Ioan Grillo
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Journalist based in Mexico, focused on crime, drugs + gangster politics. Director of CrashOut Media, author of El Narco trilogy. Time, NYT, HBO+ Still doing it.
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Articles by Ioan Grillo
Los archivos de DFS en México de Lee Harvey Oswald
Crédito: Archivo General de la Nación, Exp. 36-69-963 To read the original story in English, click here. ¿Acaso un misterioso hombre negro pelirrojo con el rostro marcado por cicatrices le entregó a Lee Harvey Oswald 6500 dólares en efectivo en la embajada cubana en Ciudad de México, dos meses antes de que asesinara a John F. Kennedy? ¿O era el agente doble nicaragüense que informó de esto a la policía secreta mexicana un impostor que buscaba fama y fortuna?
Mexico's Lee Harvey Oswald Files
Credito: Archivo General de la Nación, Exp. 36-69-963 Did a mysterious red-haired black man with a scarred face hand Lee Harvey Oswald $6,500 in cash at the Cuban embassy in Mexico City, two months before he shot John F. Kennedy? Or was the Nicaraguan double agent who reported this to Mexico’s secret police a fabricator seeking fame and fortune? Or was this all part of a CIA counter operation to divert attention from the real assassins?
Abogado: Jando no fue arrestado tras el vuelo con Mayo.
To read the original story in English, click here. El piloto sinaloense de 32 años conocido como “El Jando” confesó en una declaración ante un tribunal estadounidense en abril que trabajó con el Cártel de Sinaloa durante más de una década, transportando cientos de kilos de cocaína y cargamentos de armas, y supervisando una flota de aeronaves “que incluía Caravans, Piper, King Air y Cessna 206”.
Lawyer: Jando Not Arrested After Mayo Flight
The 32-year old Sinaloan pilot known as “El Jando” (pronounced Hando) confessed in a statement to a U.S. court in April that he worked with the Sinaloa Cartel for over a decade, flying planes with hundreds of kilos of cocaine and with shipments of guns, and overseeing a fleet of aircraft “including Caravans, Pipers, King Air and Cessna 206’s.” He also ran communications for a section of the cartel and rose to report directly to Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, the son of El Chapo and leader of the...
La última jugada de El Mayo
To read the original story in English, click here. Mientras Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, probablemente el narco más prolífico que haya salido de México, se encontraba en el Centro de Detención Metropolitano (MDC) de Brooklyn, Nueva York, su equipo legal se enfrentó a un desafío. La penitenciaría puso al capo de 76 años en aislamiento, lo que representa un riesgo para la salud mental del recluso (o, dicho de forma más sencilla, lo vuelve loco).
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
As Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, probably the most prolific narco trafficker to ever come out of Mexico, was in the Metropolitan Detention Center, or MDC, in Brooklyn, New York, his legal team encountered a challenge. The penitentiary put the 76-year old kingpin in solitary confinement and this poses a risk of damaging the mental health of the prisoner (or to put it more plainly, driving him nuts).
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
When London journalist David Matthews dived into writing about boxing he decided that it wasn’t enough just to report on it, he had to get stuck in and box himself. The result in his book Looking For A Fightshows not only his level of grit as a journalist but his absolute determination to reach the truth about hard-hitting issues (literally).
La ofensiva contra los periodistas en México continúa.
To read the original story in English, click here. Manuel Alejandro Moreno Serna, más conocido como Alex Serna, sorprendió por su valentía al condenar la destrucción ambiental y la corrupción política en su estado natal de Guerrero, México. Combinando el estilo de periodista, activista e influencer, este hombre de 39 años publicó videos para 164.000 suscriptores en YouTube y otros 33.000 en Facebook, además de en otras redes sociales.
The Onslaught On Journalists In Mexico Goes On
Para leer en español click aquí. Manuel Alejandro Moreno Serna, better known as Alex Serna, was surprisingly bold in the way he condemned environmental destruction and political corruption in his native state of Guerrero, Mexico. Mixing the style of a journalist, activist, and influencer, the 39-year old posted videos to 164,000 subscribers on YouTube and another 33,000 on Facebook, as well as on other social networks.
El Mundial Mágico de México
A medianoche, tras el impresionante partido México-Inglaterra en el sagrado Estadio Azteca, los hinchas de ambos equipos seguían cantando, bailando, rociando espuma y bebiendo (a raudales) juntos alrededor de la fuente de Cibeles en la Ciudad de México, alternando entre mecerse al ritmo de “Don’t Look Back In Anger” de Oasis y unirse a los cánticos de “México, México”.
La hermosa Copa del Mundo de México
To read the original story in English, click here. A medianoche, tras el impresionante partido México-Inglaterra en el sagrado Estadio Azteca, los hinchas de ambos equipos seguían cantando, bailando, rociando espuma y bebiendo (a raudales) juntos alrededor de la fuente de Cibeles en la Ciudad de México, alternando entre mecerse al ritmo de “Don’t Look Back In Anger” de Oasis y unirse a los cánticos de “México, México”.
Mexico's Beautiful World Cup
At midnight, after the awe-inspiring Mexico-England game in the holy Azteca stadium, fans of both teams were still singing, dancing, spraying foam and drinking (a shit load) together round the Cibeles fountain of Mexico City, switching between swaying to Oasis Don’t Look Back In Anger, and joining in chants of “Mexico, Mexico.” It was a beautiful moment in a beautiful World Cup here, that ran from the opening ceremony on June 11, though 13 games in three cities, to this climactic battle at...
México necesitaba esto
Max Hummels En Ciudad de México solo habrá cinco partidos del Mundial, pero no te darías cuenta de eso si paseas por sus calles, repletas de parafernalia futbolística. Pareciera que todo el mundo lleva una camiseta verde de la selección de México, gracias a los vendedores ambulantes que ofrecen mercancía sin licencia por precios de hasta apenas 15 dólares, para gran disgusto de la FIFA, cuyas camisetas oficiales pueden costar más de 100 dólares.
México llevaba tiempo esperando esto
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. En Ciudad de México solo habrá cinco partidos del Mundial, pero no te darías cuenta de eso si paseas por sus calles, repletas de parafernalia futbolística.
Mexico Has Been Waiting for This Original
Mexico City is hosting only five games in this year’s World Cup, but you wouldn’t know it from walking the streets, which are awash in soccer paraphernalia. Everyone seems to be wearing a green Mexico jersey, thanks to corner vendors hawking unlicensed merch for as little as $15, much to the chagrin of FIFA, whose official shirts often cost upward of $100.
El auge y la caída del hooligan del fútbol inglés
To read the original story in English, click here. En mayo de 1985, 60.000 aficionados del Liverpool y la Juventus abarrotaron el destartalado estadio de Heysel en Bruselas para la final de la Copa de Europa cuando estalló una pelea.
The Rise And Fall Of The English Football Hooligan
In May 1985, 60,000 fans of Liverpool and Juventus crammed into the decrepit Heysel stadium in Brussels for the European Cup final when fighting erupted. Courts would later find that organizers badly handled how they allocated tickets and failed to properly separate supporters in a decaying sporting structure, but they also blamed the aggression squarely on Liverpool lads, who charged a group of Juventus and pushed them into a fragile wall.
La historia secreta de la mafia israelí del éxtasis
To read the original story in English, click here. Además de centrarse en los cárteles y el crimen organizado en México y Latinoamérica, CrashOut explora las mafias, los delincuentes y los contrabandistas alrededor del mundo, especialmente con la ayuda de nuestro reportero Niko Vorobyov. El episodio de hoy profundiza en la historia menos conocida de la mafia israelí del éxtasis.
The Secret History of the Israeli Ecstasy Mafia
As well as focusing on cartels and crime here in Mexico and across Latin America, CrashOut explores mafias, villains and smugglers round the globe, especially with the help of our roving gangland reporter Niko Vorobyov. Today’s installment gets into the lesser known history of the Israeli ecstasy mafia.
Estado de México - La gallina de los huevos de oro de la extorsión
To read the original story in English, click here. Esta es la primera parte de «Piso», una serie especial sobre la extorsión en México. Texcapilla, un pueblo de agricultores de haba y ganaderos ubicado en verdes colinas al sur del volcán Nevado de Toluca, en el centro de México, parece un lugar improbable para un enfrentamiento de un cártel.
Mexico State - Golden Goose For Extortion
This is part one of “Piso,” a special series on extortion in Mexico Texcapilla, a village of bean farmers and cattle herders carved out in green hills to the south of the Nevado de Toluca volcano in central Mexico, appears an unlikely place for a cartel confrontation. Yet in December 2023, it came to national attention when local ranchers faced off the mob known as La Familia Michoacana, which was demanding payments for every hectare of crops they raised and every head of cow they sold.
¿Realmente han disminuido los asesinatos bajo el gobierno de Sheinbaum? Respuesta probable: Sí, pero en menor medida de lo que afirma el gobierno.
To read the original story in English, click here. Un médico forense que trabaja en el estado de Guanajuato, México, me explicó cómo, al redactar certificados de defunción, considera diversos factores. ¿Qué tipo de heridas presenta la víctima? ¿Qué arma u objeto las causó? ¿Fueron autoinfligidas o provocadas por un agresor? Sin embargo, también tiene que considerar otro factor. ¿Qué quieren los del crimen organizado ante quienes debe rendir cuentas?
Have Murders Really Gone Down Under Sheinbaum? Likely Answer: Yes, But By Less Than The Government Claims
A forensic doctor working in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, described to me how when he writes death certificates he looks at various factors. What type of wounds does the victim have? What weapon or object caused them? Were they self-inflicted or caused by an assailant? However, he also has another element to consider. What do the crime bosses he has to answer to want on the piece of paper?
Have Murders Really Gone Down Under Sheinbaum? Likely Answer: Yes, But By Less Than The Government Claims
Para leer en español click aquí. A forensic doctor working in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, described to me how when he writes death certificates he looks at various factors. What type of wounds does the victim have? What weapon or object caused them? Were they self-inflicted or caused by an assailant? However, he also has another element to consider. What do the crime bosses he has to answer to want on the piece of paper?
Un Mundial de esperanzas, sueños (y avaricia)
La imagen más conmovedora del Mundial de 2026 hasta el momento fue la de los aficionados suecos caminando con sus camisetas amarillas brillantes hacia el partido contra Túnez en Monterrey, pasando junto a la madre de un hijo desaparecido que protestaba. Varios aficionados suecos, hombres y mujeres, jóvenes y mayores, se detuvieron y la abrazaron.
Un Mundial de esperanzas, sueños (y avaricia)
To read the original story in English, click here. La imagen más conmovedora del Mundial de 2026 hasta el momento fue la de los aficionados suecos caminando con sus camisetas amarillas brillantes hacia el partido contra Túnez en Monterrey, pasando junto a la madre de un hijo desaparecido que protestaba. Varios aficionados suecos, hombres y mujeres, jóvenes y mayores, se detuvieron y la abrazaron.
A World Cup of Hopes, Dreams (and Money Grabbing)
The most touching image of the 2026 World Cup so far was of Swedish fans walking in their bright yellow team shirts to their game against Tunisia in Monterrey and passing the mother of a disappeared son protesting. Various Swedish fans, men and women, young and old, stopped and hugged her. I’ve interviewed many of the mothers and fathers of the more than 100,000 missing in Mexico (many who were dragged away by cartel gunmen) and you feel them carry a devastating pain.
Can Cuba resist America? The people are hungry and desperate Original
'This is the worst crisis since the Revolution.' (Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty) “This is the worst crisis since the Revolution,” says Alvaro Miranda, 57, a history teacher standing on the sun-soaked streets of Old Havana between crumbling white buildings. His face looks gaunt and malnourished, his eyes sunken. “I am eating one meal a day with whatever we can get. I let my children have most the food.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
To read the original story in English, click here. Las carpas bloquean una importante calle comercial en el centro histórico de la Ciudad de México, junto a una barricada metálica y una fila de policías resguardados bajo lonas de plástico para protegerse de la lluvia torrencial.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
Tents clog a key shopping street in the historic center of Mexico City, butting up to a metal barricade and a line of police officers snuggling under plastic sheets to shelter from punishing rain. Close by, school teachers fry pork tacos under a tarp, after being pushed out of the central Zocalo square last month so the government can build a fan fest zone for the kick off of the World Cup on Thursday.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
To read the original story in English, click here. Me entusiasma presentarles a Stephen Woodman, nuevo colaborador de CrashOut, un compatriota británico que vive en Guadalajara desde 2012 y que está en una posición ideal para escribir este revelador informe sobre las alegrías y las penas de la capital del mariachi a medida que nos acercamos al Mundial.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
I’m stoked to introduce new CrashOut contributor Stephen Woodman, a fellow Brit who has been living in Guadalajara since 2012 and is perfectly placed to write this revealing report on the joys and pains of the capital of mariachi as we head into the World Cup.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
Ioan Grillo y Juan Alberto Cedillo To read the original story in English, click here. Guadalajara, centro cultural de México y sede de cuatro partidos del Mundial con selecciones como España, Colombia y Uruguay, es hogar del temido Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, que es activo en el narcotráfico y otras actividades delictivas en todo el hemisferio.
Cartels To Their Operatives: "Don't Mess With The World Cup"
Ioan Grillo and Juan Alberto Cedillo Para leer en español click aquí. Mexico’s cultural center of Guadalajara, which will host four World Cup games with teams including Spain, Colombia and Uruguay, is home to the fearsome Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which runs narco trafficking and other rackets across the hemisphere.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
To read the original story in English, click here. En los 12 meses que terminaron en junio de 2023, Estados Unidos registró su mayor número de muertes por sobredosis, con 111.466 víctimas reportadas y estimaciones de incluso más. Este podría ser el punto álgido de la crisis de drogas más letal de la historia mundial, aunque no contamos con cifras fiables sobre las muertes por sobredosis en China durante las Guerras del Opio.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
In the 12 months ending June 2023, the United States recorded its highest ever number of overdose deaths with 111,466 casualties reported and estimates of even more. This might be the peak of the most lethal drug crisis in world history, although we don’t have solid numbers for overdose deaths in China at the time of the Opium Wars. Since the year 2000, more than 1.3 million Americans have died of OD’s, about as many as the combined U.S. military deaths in all wars since independence.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
To read the original story in English, click here. Al amanecer de hoy, los automovilistas que circulaban por la carretera a Escuinapa, Sinaloa, presenciaron la escalofriante imagen de una cabeza humana clavada en un puente junto a una narcomanta con un mensaje amenazante. Poco después, se difundió un video macabro en grupos de WhatsApp de Sinaloa que mostraba una pila de cadáveres y cinco cabezas cercenadas alineadas en el suelo.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
At dawn this morning, motorists on the road to Escuinapa, Sinaloa, saw the chilling sight of a human head stuck on a bridge along with a blanket, or narco manta, with a threatening message. Soon after, a gruesome video was sent around Sinaloa WhatsApp groups showing a pile of corpses and five severed heads in a row on the dirt.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
The fast moving story has been updated throughout. To read the lastest version in English, click here. A finales de marzo, una camioneta que salía del aeropuerto AIFA, en las afueras de la Ciudad de México, explotó en la carretera, cruzó varios carriles y se estrelló, causando la muerte de sus dos ocupantes.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
In late March, a pick up truck leaving the AIFA airport on the outskirts of Mexico City exploded on the highway, rolled across multiple lanes of traffic and crashed, leaving the two occupants dead. The driver and passenger were both from Sinaloa, the latter being identified as Francisco Beltrán, alias ‘El Payín,’ alleged to be a powerful member of the Sinaloa Cartel and lieutenant of a kingpin called El Meño.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
To read the original story in English, click here. Por Juan Alberto Cedillo e Ioan Grillo La mañana del 17 de septiembre de 1973, Eugenio Garza Sada, uno de los empresarios más importantes de México, se dirigía a su trabajo en Monterrey en un Ford Galaxie negro cuando una camioneta repleta de hombres armados llegó.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
By Juan Alberto Cedillo and Ioan Grillo On the morning of Sept. 17, 1973, one of Mexico’s top businessmen, Eugenio Garza Sada, was riding to work in Monterrey in a black Ford Galaxie when a pick-up packed with gunmen cut in. The assailants were in a communist guerrilla group who wanted to kidnap Garza for ransom; Garza, then 81, ran an empire of breweries and factories and founded the prestigious Tec de Monterrey university.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
To read the original story in English, click here. Como ocurre con muchos políticos, existe una brecha entre lo que dice la presidenta mexicana Claudia Sheinbaum y lo que hace, especialmente en lo que respecta a la relación con Estados Unidos. En sus ruedas de prensa matutinas, dirigidas al público mexicano que lee las noticias y a la base de su partido Morena, adopta una postura nacionalista, defendiendo la soberanía mexicana frente al coloso intervencionista al norte del Río Bravo.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
As with many politicians, there is gap between what Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says and what she does, especially when it comes to the relationship with the United States. In her morning press briefings, which speak to the news-reading Mexican public and base of her Morena party, she takes a nationalist line, championing Mexican sovereignty against the interventionist colossus north of the Rio Grande. “We are not a protectorate of the United States.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
To read the original story in English, click here. Ioan Grillo y Juan Alberto Cedillo - ¿Quiénes son los testigos de la acusación? (Preguntamos al abogado Lichtman si los Chapitos están involucrados). - Según fuentes, el senador Inzunza es familia de un importante narcotraficante.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
Ioan Grillo and Juan Alberto Cedillo U.S. officials on Wednesday unveiled an indictment in the Southern District of New York against current Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other active and former Mexican officials on narco trafficking charges, throwing a bomb into the heart of Mexican politics and pushing President Claudia Sheinbaum into a tight corner.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
To read the original story in English, click here. Durante la administración del presidente mexicano Felipe Calderón, un oficial de una de las agencias con sede en la embajada estadounidense describió cómo se puso un uniforme de la policía mexicana y salió a arrestar a presuntos traficantes sobre quienes había recabado información.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
During the administration of Mexican President Felipe Calderón, an officer from one of the three-letter agencies stationed at the U.S. embassy describes how he put on a Mexican police uniform and rode out to arrest suspected traffickers who he had gathered intelligence on. He was in theory there as a “technical adviser,” but that stretched to being with the squad that kicked down the door and helping with the interrogation of the suspects.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
When Ghaleb Krame was working in the security department in Tamaulipas, he arranged to go for a breakfast in a prestigious restaurant in state capital Ciudad Victoria. However, he canceled at the last minute, which was lucky as gunmen came and sprayed it up. He soon learned he had a price on his head.
CrashOut by Ioan Grillo
To read the original story in English, click here. En la madrugada del domingo, un convoy de vehículos de la policía estatal recorrió caminos montañosos peligrosos en la remota Sierra Tarahumara, al suroeste de Chihuahua, México, cerca de la frontera con Sinaloa. En al menos uno de los vehículos, posiblemente dos, viajaban agentes de la CIA junto con oficiales de la Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) de Chihuahua.
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