Ioan Grillo
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ioangrillo.bsky.social
Ioan Grillo
@ioangrillo.bsky.social
Journalist based in Mexico, focused on crime, drugs and gangster politics. Author of El Narco trilogy and CrashOut on Substack. Time, NYT, HBO++ Still doing it.
www.crashoutmedia.com
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Hey there Bluesky

This is the same mero mero Ioan Grillo

I am still on Twitter twittering away but here I am as well venturing into the blue skies on this side of chattering space.

Love you all
Snow King: Surrender or Snatched?

The case of Ryan Wedding is surreal and explosive. Lawyer Anthony Colombo (grandson of a mafia boss) drops bomb suggesting it was FBI op in Mexico. Sheinbaum shows contested Instagram of Wedding at embassy.What's true?↓

www.crashoutmedia.com/p/snow-king-...
Snow King: Surrender or Snatched?
Lawyer claims Ryan Wedding didn't hand himself in and cites Maduro case; Sheinbaum says he did and shows contested Instagram post
www.crashoutmedia.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:09 AM
Canadian Olympic snow boarder turned cocaine king (the snow man!) arrested in Mexico City and flown by the FBI to Los Angeles.

Read my story on the arrest, and below that my profile of the Canadian narco.
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/the-truth-...
The Truth About "Canadian Chapo" Ryan Wedding?
The snowboarder may be guilty of cocaine trafficking but comparisons with Escobar are massively overblown
www.crashoutmedia.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Is The Sinaloa Cartel Ramping Up On "Pink Cocaine?"

Mexican troops raided a lab alleged to be linked to Emma Coronel's brother (El Chapo's brother in law) and to make "tusi" or pink cocaine. Is the pressure on fentanyl making the cartel switch?

Read:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/is-the-sin...
Is The Sinaloa Cartel Ramping Up "Pink Cocaine?"
The designer drug is not actually blow but cashes in on the name
www.crashoutmedia.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Guerrillas, gangs and spies on the Venezuela border

Check out the smuggling dirt paths, Venezuelan refugee barrio, houses of displaced and a lot more in this guerilla video I have cut together from reporting on the Colombia-Venezuela border.

Link:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/guerrillas...
Guerrillas, Gangs and Spies on the Venezuela Border
I put together a video "cronica" of my week reporting in Colombia
www.crashoutmedia.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Trump's Thirst For Venezuela's Black Gold

The petroleum politics of the Maduro capture

Venezuela's OPEC founder said: “I call petroleum the devil's excrement. It brings trouble.” It applies now. Read on how oil fueled the operation to take out Maduro:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/trumps-thi...
Trump's Thirst For Venezuela's Black Gold
The petroleum politics of the Maduro capture
www.crashoutmedia.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Trump uses special force op to take out Maduro - but the situation now is confusing. Trump says Washington will rule Venezuela but implies they will work with VP Delcy Rodríguez - opening speculation of a deal. But Rodríguez says Maduro is only president.
Read: www.crashoutmedia.com/p/trump-goes...
Trump Goes For Delta-Force Regime Change
U.S. special forces capture Maduro in brazen operation
www.crashoutmedia.com
January 3, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Inside a Satanic temple in Mexico

I went into the "Santa Muerte cathedral" in Pachuca but found full-on halls to Satan and devil worship and met the "Black Bishop." This is one of the scariest stories I've done.

Watch the video here with a weird end:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/inside-a-s...
Inside A Satanic Temple in Mexico
I went into a "Santa Muerte cathedral" but found halls to a darker deity
www.crashoutmedia.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:19 PM
3 Stages of Cartel Evolution

1 Powerful Corrupt State
2 Cartelization of Mexico
3 Shake Down Everything

This essay by Benjamin T. Smith gives great insight into how cartels emerged from Mexican state into more independent groups driving endemic violence↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/cartels-as...
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Cocaine Narcos Versus "Uncontacted Tribes"

Simeon Tegel went with the Indigenous Guard to the new coca plantations tearing up the Peruvian Amazon for this stellar and important report. It's bows and arrows vs AK-47s.

Stoked to publish this in CrashOut↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/cocaine-na...
Cocaine Narcos Versus "Uncontacted Tribes"
Simeon Tegel travels with an "Indigenous Guard" defending the Peruvian Amazon
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Ten Big Drug War Stories of 2025

It's been a nuts year in narco politics and all the related madness. Here are ten of the biggest stories, from the designation of cartels as terrorists, to the Chapitos and Mayo plea deals.

Read below, it's a freebie:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/ten-big-dr...
Ten Big Drug War Stories Of 2025
And a Christmas shout to subscribers
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Did the U.S. army use opium from Sinaloa to give its troops morphine in World War Two.

I dig through the evidence on the the alleged World War II pact between Washington and Culiacán.

Read:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/did-the-us...
Did The U.S. Army Use Sinaloa Dope?
Evidence is confusing on the alleged World War II pact between Washington and Culiacán
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:11 PM
The DEA Narcos

The sting got a former DEA financial chief and former CIA asset on narco terrorism charges, for offering to launder money and get arms for a fake CJNG operative. It opens up a can of worms about how many narcs have become narcos.

Read:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/the-dea-na...
The DEA Narcos
How many U.S. narcs have "crossed the line" and is there a CIA connection?
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Mexico's Worst Narco Massacres

Mexico has suffered slaughters like war zones.

San Fernando - 72 executed
Allende - 400+ murdered or disappeared
Agujas - 290 bags of body parts found

How should a country reckon with these atrocities?

Read free below↓

www.crashoutmedia.com/p/mexicos-wo...
Mexico's Worst Narco Massacres
Mexico has suffered slaughters like war zones. How do we reckon with them?
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Truth About "Canadian Chapo" Ryan Wedding

It's nice to see them go after an Anglo narco but claims made by US officials, media about Wedding as an Escobar are big exaggerations. Bondi says he runs one of most violent gangs in world.

I clear up the BS:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/the-truth-...
The Truth About "Canadian Chapo" Ryan Wedding?
The snowboarder may be guilty of cocaine trafficking but comparisons with Escobar are massively overblown
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Secrets of Noriega and the CIA

Panama's dictator led a crazy life as a CIA and DEA asset also working with Medellín Cartel, playing off Washington and Cuba, before US military took him out. His right hand man and enforcer revealed his secrets.

Watch: ↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/secrets-of...
Secrets of Noriega and the CIA
The dictator's right hand man made revelations to a journalist before his death
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Reposted by Ioan Grillo
Extortion is now so widespread across Mexico’s farmlands that it has pushed up the price of goods including limes and avocados, a phenomenon so widely acknowledged it’s now referred to as narcoinflation. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o... @ioangrillo.bsky.social
Opinion | The Hidden Cost of Your Avocado
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:28 PM
The confession by Joaquín Guzmán López that he kidnapped El Mayo brings that saga towards its end. Yet it's still unclear what role was played by Iván and by US federal agents. And the war it sparked in Sinaloa rages on.

Watch the free video report↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/joaquin-gu...
Joaquín Guzmán Jr Confesses To Kidnapping El Mayo
The saga of the Mayo kidnapping is coming to a close; the war rages on
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Trump pardoning Honduran pres. Juan Orlando Hernández of his cocaine conviction undermines his own war on drugs. The argument it was a Biden political conviction or it will win election doesn't add up. But follow the money from the lobbying.

Read here:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/honduras-a...
Honduras and Trump's Narco Pardon
Overturning a narco conviction throws Washington's war on drugs on its head; I look at the lobbying behind it
www.crashoutmedia.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by Ioan Grillo
Ya lo tengo, @ioangrillo.bsky.social, pero no puedo ir a Guadalajara a que me lo firmes, así que cuando regreses, unas chelas!
November 28, 2025 at 1:00 AM
El Chapo was the hardest narco to deal with. El Mayo treated him like son. Arturo Beltrán Leyva moved more cocaine than either. El Mencho tried to prove himself with violence.

Read the CrashOut story for free on The Chicago Cocaine Twin, J Flores, below↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/interview-...
Interview With The Chicago Cocaine Twin
Margarito Flores, who flipped on El Chapo, looks for redemption
www.crashoutmedia.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Estoy muy feliz de estar este año en la FIL de Guadalajara con mi libro "Sangre, Armas y Dinero", y con Jesús Lemus, uno de los mejores periodistas sobre narcotráfico en México. 29 de noviembre, 19:30, Salón 8, Área Nacional, Expo GDL. Ven a saludar!
November 26, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Reposted by Ioan Grillo
Cartels Versus Environmentalists
Organized crime targets Mexico's defenders of nature
www.crashoutmedia.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Psyched to be at Guadalajara book festival with my book "Sangre Armas y Dinero" about the iron river of guns from the US to cartels in Mexico in this crazy tense moment - I'll be with Jesus Lemus, one of best journos on narcos, and talk is open to all issues. Sat, Nov. 29, 7:30
November 24, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by Ioan Grillo
There's a hell of a lot more to Russia's perception and cognitive outreach in Mexico and Latin America than RT and Sputnik and the main vectors are WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, TikTok, and of course Telegram
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/w...
Russian Disinformation Comes to Mexico, Seeking to Rupture U.S. Ties
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:49 AM
CrashOut went to France's crime capital to talk to the activist whose second brother was just murdered. This report breaks down France's new gang wars - and the DZ Mafia and Yoda.

Read here:↓
www.crashoutmedia.com/p/gang-murde...
Gang Murder in Marseilles
CrashOut dives into France's crime capital and interviews the activist whose brother was just assassinated
www.crashoutmedia.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:13 PM