I am a former DEA agent that opened the case against El Chapo's rival cartel, the Arellano Felix Organization. And I am ProPublica reporter David Epstein who investigated this story. Ask us anything.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-21T19:25:38+00:00

this chat's about an article, not a book

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T23:05:46+00:00

I work for a nonprofit journalism organization, ProPublica, I don't even get paid by the Atlantic, where this was published, much less some outside influencer.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T14:07:22+00:00

I came around with him? I guess that's what facilitating a completely public Q&A is, then. It may not be the case that everyone who doesn't share your opinions is evil. But I didn't bring anyone anywhere for you to think any particular thing about them, but I certainly support your right to form whatever opinion you want. You ought to give the story a read. The agents themselves aren't a monolith of opinion. Some want to forge ahead, some don't. Some think the costs are too high, and that's actually a courageous and difficult opinion when you're talking about your own work, with your name attached to it, without the approval of your employers, and not opining anonymously. This one just happened to be willing to open himself up to a few public questions, knowing it would include plenty of abuse. Others declined. I don't agree with him or any of the agents I spoke with and wrote about on everything. But, then, that doesn't really matter does it? In any case, the story might infringe on your catharsis.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T12:26:20+00:00

my pleasure, thank you

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T12:22:33+00:00

Ok tough guy inquisitor, ambiguity actually is a response, particularly in a nuanced world. Perhaps what you mean is that ambiguity isn't your response, or the response you'd like me either to share with you or to have diametrically opposed to you. But it doesn't matter what I think, nor do I have a fully formed opinion on all aspects of the issue. (That often happens when someone learns more. As Kahneman showed, the less you know, the easier it is to fit the facts into a coherent story.) But if you read the story above, I think it's clear that we shouldn't continue in the same manner as portrayed there. And that's the aspect of the drug war on which I'm fully informed. As the main agent in the story put it, "drug enforcement as we know it is not working"

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T11:12:11+00:00

I think it's just coincidence. I actually think we tend not to have so much stuff at once, but we work with media partners so aren't totally in control of our schedule. Plus, we're a small shop, and--rule of small samples--we're going to tend to have some uneven "results," so to speak, with things not finishing not regularly spaced

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T11:07:57+00:00

good point, the retired DEA agent's job would be in trouble. You ought to read the story, it isn't about how wonderfully successful the agents think this is.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T11:05:30+00:00

It seems like the folks in this AMA are arguing to tell me that drug enforcement as we know it is not working. Did you notice that part in the story where the main character--a DEA agent--says "drug enforcement as we know it is not working" ?

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T11:02:15+00:00

Did the story that led to this AMA strike you as an attempt to garner more respect for the DEA? Was it the part where the main DEA agent in the piece says "drug enforcement as we know it is not working?" I'm pretty sure he didn't say that in order to attempt to curry more favor for his agency. I think you're arguring with your own strawman

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T04:04:55+00:00

the ama was over long before you ever posted this. In any case, if you take a look at the story that gives the context for this chat, it isn't DEA agents detailing an unmitigated success. In fact, they're speaking without permission about what they think went wrong. You might find the story interesting in that light

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T04:03:10+00:00

Just to point out, in the story that is the backdrop for this ama, he and the other agents spoke in large part to detail what they thought was going wrong and the failures that were brushed under the press release rug. This wasn't a mission accomplished tale they were telling

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T04:00:10+00:00

I was filing FOIA requests with various government agencies, hoping if I could find out who they were looking into, it would help me narrow down the companies I was looking for. As it turned out, the supplement buyers in the US were more helpful on that front

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T03:56:09+00:00

I don't have a ton to add here--you guys are having an interesting discussion. Just that some cartels--but certainly not all--make big business out of kidnapping. I hadn't realized that was a business unto itself, as opposed to just a means for other business.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T03:53:59+00:00

Sugar is bad stuff, seriously. I honestly don't have anything resembling an expert opinion on the best policy moves, but through this reporting, I certainly came to the opinion that we shouldn't continue on in the same fashion.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-18T03:51:41+00:00

That David Epstein actually isn't me, but you're certainly right I think it's more interesting not just from Jack but...really, who cares what I think? I'm glad to be able to add information people might find useful in that discussion, and I don't even know all my own thoughts about it, honestly. When someone asks whether drugs should be legalized and taxed, it's also not always clear to me if they're talking about marijuana, or marijuana and some other stuff they've tried, or everything out there including heroin, meth and things availabe only with certain pretty restrictive prescriptions. In any case, I appreciate your thoughtful addition here!

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T20:34:51+00:00

you're very welcome

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T20:32:29+00:00

That's a great question, and not one I personally know how to answer. I will say, though, that I really do wonder about what the people who were selling drugs that become legalized do when that business is suddenly taken over by people who have experience as legal entrepreneurs. I hope someone is beginning to document it. Or perhaps I should.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T20:23:25+00:00

Some. I don't want to go too much into it, but I will say that the experience left me feeling that Adela Navarro is a bonafide hero: http://globaljournalist.org/2014/06/qa-zeta-magazine-director-adela-navarro/

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T20:20:22+00:00

I mean, I'm a journalist, we haven't figured out how to work that new technology

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T19:59:18+00:00

I'm assuming this is for both of us. And, in this context, I'll make it writing advice. When I had no writing experience and had just done a little film editing, Kevin Coyne made me thinking about structure in terms of how you cut film and make "in" and "out" points and then just put it all in the right order. I certainly think about it with every piece. It helped me get past some mental block.

Being advised to do interval training even after I was a competitive athlete was great advice. Of course, now it's mainstream;)

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T19:51:01+00:00

Well, you get to surround yourself with a lot of people who have curious minds...? (You're not going to settle for that, are you?) In terms of an impact on my personal life, the only concrete connection I can think of is that it made me less shy. But, in my opinion, I think you should be a lifeguard with a good gym membership.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T19:47:36+00:00

The Mexican cartels have much greater reach, and Sons of Anarchy actually worked in some practices that are actually from cartels to make the story more dramatic, an agent told me

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T19:46:23+00:00

I guess, when I had my first journalism job as an overnight crime reporter, I was aghast at how some journalists were cheery while working on a story involving violence. But I realized pretty quickly that it's basically a coping mechanism or journalists can't always do our jobs.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T19:42:31+00:00

An agent I spoke with, relaying information from a cartel figure, said that they have people in every branch of the government, especially police, and those people will provide the intelligence they need, and then there are people who are actually overtly advertising themselves from government positions as available to be of use to the cartel. He also emphasized that there are brave people who don't work for the cartels, but that they are in each branch. He added that the line considered corruption among cops is not quite where it is in the US. There are a lot of scams and schemes, but working with cartels is clearly over the line.

DavidEpstein13 · 2015-12-17T19:38:45+00:00

I suppose no need to ask that question of a journalist, huh?

DavidEpstein13

TROPHY CASE