REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM >>LORENE: HELLO, I AM LORENE MILLS AND WELCOME TO REPORT FROM SANTA FE .

I AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS SHOW BECAUSE OUR GUEST IS MICHAEL S. VIGIL.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>>MICHAEL: LORENE, IT IS ALL MY PLEASURE, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON YOUR PROGRAM.

>>LORENE: WELL, YOU ARE AN AUTHOR AND YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY, A MEMOIR, IS CALLED DEAL AND IT'S ABOUT YOUR WORK AS... >>MICHAEL: A DEA AGENT.

>>LORENE: THE CHIEF OF INTERNATIONAL DEA AND THEN ALSO YOU HAVE WRITTEN WONDERFUL NOVELS.

SO PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SPYING AND THE CARTELS AND THE UNDERGROUND, THIS IS CALLED, CLAW OF THE DRAGON , YOU HAVE SOME OTHER BOOKS TOO.

SO, YOUR RESUME IS SO ASTONISHING AND WHEN I THINK OF THE DANGEROUS SEAS IN WHICH YOU SWAM AND THAT YOU STARTED QUITE EARLY, BUT TALK TO ME, YOU WERE BORN IN ESPANOLA.

>>MICHAEL: I WAS BORN IN ESPANOLA, I GRADUATED FROM THE SCHOOL SYSTEM THERE AND THEN I WENT TO NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY AND GRADUATED WITH HONORS AND RECEIVED A DEGREE IN CRIMINOLOGY.

AFTER THAT, I APPLIED TO A MULTITUDE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, BUT THE ONE THAT REALLY PIQUED MY INTEREST WAS THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION BECAUSE THEY HAD ACHARTERED AWARD BOTH FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC AND THEN I WAS ALSO VERY INTERESTED IN WORKING UNDERCOVER.

>>LORENE: WELL, YOU HAVE RECEIVED SO MANY HONORS, NOT JUST DOMESTIC HONORS BUT INTERNATIONAL HONORS.

THE HIGHEST, THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARD IN LAW ENFORCEMENT IS CALLED THE TOP COP AWARD GIVEN BY THE NATIONAL POLICE ASSOCIATION AND YOU GOT THAT, I MEAN IT IS JUST LIKE... >>MICHAEL: WELL, THIS IS SOMETHING, LORENE, THAT THEY AWARD TO ONLY TEN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS NATIONWIDE.

AND JUST ABOUT EVERY AGENCY IN AMERICA SUBMITS PEOPLE FOR THAT AWARD SO IT IS REALLY THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARD IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THEY HAVE THIS CEREMONY AND IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE LAW ENFORCEMENT'S VERSION OF THE ACADEMY AWARDS.

>>LORENE: OH MY GOODNESS, OH, HOW WONDERFUL, YOU CAN'T GO UNDERCOVER TO THAT ONE.

WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT SOME OF YOUR OTHER AWARDS YOU HAVE SERVED IN 13 FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POSTS, YOU ROSE TO SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE IN THE DEA, RIGHT?

>>MICHAEL: I DID, I WAS THE SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE FOR THE ENTIRE CARIBBEAN TO INCLUDE SURINAM, GUYANA AND FRENCH GUIANA ON THE SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINENT.

THEN I WAS ALSO THE SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE FOR THE SAN DIEGO DIVISION AND THEN THE HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS WHICH MEANT THAT I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OFFICES WORLDWIDE, EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, CENTRAL ASIA, YOU KNOW THE PACIFIC, LATIN AMERICA, SO IT WAS QUITE A RESPONSIBILITY.

>>LORENE: YES, INDEED.

SO PEOPLE GET AWARDS, THEN WHEN I LOOKED AT THE NATURE OF SOME OF THESE AWARDS, THE PRESIDENT OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GAVE YOU AN ADMIRAL SWORD AS AN AWARD, CHINA BESTOWED YOU WITH KEYS TO THE CITY OF SHANGHAI, YOU WERE MADE AN HONORARY GENERAL BY AFGHANISTAN.

THESE ARE NOT THE LITTLE PLAQUE THAT HANGS ON THE WALL LIKE EVERYBODY GETS, THIS BESPEAKS OF A REALLY EXTRAORDINARY CAREER.

>>MICHAEL: THE THING IS THAT I WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH FOREIGN COUNTERPARTS AND I WAS ABLE TO GENERATE MULTINATIONAL OPERATIONS.

THE BIGGEST ONE THAT I WAS ABLE TO INITIATE INVOLVED 36 COUNTRIES.

AND THEN IN CENTRAL ASIA, AFTER THE FALL OF THE TALIBAN IN 2001, I CREATED OPERATION CONTAINMENT AND BROUGHT IN THE CHINESE, THE RUSSIANS AND AT THAT TIME THE HEROIN SEIZURES IN THOSE COUNTRIES IN THAT REGION ONLY AMOUNTED TO MAYBE ABOUT FIVE TO EIGHT KILOGRAMS.

AFTER WE INITIATED OPERATION CONTAINMENT, IT WENT UP THE FIRST YEAR TO 24 TONS OF HEROIN AND THE COUNTRIES WORKED VERY WELL TOGETHER, BUT IT WAS NOT SO MUCH THESE SEIZURES THAT I WAS INTERESTED IN, MY INTEREST WAS TO GET THESE COUNTRIES IN SPECIFIC REGIONS AROUND THE WORLD TO WORK TOGETHER AND MORE IMPORTANTLY TO SHARE INFORMATION SO THAT WE COULD INITIATE INTELLIGENCE DRIVEN OPERATIONS.

SO THESE OPERATIONS WERE HIGHLY, HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL.

>>LORENE: TALK TO ME ABOUT KINGPINS IN THE INDIVIDUAL DRUG ORGANIZATIONS AND WHAT YOUR STRATEGY WAS ABOUT, YOU'VE GOT THE HEADMAN AND THEN THE HIERARCHY BENEATH HIM, WHAT WAS YOUR STRATEGY ABOUT HOW TO DECAPITATE THESE ORGANIZATIONS?

>>MICHAEL: WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I TRIED TO DO IS DO A TOP-TO-BOTTOM DISMANTLING OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS, BECAUSE, LORENE, IN MEXICO FOR EXAMPLE, FELIPE CALDERON WAS THE PRESIDENT FROM ABOUT 2006 YOU KNOW TO 2012.

HE STARTED THE KINGPIN STRATEGY TO DECAPITATE THE HEADS OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND HE HAD THE RIGHT IDEA, HE HAD A GOOD THOUGHT PROCESS, BUT WHAT HE DIDN'T ANTICIPATE WAS THAT WHEN HE TOOK OUT THE LEADERS THEN IT WAS LIKE THE PROVERBIAL GREEK HYDRA WHERE YOU KNOW.

>>LORENE: MANY HEADED HYDRA, CUT ONE TWO MORE TAKES ITS PLACE.

>>MICHAEL: AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, THEY WERE COMPETING FOR TERRITORY FOR DRUG ROUTES AND WHAT HAVE YOU SO THAT LED TO A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF VIOLENCE.

BUT MY IDEA WAS NOT ONLY TO TAKE OUT THE LEADERS BUT ALSO TAKE OUT AT LEAST THE MID-LEVEL TRAFFICKERS SO IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR SOMEBODY AT A LOW LEVEL TO RISE AND TAKE OVER A CARTEL.

BUT THE CARTELS RIGHT NOW HAVE MORPHED, AND THEY HAVE BECOME ULTRA-VIOLENT.

WE SEE KILLINGS, WE SEE THESE CARTELS TAKING OVER LARGE SWATHS OF TERRITORY IN MEXICO AND THEY HAVE BECOME UNAFRAID OF MEXICAN SECURITY FORCES, IN THE PAST THEY WERE DEATHLY, DEATHLY AFRAID OF THE ARMY AND THE MEXICAN FEDERAL JUDICIAL POLICE, BUT NOW THEY TRAVEL IN CARAVANS OF 25, 30, VEHICLES, A LOT OF THEM ARE ARMORED WITH 50-CALIBER MACHINE GUNS MOUNTED ON THE ROOFS OF THESE TRUCKS AND THEY FUNCTION PRETTY MUCH LIKE A PARAMILITARY FORCE.

SO MEXICO IS HAVING A HUGE PROBLEM CONTAINING THESE CARTELS.

>>LORENE: LET'S LOOK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE CARTELS AND WHAT THEY ACTUALLY ARE, BUT ALSO THERE ARE JUST REALLY RISING IN MUCH MORE POWER AND INFLUENCE RIGHT NOW, BUT HOW OLD IS THE WORD CARTEL AND WERE THEY KIND OF LIKE BUMPING ALONG UNTIL WHAT DECADE?

>>MICHAEL: WHAT HAPPENED IS IN THE 1980S THERE WAS ONLY ONE CARTEL AND THAT WAS THE GUADALAJARA CARTEL AND WE STARTED TO GO AFTER THIS CARTEL IN A VERY INTENSE MANNER AFTER FEBRUARY OF 1985 WHICH IS WHEN THEY KIDNAPPED KIKI CAMARENA, ONE OF OUR AGENTS.

>>LORENE: RIGHT.

>>MICHAEL: AND THEY KILLED HIM.

SO, WE STARTED TO HUNT THESE PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE PLANET AND WE CAPTURED THESE INDIVIDUALS.

BY THIS TIME, I WAS IN COLUMBIA, I CAPTURED THEIR SOURCE OF SUPPLY, A TRAFFICKER BY THE NAME OF JUAN RAMÓN MATTA-BALLESTEROS, PROBABLY ONE OF THE TOP FIVE TRAFFICKERS IN THE WORLD.

AND HE OFFERED ME THREE MILLION DOLLARS IF I WERE TO RELEASE HIM, BUT, WHEN THE LAST LEADER WAS CAPTURED THEY FRAGMENTED AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY BROKE UP AND THEY FORMED THE SINALOA CARTEL THAT WAS HEADED BY CHAPO GUZMAN, THE TIJUANA CARTEL HEADED BY THE ARELLANO FELIX BROTHERS AND THEN THE JUAREZ CARTEL THAT WAS HEADED BY THE LORD OF THE SKIES, AMADO CARRILLO FUENTES.

>>LORENE: I ASSUME THAT WAS THE TITLE HE GAVE HIMSELF?

>>MICHAEL: WELL IT WAS A TITLE THAT HE GOT BECAUSE WHAT HE DID, LORENE, IS HE USED TO USE FRENCH CARAVELLE AIRCRAFT, COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT, AND THEN DC9S TO SMUGGLE 15 TONS OF COCAINE AT A TIME FROM COLUMBIA AND THOSE PLANES WOULD LAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT.

THEY WERE EXPENDABLE BECAUSE HE BOUGHT THEM USED AT ABOUT TWO MILLION DOLLARS, BUT YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE SMUGGLING IN 15 TONS OF COKE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS LIKE TOSSING A USED KLEENEX ON THE GROUND.

SO AT THAT TIME THEY STARTED TO EVOLVE AND GET STRONGER.

>>LORENE: OH, MY NEXT QUESTION IS, YOU TELL ME NOW THEY'VE EVOLVED AND GOTTEN STRONGER BUT THAT THEIR TENTACLES REACH INTO AREAS THAT I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF, AVOCADOS.

THERE IS A CARTEL IN CONTROL OF THE AVOCADO INDUSTRY?

>>MICHAEL: THEY HAVE A LOT OF CONTROL OVER IT AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IS THEY DIVERSIFIED THEIR CRIMINAL PORTFOLIO BECAUSE IN THE PAST IT WAS COCAINE, HEROIN, MARIJUANA, AND THEN THEY STARTED TO GO INTO THE AVOCADO INDUSTRY, BECAUSE THE AVOCADO INDUSTRY IS A $3.2 BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY IN MEXICO.

THEY STARTED TO GO INTO LIMES, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY ALSO PRODUCE AND THEN APART FROM THAT, YOU KNOW, THE SINALOA CARTEL NOW IS STARTING TO CONTROL THE FISHING INDUSTRY FROM THE FISHERMEN TO THE CANNERIES, TO DISTRIBUTION.

THEY'RE DOING ILLEGAL HARVESTING OF TIMBER, THEY HAVE ALSO ENGAGED IN KIDNAPPINGS, MURDER FOR HIRE, ALIEN SMUGGLING AND THE THEFT OF PETROLEUM, BECAUSE MEXICO HAS SIX REFINERIES, ACTUALLY SEVEN, BUT ONE OF THEM IS NOT FUNCTIONING.

SO WHAT THEY DO IS THEY GO IN AND THEY TAP INTO THE PIPELINES AND THEY STEAL AT LEAST ONE BILLION DOLLARS OF PETRO, YOU KNOW FROM THESE PIPELINES EVERY YEAR.

NOT EVERYBODY USES DRUGS, BUT EVERYBODY USES PETROLEUM FOR GASOLINE AND WHAT HAVE YOU.

SO THEY ARE IN EVERY INDUSTRY THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE AND THEREFORE, THEY HAVE BECOME EVEN MORE RESILIENT BECAUSE YOU CAN SEIZE TEN TONS OF COCAINE, YOU CAN SEIZE WHATEVER DRUG, BUT YOU HAVE REVENUE COMING IN FROM DIFFERENT PLACES WHICH ALLOWS THEM TO BUY WEAPONS, VEHICLES, YOU KNOW BRIBE POLITICIANS AND WHAT HAVE YOU.

SO IT IS A DIRE SITUATION RIGHT NOW IN MEXICO AND THEN YOU HAVE THE MEXICAN PRESIDENT LOPEZ OBRADOR THAT HAS FOLLOWED A POLICY CALLED, "ABRAZOS NO BALAZOS," IT MEANS HUGS AND NOT GUNSHOTS.

IN OTHER WORDS, HE DOESN'T WANT TO CONFRONT THEM BECAUSE HE FEELS THAT IF HE DOESN'T CONFRONT THEM IT IS GOING TO MINIMIZE VIOLENCE.

AND IT IS HAVING A MAJOR PROBLEM BECAUSE THE CARTELS NOW, LORENE, ARE FUNCTIONING WITH TREMENDOUS IMPUNITY AND THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE RULE OF LAW IS.

>>LORENE: DID THAT REPLACE AN OLD MOTTO, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SAY IT RIGHT.

LEAD OR MONEY, SAY IT RIGHT.

>>MICHAEL: PLATA O PLOMO, WHICH MEANS YOU EITHER TAKE OUR MONEY, PLATA, SILVER, OR YOU TAKE A PLOMO, WHICH IS LEAD, YOU KNOW BULLETS.

>>LORENE: VERY PERSUASIVE.

>>MICHAEL: VERY PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT TO SAY THE LEAST.

BUT YOU KNOW, MEXICO UNDER LOPEZ OBRADOR IS HAVING MAJOR, MAJOR PROBLEMS AND YOU WILL RECALL, LORENE, WHEN HE WAS CAMPAIGNING FOR THE PRESIDENCY, HE SAID THAT I AM GOING TO PUT THE MILITARY BACK INTO THEIR GARRISONS, WHICH HEDIDN'T DO, HE THEN CREATED THE NATIONAL GUARD, WHICH IS NOW ABOUT 115,000 STRONG.

NOW, I DON'T HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM USING THE MILITARY, BUT YOU NEED A CIVILIAN POLICE FORCE BECAUSE THE MEXICAN MARINES, ESPECIALLY, DO A GREAT JOB BUT THE MILITARY AREN'T INVESTIGATORS.

>>LORENE: NO.

>>MICHAEL: SO THEREFORE, THEY GO INTO A CRIME SCENE, THEY TRAMPLE OVER EVIDENCE AND THAT HAS CAUSED A MAJOR PROBLEM IN MEXICO BECAUSE THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM THERE ONLY HAS ABOUT A FIVE PERCENT SUCCESS RATE IN TERMS OF PROSECUTION.

WHICH IS ALMOST THE REVERSE OF WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.

>>LORENE: WELL, WE ARE SPEAKING TODAY WITH MICHAEL S. VIGIL ABOUT HIS LIFE AND TIMES AS AN UNDERCOVER DRUG AGENT AND WORKING WITH THE DEA ON A NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, BUT I JUST WANT TO ASK YOU, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A PLATA O PLOMO SITUATION WHEN YOU WERE UNDERCOVER?

>>MICHAEL: MANY TIMES, MANY TIMES, I RECALL ON ONE OCCASION I WAS WORKING UNDERCOVER AND I WAS MEETING WITH A COUPLE OF TRAFFICKERS AND THEY WANTED TO SEE THE MONEY, LORENE, I DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY, ALL I HAD WAS $300.

SO WHAT I DID IS I TOOK ALL THE ONE DOLLAR BILLS AND THEN I PUT $100 BILL ON EACH SIDE AND THEN I TAPED THEM TO MY ANKLE, YOU KNOW I WASN'T GOING TO CARRY BECAUSE THEY WOULD WANT TO THUMB THRU IT.

>>LORENE: YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

>>MICHAEL: SO ANYWAY, ONE OF THE BAD GUYS, YOU KNOW, SAID WELL, I AM GOING TO TAKE THE INFORMANT AND GO PICK UP THE DRUGS AND I STAYED WITH THE OTHER TRAFFICKER.

FIRST THING THE TRAFFICKER SAYS IF YOU ARE A FEDERAL AGENT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO KILL YOU.

IT WENT ON AN HOUR, TWO HOURS, THREE HOURS, FOUR HOURS GO BY, IT GETS DARK.

THEN THEMEX FEDS I CAN SEE THEM BECAUSE THIS WAS AT A GAS STATION RESTAURANT AND THEY ARE GOING LIKE "WHAT'S GOING ON, WHAT'S GOING ON," LIKE I CAN ANSWER HIM, THIS GUY'S THREATENING TO KILL ME, RIGHT?

SO, THE BAD GUY SAYS I GOT TO GO TO THE RESTROOM, SO HE WALKS OUT, I SAID, "I BETTER GO WITH HIM BECAUSE SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN."

SO HE WALKS OUT AND ONE OF THE MEX FEDS WALKS UP TO HIM AND STICKS HIS GUN IN HIS CHEST AND HE GRABS THE BARREL, SO NOW HE'S GOT LEVERAGE AND HE TURNS IT AND THE GUN GOES OFF AND HITS THE FED RIGHT IN THE HEAD AND I SAW A SPRAY OF BLOOD GO UP IN THE AIR.

AND THEN HE TURNS AND FIRES TWO ROUNDS AT ME AT ABOUT THREE FEET AND I COULD FEEL THE BULLETS GO BY MY LEFT EAR, AND THIS ALL HAPPENED IN A NANO-SECOND BUT YOU KNOW THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN.

SO WHEN YOU ARE WORKING UNDERCOVER, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN PLAN THE ENTIRE OPERATION DOWN AND NOT LEAVE ANY LOOSE THREADS, BUT YOU HAVE TO EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED BECAUSE THE TRAFFICKERS ARE NOT GOING TO FOLLOW YOUR SCRIPT.

SO YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR EVERY CONTINGENCY AND BEFORE I WENT UNDERCOVER, I WOULD MULL ALL THESE CONTINGENCIES IN MY HEAD TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT EVERYTHING WAS PRETTY WELL COVERED AND THERE WAS MINIMAL RISK THAT IT WAS GOING TO GO AWRY.

>>LORENE: IN SOME OF MY READING, YOU MIGHT HAVE ALLUDED TO THE FACT THAT YOU ENJOYED THE RUSH OF TRIUMPHING IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT.

>>MICHAEL: THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT, LORENE, BECAUSE AS AN UNDERCOVER AGENT, YOU GET THIS ADRENALIN RUSH, AND IT STARTS TO BECOME ADDICTIVE AND YOU START TO TAKE GREATER RISKS TO GET A GREATER RUSH AND THAT'S WHEN YOU HAVE TO REALLY CURB IT BECAUSE YOU ARE PROBABLY GOING TO DIE TRYING TO GET THAT HIGHER RUSH, AND THAT IS WHEN YOU START TO MAKE MISTAKES.

SO AS AN UNDERCOVER AGENT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO REALLY CONTEND WITH AND YOU KNOW YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE A CLEAR HEAD AND YOU CAN'T GET EXCITED, YOU HAVE TO REMAIN CALM.

IT IS JUST LIKE THE OLD GUNFIGHTERS OF THE WEST, THE ONES THAT USUALLY WON THE GUNFIGHTS WERE THE ONES THAT REMAINED CALM.

THE ONES THAT GOT EXCITED THEY'D STARTED SEEING SIDEWAYS UP OR DOWN AND THEY GOT KILLED.

>>LORENE: WELL THE COURAGE THAT IT TAKES.

AND THEN AS YOU SAID BEFORE EARLIER IN THE CONVERSATION THAT IF A BEAD OF SWEAT BROKE OUT ON THE UNDERCOVER AGENT, THEY WOULD FIGURE THAT HE WAS NERVOUS AND THEY WOULD KILL HIM BECAUSE HE HAD TO BE A DOUBLE AGENT.

SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE AMAZING CONTROL JUST TO KEEP YOUR COOL WHEN YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER.

>>MICHAEL: WELL, WORKING UNDERCOVER YOU KNOW WHEN THINGS START TO GET REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY DANGEROUS, I BECAME EVEN MORE CALM.

I BECAME DEADLY, DEADLY CALM AND I KNEW THAT I HAD TO BECAUSE OTHERWISE THE ODDS OF MY SURVIVING WERE ALMOST ZERO.

SO I ALWAYS WAS VERY CALM AND IF IT GOT WORSE, REALLY DANGEROUS, YOU KNOW, JUST TOTALLY CALM.

>>LORENE: WELL, WHAT I LOVE ABOUT YOUR BOOK SO PARTICULARLY FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KNOW HOW ALL THIS WORKS BEING AN UNDERCOVER AGENT AND THE ADVENTURES IN THIS BOOK, DEAL , ARE JUST WONDERFUL.

THE CLAW OF THE DRAGON, SO YOU FICTIONALIZE, WHAT SEVEN BOOKS NOW?

>>MICHAEL: WELL MY BIOGRAPHY, THEN SIX.

>>LORENE: OH YEAH.

>>MICHAEL: HOWEVER, WHEN I WRITE A BOOK, I WRITE FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES LIKE MOST AUTHORS.

THEY WILL CREATE AN OUTLINE, CHAPTER ONE, I AM GOING TO WRITE ABOUT THIS, CHAPTER TWO, I DON'T.

I GET ON THE COMPUTER AND BOP, BOP, BOP AND I WRITE THE BOOK WITHOUT THE AID OF AN OUTLINE OR ANYTHING, IT IS JUST EXPERIENCE THAT I HAVE A TON OF EXPERIENCE AND WHEN I LEFT THE DEA YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WOULD COME TO ME AND SAY, "WHY DON'T YOU WRITE A BOOK, YOU KNOW YOU HAVE HAD A VERY COLORFUL LIFE."

AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, IT IS VERY DAUNTING TO WRITE A BOOK, BUT WHEN I STARTED AND THEN BEFORE I KNEW IT I HAD 20 PAGES, 30 PAGES, 40 PAGES, AND NOW YOU KNOW, IT IS FAIRLY EASY FOR ME TO WRITE.

>>LORENE: ONE OF THE BOOKS THAT APPEALED ME IS CALLED THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT CARTEL .

WE NEED TO KNOW, IS THERE A LAND OF ENCHANTMENT CARTEL?

>>MICHAEL: NOT PER SE, BUT I SELECTED THAT BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT IS A FICTIONAL CARTEL HERE IN NEW MEXICO, IT IS A CARTEL THAT IS TIED TO MEXICAN CARTELS.

MY BOOKS COVER A LOT OF COUNTRIES AND THE REASON THAT I DO THAT, LORENE, IS BECAUSE, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE JALISCO NEW GENERATION CARTEL, THE SINALOA CARTEL, THEY OPERATE IN SIX OF THE SEVEN CONTINENTS, AND THEY HAVE TENTACLES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

THE ONLY CONTINENT THAT THEY DON'T OPERATE IN IS ANTARCTICA BECAUSE NOBODY LIVES THERE.

>>LORENE: YES.

WE ONLY HAVE A FEW MINUTES LEFT BUT I WANT TO TOUCH ON A VERY DANGEROUS DEVELOPMENT WHICH IS FENTANYL.

>>MICHAEL: YES.

>>LORENE: AND SO THE CARTELS ARE DEALING A LOT IN FENTANYL WHICH THE MORTALITY RATE IS HUGE AND NOW THEY ARE EVEN MAKING IT IN EASTER EGG COLORS TO APPEAL TO YOUNG PEOPLE.

WHAT DO PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FENTANYL?

>>MICHAEL: WELL FENTANYL IS PROBABLY THE MOST DANGEROUS DRUG THAT IS ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW.

BECAUSE FENTANYL IS 50 TIMES STRONGER THAN HEROIN, IT IS 100 TIMES STRONGER THAN MORPHINE.

SO ABOUT TWO MILLIGRAMS OF FENTANYL CAN BE LETHAL TO A NORMAL HUMAN BEING.

THE DRUG CARTELS ARE MOVING AWAY FROM PLANT-BASED DRUGS LIKE MARIJUANA AND HEROIN AND ARE GOING INTO FENTANYL AND THEY ARE GOING INTO METHAMPHETAMINES, AND THEY ARE TRYING TO NOW MARKET IT TO CHILDREN BY CREATING RAINBOW FENTANYL AND YOU KNOW BECAUSE IT ENTICES KIDS.

SO IT HAS BECOME A MAJOR, MAJOR CRISIS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, IN 2021 WE LOST OVER 100,000 AMERICANS IN TERMS OF DRUG OVERDOSES AND 66 PERCENT OF THOSE WERE FROM FENTANYL.

AND APART FROM THAT WHAT IS REALLY DANGEROUS IS THAT THE CARTELS ARE STARTING TO LACE MARIJUANA, METHAMPHETAMINE, COCAINE, HEROIN WITH FENTANYL, SO THE USERS DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT THEIR DRUG OF CHOICE MAY HAVE FENTANYL SO THE PARENTS REALLY NEED TO STAY ABREAST OF THIS SITUATION.

I THINK THAT NUMBER ONE WE NEED TO ENHANCE TREATMENT, LAW ENFORCEMENT PREVENTION AND THEN ALSO HARM REDUCTION.

YOU KNOW WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB, THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO DO A BETTER JOB.

I AM TALKING ABOUT THE FEDERAL AND ALSO THE STATE GOVERNMENT WHERE THEY NEED TO SUPPORT THE STATES, THE COMMUNITIES WITH NALOXONE, WHICH REVERSES DRUG OVERDOSES AND THEN ALSO TEST STRIPS SO THAT THE DRUG ADDICTS CAN TEST THE DRUG OF THEIR CHOICE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS NO FENTANYL.

WE ARE SEEING ALSO THE USE OF THE INTERNET BY ADOLESCENTS TO BUY DRUGS AND THEY USE EMOJIS AS CODES.

SO THEY WILL SEND A TEXT MESSAGE WITH AN EMOJI WITH A BLUE HEART WHICH MEANS METHAMPHETAMINES, A DRAGON WHICH WILL MEAN HEROIN, AND THEN ALSO A MAPLE LEAF YOU KNOW FOR EXAMPLE TO MEAN MARIJUANA.

SO THEY HAVE THEIR CODES AND IT IS ALMOST LIKE DOMINO'S PIZZA, THESE PEOPLE, THE KIDS WILL GET ON THERE, SEND THE EMOJIS AND THE TRAFFICKER KNOWS WHAT THEY WANT, THEY MEET SOME PLACE AND THEY EXCHANGE THE DRUGS FOR THE MONEY.

BUT IT IS BECOMING HIGHLY, HIGHLY DANGEROUS FOR THE KIDS, SO THE PARENTS REALLY NEED TO STAY ON TOP OF THAT.

>>LORENE: I AM SO GLAD THAT YOU'VE COME TO BE WITH US TODAY.

>>MICHAEL: IT IS MY PLEASURE, LORENE.

YOU KNOW I WATCH YOUR PROGRAM, LOVE YOUR PROGRAM.

IT IS THE ONLY PROGRAM I GET UP IN THE MORNING TO WATCH AND I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.

>>LORENE: WELL OUR GUEST TODAY IS MICHAEL S. VIGIL.

I WANT TO MENTION YOUR BOOKS AGAIN.

THIS ONE, DEAL , YOUR MEMOIR, QUITE A PAGE-TURNER.

AND THIS IS YOUR LATEST OF YOUR FICTION BOOKS, CLAW OF THE DRAGON .

>>MICHAEL: CORRECT.

>>LORENE: BUT YOU SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES, A REALLY PAGE-TURNERS SO I REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU, BUT MOSTLY YOU FOR COMING HERE TO LET OUR PEOPLE KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON BECAUSE YOU KNOW THEY THINK THAT IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE AND IT IS HAPPENING HERE.

>>MICHAEL: WELL THE THING IS THAT THEY HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU KNOW IT IS NOT A SITUATION WHERE IT HAPPENS WITH THIS FAMILY OR THIS FAMILY, YOU CAN'T ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN IN YOURS BECAUSE BY THAT TIME YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A TREMENDOUS TRAGEDY ON YOUR HANDS.

>>LORENE: YES.

WELL, I THINK YOU HAVE HELPED HEAD IT OFF AT THE PASS AND WE WILL TAKE THIS KNOWLEDGE AND USE IT.

BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MICHAEL S. VIGIL.

YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO COME BACK, WE HAVE MORE TO TALK ABOUT.

>>MICHAEL: I WILL BE BACK TOMORROW.

>>LORENE: AND I AM LORENE MILLS, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU OUR AUDIENCE FOR BEING WITH US TODAY ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT EDITION OF REPORT FROM SANTA F. REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM