTH FOUR-THOUSAND DOLLARS, AND THE NAME OF THE CAT WAS PERICO.

MARIA: NOOO. ALL RIGHT. SO IF ANYBODY KNOWS, PERICO IS A PARROT, BUT I MEAN, PERICO IS COCAINE. IT’S A COLOMBIAN WORD. 

PENILEY:SO THE BUNNY WAS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THIS IN COURT AND HE SAID, YEAH, PERICO: WHITE. COCAINE: LIKE [WIPES NOSE WITH PAW]

MARIA: OHHH. HE ACTUALLY DID THAT HE BASICALLY PUT HIS FINGER TO HIS NOSE AS IF HE WAS TAKING A HIT OF COCAINE. OKAY. AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED?

MUSIC PAUSE, TRANSITION FROM LAUGHING TO GET SERIOUS AGAIN.

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: NOW LET’S GET MORE SERIOUS. AND THIS IS ANOTHER PART OF MY RECORDING FROM THAT DAY AGAIN.

[TAPE OF PENILEY’S STANDUP]

PENILEY: HE MENTIONED A LOT OF DETAILS AND ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT WAS, UH, BRIBING THIS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS… HE WAS ALSO TALKING ABOUT HOW CORRUPT WAS THE POLICE THAT GARCÍA LUNA WAS LEADING CONEJO, OR THE RABBIT. HE WAS SO PROUD OF ALL THE DRUGS THAT HE WAS BRINGING INTO THE UNITED STATES

[MUSIC]

PENILEY: HE KNEW ABOUT GARCÍA LUNA, HE KNEW ABOUT THE ALLEGED CORRUPTION, AND HE KNEW ABOUT THE NARCO VAQUITA FOR THE BRIBES. 

MARIA: OKAY, HERE WE GO. CUE TO THE VAQUITA SOUND PLEASE.

[SFX: COW MOOS AS TELENOVELA MUSIC PLAYS]

PENILEY: AND ALL OF THIS BRINGS US BACK TO THE U.S. MARIA, BECAUSE WHILE ALL OF THIS WAS HAPPENING, THE U.S. KEPT TRUSTING GARCÍA LUNA TO FIGHT THE WAR ON DRUGS IN MEXICO. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT WAR HASN’T GONE AS PLANNED. 

PENILEY: NOW LET ME BRING BACK JAVIER HERRERA, ONE OF MY SOURCES THAT WE MENTIONED IN ANOTHER EPISODE OF THE PODCAST. HE WAS A FEDERAL POLICE OFFICER AND MARIA, HE TOLD ME THAT HE ALERTED THE U.S. EMBASSY IN MEXICO ABOUT GARCÍA LUNA BACK IN 2008, YOU REMEMBER? 

MARIA: RIGHT? DEAR LISTENER, MAKE A NOTE. AS FAR AS 2008, THE US EMBASSY IN MEXICO WAS BEING TOLD, HEY, YOU MIGHT WANNA PAY ATTENTION TO THIS GUY, GARCIA LUNA. HE’S NOT LOOKING SO CLEAN. BUT NO PASÓ NADA. 

[MUSIC]

ENTONCES. 

PENILEY: AROUND THAT SAME TIME, EL CONEJO WAS MOVING ALL THE COCAINE FROM COLOMBIA, AND THIS WAS ONE YEAR AFTER THE MANZANILLO DRUG BUST. SO HERRERA SAYS THAT THE AMERICAN OFFICERS IN MEXICO KNEW THAT GARCÍA LUNA WAS ALLEGEDLY FIGHTING SOME CARTELS WHILE PROTECTING SINALOA CARTEL. AND THIS IS HIM:

[ARCHIVE] 

JAVIER HERRERA: PERO SÍ SABÍAN QUE QUE TRABAJABA MÁS, EH, EN CONTRA A FAVOR DE UNOS Y EN CONTRA DE OTROS. 

MARIA: JUST LET THAT SINK IN FOR A SECOND. HE BASICALLY SAYS THE AMERICAN OFFICERS IN MEXICO KNEW. WOW. 

PENILEY: AND DEAR LISTENER, IN OUR NEXT EPISODE, YOU WILL LISTEN…

[SFX: TV ZAP]

MARIA:  OKAY. DEAR GARCIA LUNA, LISTENER, WE INTERRUPT THIS REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING TO BRING YOU SOME BREAKING NEWS CUZ WE HAVE JUST LEFT THE COURTROOM. IT IS WEDNESDAY, JUST BEFORE NOON. AND OH MY GOD, WHAT A SHOCKER. 

PENILEY: I’M IN SHOCK, MARIA. WE WERE EXPECTING THIS TRIAL TO BE EIGHT WEEKS, AND NOW THE PROSECUTION IS SAYING THAT THEY JUST HAVE ONE MAJOR WITNESS TO TESTIFY NEXT MONDAY, THAT THEY’RE GONNA BE DOING THEIR CLOSING ARGUMENTS NEXT WEEK.

MAYBE GARCÍA LUNA WILL TESTIFY.  WE WILL KNOW ON MONDAY TOO. BUT WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHY THEY’RE SHORTENING THE CASE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? 

MARIA: I DON’T KNOW. I’M JUST TELLING YOU IT BRINGS ME NO JOY TO SAY THIS, BUT THIS IS FAR FROM A SLAM DUNK IN TERMS OF THE PROSECUTION. AND IN TERMS OF THE DEFENSE, THE BIG QUESTION IS, WILL THEY PUT EL ABUELITO GENARO GARCIA LUNA UP ON THE STAND, OR WILL THEY REST? 

BUT AS I HAVE SAID, THIS IS NOT THE END OF THIS STORY. NOT AT ALL. 

PENILEY: WELL, WE WERE WAITING FOR OTHER MAJOR WITNESSES, AND NOW THEY’RE SAYING THAT IT’S JUST GONNA BE ONE MORE WITNESS. WE DON’T KNOW IF IT’S GONNA BE EL REY ZAMBATA, WE DON’T KNOW IF IT’S GONNA BE, UM, LA BARBIE. WE DON’T KNOW WHO IS GONNA BE, BUT THEY SAY THAT THEY HAVE A MAJOR WITNESS ON MONDAY. AND, AFTER THAT, WE ARE GONNA BE PRETTY MUCH DONE.

MARIA: WELL, SO WE BRING IT TO YOU AS IT HAPPENS.  

PENILEY: AND WE HAVE SEVERAL THINGS TO REVEAL NEXT WEEK. 

MARIA: YOU KNOW WHAT, HOW I FEEL RIGHT NOW? LIKE I COULD USE A SHOT OF TEQUILA AND IT’S NOT EVEN NOON. 

PENILEY: YEAH. I NEED A TEQUILA BEFORE WE CONTINUE.

MARIA: ALL RIGHT, WE’LL SALUD WITHOUT TEQUILA

PENILEY: SALUD. 

CREDITS

USA VERSUS GARCÍA LUNA IS AN ORIGINAL PRODUCTION BY FUTURO INVESTIGATES IN COLLABORATION WITH LATINO USA AND FUTURO STUDIOS. LEMONADA MEDIA IS OUR ADVERTISING AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNER.

OUR HOSTS ARE MARÍA HINOJOSA AND PENILEY RAMÍREZ, EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS OF FUTURO UNIDAD HINOJOSA, THE INVESTIGATIONS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS DIVISION OF FUTURO MEDIA. 

THIS EPISODE WAS PRODUCED BY JUAN DIEGO RAMÍREZ AND SOFÍA SÁNCHEZ. THIS SERIES IS EDITED BY ANDREA LÓPEZ-CRUZADO. OUR ASSOCIATE PRODUCER IS ROXANA AGUIRRE. FACT CHECKING BY ARTURO ANGEL. 

NANCY TRUJILLO AND RAUL PÉREZ ARE OUR PROJECT MANAGERS. 

THIS EPISODE WAS MIXED BY STEPHANIE LEBOW, JULIA CARUSO, AND LEAH SHAW DAMERON. MUSIC AND SCORING BY JACOB ROSATI. 

THIS SERIES WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT FROM THE W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION, CHAN ZUCKERBERG INITIATIVE AND HISPANICS IN PHILANTHROPY. 

YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE REST OF “USA V. GARCÍA LUNA” TODAY, WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS, OR ON OUR WEBSITE AT FUTUROINVESTIGATES.ORG — THAT’S FUTURO INVESTIGATES DOT-O-R-G. VISIT OUR SITE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION ON “USA V. GARCÍA LUNA”. 

The work of Futuro Investigates is made possible by the W.K.Kellogg Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Tow Foundation, the Geraldine H. Dodge Foundation, Michelle Mercer and Bruce Golden, and Hispanics in Philanthropy.

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