Working as a police officer in Mexico

The secretary, listening to the subdued sobs inside the office, felt a bit distressed herself and took out a cigarette to light for herself. Just after a couple of drags, a thick voice sounded from behind her.

"Is Mr. Carlos in?" Ajit asked.

The secretary quickly turned around and saw a man in his forties standing behind her, with unkempt hair, a very thin physique, and sharp, penetrating eyes that seemed capable of scrutinizing the soul of another.

"Mr. Quintero." The secretary called out in a hurry.

This was none other than Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the three leaders of the Guadalajara Cartel, nicknamed "Doctor."

A cultivation expert and a farmer by origin, he was born in a village of Sinaloa State in 1952, known as the "Cradle of Drug Lords."

Quintero liked to show off; he was fond of displaying wealth and exotic animals. He specifically raised 17 hippos in his private zoo, but after the "Camarena" incident, he fled, and those hippos were left unattended.

In 2020, news even broke out about a surge of hippos in some part of Mexico, which were, in fact, the descendants of those 17 hippos.

Perhaps to compensate for his lack of formal education as a child, his official girlfriend was Sara, the daughter of the then Minister of Education, Cossio.

Luckily he never lacked milk as a child, or else he would have gone looking for a cow.

The reason for his arrest in Costa Rica was precisely because this woman made a phone call home that gave him away.

But having a girlfriend didn't prevent him from having mistresses.

Mexican drug traffickers were certainly not affectionate...

Quintero nodded, "Has Mr. Raul been found yet?"

The secretary shook her head, "He has been murdered; his body was found in a village outside of Mexico City."

Quintero wasn't too surprised. As a drug lord, he obviously knew what the consequences of being kidnapped in Mexico were. To have an intact body meant that those who kidnapped you were arguably good people.

"Do you know who did it?"

The secretary glanced towards the office and lowered her voice, "Vic from Baja California."

Quintero was all too familiar with that name!

If one had to choose the most famous person in Mexico in 1990,

the first on the list would certainly be Victor Carlos Vieri.

He executed Quintero's old friend Zambada in front of the entire nation of Mexico.

He'd never seen such a fierce man before.

Confronting all drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and now provoking a powerful family like the Salinas.

"He really knows how to stir up trouble," Quintero sighed involuntarily.

The secretary nodded in agreement beside him.

It would be nice if everyone just made money together. You want to fight drug trafficking, so what are you? You're just a little cop. Isn't it just that you have more men under you, and your weapons are better? What else do you have?

What else are you?

Squeak~

The office door opened.

Quintero and the secretary both looked over and saw Carlos Salinas walking out, his eyes red and bloodshot.

"Mr. Carlos," Quintero said, speaking with great seriousness, "if there's anything I can help with, just let me know."

The secretary glanced at him, now what do you have aside from the hundreds of millions in assets you're still hiding away?

Those little brothers who used to hang around with you are now big bosses themselves, so what are you going to do if you go out?

Sweep floors and do odd jobs?

Carlos was really staring right at him, his voice hoarse, "Quintero, if there really is a need..."

"Sir! Sir!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of hurried footsteps, and then a member of the Presidential Palace's staff came running over, his face etched with solemnity and a hint of panic.

Carlos furrowed his brows, "Calm down! How many times have I told you, you need to be calm at all times!"

The staff member stopped, took a deep breath, "A recording has just been broadcast by the Baja California television station, featuring a conversation where Mr. Raul admits to a transaction between the Salinas Family and drug traffickers."

Carlos almost blacked out on the spot, but Quintero quickly caught him. A group of people rushed into the office, and the secretary hurriedly turned on the TV, switching to the Baja California channel.

There were no images, only sound.

"Are you saying there's some kind of transaction between Salinas and Gallardo?" a man's voice, clearly processed, came through.

"Yes."

The voice of Raul, weakened, reached their ears, "Gallardo used to be a bodyguard for the Governor of Jalisco, and that governor is a member of the Salinas Family. We provided protection to his drug trafficking group and introduced him to the Minister of Defense, Galarqui."

"We get over two and a half billion US Dollars from the Guadalajara Cartel every year!"

"This money is enough for us to meet more upper-class individuals."

"But Quintero, that bastard, he destroyed everything! He brought Guadalajara to ruins, and those new Drug Lords in power have no manners at all—they only give Salinas superficial respect."

"Mexico's drug order...has spiraled out of control!"

Raul spoke in a low tone, "We've unleashed even fiercer beasts, and the evil order has been shattered—Mexico has ultimately fallen!"

The office was eerily silent, and even Quintero felt a chill run down his spine.

It's over...

If Carlos doesn't survive this, he'll have to step down.

The entanglement of Mexican Drug Officials with the cartels is a fact, but you can't just go around saying that—do we or do we not care about saving face?

Even when Netflix was filming "Narcos: Mexico," during the ninth episode of the first season when the kidnapped DEA agent Qiqi was being tortured, the Mexican officials conducting the interrogation mentioned several "censored" names, and suddenly, a "beep—" sound effect commonly used for muting was heard in the scene.

Why is this?

It's because they fear it won't pass censorship.

Some of the colluders even climbed up to high positions later on.

In Mexico, officials can sometimes be Drug Lords!

"Contact Aragon and have Baja California's satellite signals jammed, and immediately issue a statement claiming that such events are purely fictional and the Mexican Government will investigate thoroughly."

Carlos still wanted to struggle a bit; he wasn't ready to step down just like that, planning to rely on his prestige and influence in Mexico for one last stand.

The secretary acted immediately upon receiving his orders.

If the boss falls, they all suffer.

"Our trouble...has arrived!" Carlos muttered to himself as he sat on the sofa.

...

Even though the powerful Aragon Media Mogul Family in Mexico blocked the entire Baja California signal right after receiving Carlos's request, it was futile!

The storm was brewing.

And it was rapidly unfolding.

Countless eyes watching Carlos were pushing the situation to new heights.

May 27, 1990!

10 AM.

Mexican Gendarmerie Plaza!

The crowd swelled, a sea of people from above, at least over ten thousand strong!

"Gentlemen! Ladies!"

A man wearing glasses and dressed in traditional Mexican attire stood on the stage, waving his arms vigorously, shouting with voice cracking in emotion, "We must always muster the courage, we cannot let drug traffickers take over this country, this world!"

"A drug trafficker is leading us!"

"He's a liar, Carlos Salinas is a liar! He is leading Mexico to ruin!"

"We want to live, we want peace, we do not want drugs, we don't want our next generation to live life tethered to urine bags."

"We don't want our young people to lose their ideals; they should be healthy, happy, and full of hope!"

"Survive! Survive! Survive!"

His shouts ignited the crowd's emotions, and people around waved their banners, cursing the drug traffickers.

"Kill the drug traffickers!"

Clearly, the Mexican people truly detested drugs.

Suddenly, there was a scream from the outskirts, and the man on stage stood on his tiptoes—seeing the outer crowd frantically dodging.

Two dozen...pickup trucks charged in!

Mounted with machine guns, they opened fire on the crowd!

"Run! Run! Run!"

"The drug traffickers are killing people!"

The man on stage waved his hands and shouted aloud, his scalp numbing at the sight.

Hearing his cries, a drug trafficker directly aimed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. The man fell from the stage, his glasses flew off, trampled by the panicked crowd, as he stared up at the sky.

At the sun obscured by dark clouds.

"Justice can never be killed!"

He shouted loudly and died!

...