Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
The hardest thing I had to do was to face
my father. Was that the last time he spoke to
your father? That was the last time I seen him. Meant,
I don't think we even left. Was like a headship
kind of the silence, and he stood there, sitting there
in the dark when he just walked away. I don't
(00:25):
remember that. When we were in a way to train
or something and we were driving away from my subdivision,
I seen him driving on the street. I was able
to see him. He didn't see me, but I was
able to see him. He was going one way and
I was going to the other. In retrospect, I felt
(00:47):
like that was the lifehouse leaning to what I was
going was when he was literally cool the other way.
(01:16):
I'm Curtis Saint Jackson, and this is surviving our topo.
It's once you brought down the drug lie. I think
we've all experienced these situations in life, maybe not to
(01:38):
this extreme, but where everything is pulling you in one
direction in your heart, you feel like you need to
go in another direction, so you do what's right for you.
Peter and Jay's father was their mentor in life. He
taught him everything they knew about the drug trade. And
how not to get caught someone you're supposed to love.
Unconditioning now telling you that trying to do things the
(01:59):
right way is actually the wrong thing. For most kids,
spending times with their dad is playing ball on the weekend,
But for the Flores twins, it was doing drug rounds
across the Mexican border, packaging weed and the gas tanks
and unintentionally being a cover story to distract authorities from
suspicious activities. After wrestling with it for twenty years, they
(02:21):
were finally in a position where they had a chance
to write a new path for the Flora. Is now
two weeks after the top of recording, and we get
a car to Sunday. Our attorney wants a thought to
us at early right ten eleven the morning around there.
He said, you know, the US attorney wants to talk
(02:42):
to you. He said, he wants you guys to train
yourself in today. I won't even go looking into it,
like wow, reality just hit us. Huh what I remember
our attorney like he was more than our attorney, so
(03:04):
I was he was like he was family. And I
remember he sat there quiet and he was like, guys,
maybe you guys don't have to do this. I want
you guys to think about this. I remember, they're like,
it's too late for that. We talked to the d
A and he said, you know, guys, it's time. We
(03:29):
can't risk you guys anymore, and all this would be
for nothing if something happens to you guys, and we
want you guys to train your stuff into hours two hours.
Then he gave you two hours nights And I said,
what about our family whatever, they're like guys like you
guys got to get them out of there. And basically
that wasn't the problem. We were like fucking like you know,
(03:53):
we were upset like that, we were not being told
these things that were like last minute, we're the ones
in the middle, Like we're the ones there, Like what
then do you mean two hours? Like what's your plan? Like, oh,
we can't tell you anything. I remember he also said, guys,
(04:14):
there's a lot of people here betting that you guys
are not going to do it. This has never been done.
They didn't even believe what they had. They didn't believe
that we're gonna change your life. They didn't believe we're
gonna turn ourselves in. I was confused, I was lost,
I was like now I was actually taking it in.
(04:37):
I wasn't concerned about nothing else but about my well,
my kids. One of the hardest things I've ever had
to endure in my life, Like that hurt me. That
I could replain my mind over and over again, and
I did for twelve years, was actually like saying goodbye
(05:03):
to my family. The day I treat myself, I felt
like I was abandoning the oka. I was supposed to
be doing something good, right and I'm walking. I'm leaving
them harm's way. I went and I told, Wow, it's time.
(05:24):
They asked me to turn myself in. I don't think
I understood. I think that was more in shock. We
never knew how long it was gonna last, but we
didn't think it would come that fast. We had no
exit plan. I didn't know what we were supposed to do,
(05:46):
and I just wanted to like survival mode two hours,
like oh my god. We had cameras all around the house.
We had to get the security footage out. We have
to get an anything with their name on it out.
When we leave, the cartel is going to come and
they're gonna go through our whole house and they're gonna
try to find us anything that had her name on it.
(06:11):
Just trying to get my son's per certificates and papers
and like trying to find everything that was just important.
I'm worried about them finding us and papers and like
anything with their name addresses back in the States, like Chico.
I can lead them to anything. Yes, pictures. I was
grabbing all the frames off the walls and just ripping
(06:33):
the pictures out of the frames because I didn't want
them to have pictures of us. Everyone like, what the
fuck is going on? Who is everyone? Like? The work is?
What were you saying? And they said, boss man, she
(06:53):
wants She says she'd leave me what she's my and
she wouldn't be okay, sick. Why she's thinking something? Who
knows to leave her? And they're seeing her like practically
tear the house up, and they're like trying to help
her anything, and just like okay, like I remember tone
(07:14):
of go bring bring the car. She wants to leave.
I'm not even concentrating on that journey. I'm not even
like I'm not there with her. You know, I actually
had my son, you known people carrying him. Like I'm
anything I'm doing, I'm trying to spend those last precious moments. Listen.
It was just chaotic. Yeah, we have babies. I remember
(07:40):
Peter and the coming over the house. I'll think it
right next door and they're there with my niece and
and they was sitting there in shock, and I'm just
like running around the house, just running through the house.
And I'm looking at her like why is she so calm?
(08:01):
Why is she not doing what I'm doing. They're gonna
fucking find us. Why is she just sitting there? And
like I'm going to every chore, every piece of paper,
I'm taking like every picture, every video tape from the
security footage, ripping everything on the walls. I'm just acting crazy,
(08:25):
just like where's the kids, burth certificates? How do we
even cross the border? Our kids were like born in Mexico,
and we didn't know how we were going to get
our kids across the border and venn that they stage.
(08:47):
We knew that we all be killed. I just didn't
even take in that Jay's leaving in two hours. It
was just I wasn't crying. I was just running around
the house and I didn't even take it in. I
felt like I didn't been the last two hours of
(09:12):
my husband. I think it was like maybe ten minutes
saying goodbye. It's all, thank God, because I was just
so busy trying to think, trying to make sure that
we're gonna be okay. What did you say to each
(09:37):
other in the ten minutes that you had together. I
think we said much. I just we're not in at
each other. And just that's when the tears just didn't
stop coming down. Think I could talk our son. He
was two years old, and he knew something was wrong.
(10:01):
He was Jay shadow. He followed Jay around like everybody
with every time they saw Jay, like they knew that
they're going to see her son with him, and they
would make a joke and call him a mom because
they My son just wanted to be with him. Everywhere.
(10:22):
He'd be in the bathroom, my son will be sitting
there reading him to come out at the door. And
if Jay would try going anywhere, like he was just
tied to his leg. And he said something was wrong
because he was just seeing me running, running running, and
Jake crying and Peter crying and baby crying, and he
(10:44):
was just looking around and I just didn't understand what
was happening. I remember carrying my kids and my baby.
He was only two months old, and he was just staring.
Did you say anything to him? And I was just whispering.
I was just whispering to him, like I remember saying,
(11:06):
like I love you guys, and I'm sorry. And I
had been whispering to them in the air when I
would put him to bed because I already knew, like
I I would I just apologize and that and I
knew myself was going to be the one that was
gonna affected the most. And you know, just able to
(11:27):
take the moment and just it was weird, like, yeah,
I am thinking I'm doing something for them. I know, Mary,
I guess it's like as a parent, I think that
when you always struggle when you think you're doing something
(11:48):
good for them, that they that's gonna make them suffer
a little bit, but it's the best thing for him.
And just just taking a little moment where I was
just holding tighten, you know, that was important to me.
I wasn't even thinking about prison and I was just
(12:09):
thinking more like I wasn't going to be there. That's
all I could think of. You know, the Government's calling
and back and forth. It's just they were kind of
like pressing this a little bit like you guys gonna
have to meet, you know, and at this time and
I don't tell anybody to make sure you guys, and
how they were more worried about that bringing the recordings
(12:31):
with you. Did you still feel that you were doing
the right thing in that moment? I don't know. I
do know this that when it was time for me
to go and I say goodbye to so now we
were tears and right say goodbye to my work is
(12:58):
over there with us, m h by. Someone let me go,
tellus that was struck. You kind of get him off me.
And I remember just be emotional, just jumping truck. I
(13:22):
can't hear my sun screaming dad. When I took the truck,
like I questioned it to people, talk away from val
leave from there, you know. And in no time did
(13:44):
she say, like you know, don't you know? I think
we said to each other, it's gonna be all right, right,
I'm kinda gonna do this. You're gonna be fine. We're
gonna like h m, we're gonna be find We're gonna
get to this. It was something it was it didn't
(14:08):
feel right. It just it just didn't feel right. It
just it just awful wrong. And I wasn't saying nothing, no,
It's just nodding no, it's just nodding my head back
and forth, like I just wanted to say no, don't go,
(14:31):
but I didn't. I was just nodding. I just didn't
feel right. My son hat his scream, like his cry,
like like we've never heard that from him, We've never
(14:51):
heard that from him. And then Peter were there and
they were just like blasting on in tears because I
guess it was like a cry of like pain and suffering.
(15:11):
He was hanging on the door and I was like
he was trying to open the door, trying to get
wait from the door because I didn't want the people
outside to know that they're dead left because like I
didn't want them to report in fact there was something
(15:36):
going on in the house because there was always security
around and I didn't know who to trust. H h.
(16:01):
That day they had started to raid these houses that
we're in l A, these stash houses and all these
things were already in motion. Can I remember getting that
call from like one of our associates saying, job, they
just hit the houses in l A. And I was like, ship,
(16:22):
I was still there in Mexico, still like clean up
our pictures, like taking this stuff that we didn't want
to leave behind. It was so difficult to be thinking
about all the stuff I had unfinished, you know, and
like that I wouldn't have to leave viv and the kids,
my baby and our family there, and that we didn't
(16:44):
really have that plan set up and mente that like
it was like in our minds but not like that moment,
and I was sad. Man, it was hard. It was hard.
Why do you think you didn't have that plan even
though you knews come in. I didn't want to have
(17:06):
a plan. I wanted to like continue a lie to
myself and not feel that was will be taken away
from the people I love most. A so sad and
I remember I couldn't even hope back my tears that
one of the last things I did was change my
daughter's diaper, and I can still imagine that they're like
(17:28):
laying it down in that guests bedroom to change the
diapend I could still like see blurry from the tears
of her life that I heard so bad to leave Viana.
It's just a terrible, terrible day for our family, just
trying to reassure everyone day, I don't think you're gonna
(17:51):
be good. Yeah, the conversation with my dad, and you
will never forget just so much, you know, I think
for like trying to motivate me, keep me positive about
something that sheep I was dealing with so much on
her own. But it was hard because nobody was telling me, okay,
(18:12):
you know, like you're doing the right thing. You know,
everybody seemed to be against it. What else dealing with
It's so hard, you know, she seeing her seen the baby,
like giving it back to bit. It was so hard.
And then like thinking like I'm trying to tell my brother,
(18:34):
come on, it's you know, we're gonna have to get
ready to going. Remember here my little nephew christ so bad,
like he just felt something. What was the last thing
you said to reach other. I don't think that we
even talked as much, you know, I don't think that
the tears allowed us to two let her, let us
(18:57):
say our goodbyes. I didn't want to say goodbye to
It was scary to think that, you know that, And
I can't like losing her my family and everything and
just trying to you know, scary toll known from for
(19:19):
me and my brother as well, you know, and I'm
looking at it to them, she was always worth it.
I'm glad that. I'm glad I did it for her.
Glad it was her, Like she's the only person that
would have probably ever I have been able to get
me into something crazy like that. But walking away from
(19:42):
my supposed to be terrible. I mean, like I said,
like drowning emotional feelings and how would happen? And honestly,
I could tell you right now that I was always
leaving her behind. She was in the front of everything,
you know, like she was like not behind me, but
(20:04):
more in front of me and my future. You know.
That's what I was searching for, like like I'm gonna
go face these nightmare to like beet with her again. Yeah,
but when you concerned that you got in that car
with the agents and then what if somebody found out
(20:24):
and it was all that because they weren't protected. Yeah,
I was upset that they didn't have like an escape
plan with my family. They just only concerned was get
the two witnesses that and there was no like exit
strategy for none of us sat there. I remember thinking
like them, like they look go now like don't wait,
(20:45):
go now, Like you know, I'm saying, go down the
plane and go. It was a bunch of us and
then I mean there was no flights. I mean they
told us the same day. We see this, you like
thinking about we left food on the table. Yeah, we're
at everything in the ever our clothes, every piece of
garments and clothes and all kinds of stuff. We just
(21:06):
left everything. I took my baby and her diaper bag,
and I was just like sitting on a sofa, like
just we left our dream home, you know, lost without him.
I didn't even know. I'm like, I just I just
wanted to get the heart out of there. I just
wanted to get out of there. And it was just
so many of us, and everyone's like scrambling around, and
(21:28):
I'm just sitting there just with my one little diaper
bag and just saying, They're like, let's get out of here.
We come to the trap to any things? Did you
guys mean the recorders? I guess, And we were emotional,
(21:52):
It's okay, we're doing the right thing. And they started
trying towards the airport. How many kinds of just too
And we go to airport and we went on to
(22:13):
like the private side where the private planes are in.
There's a hangar and the military has a checkpoint and
they access to school down. They don't want to know
what to see us, and they showed the diplomatic ideas
and they let us in. And we drove into this
like hangar where there's an officer. I don't want he
(22:39):
was military what it was, but he was actually there.
We stood in the truck, but they got off and
they had the lights off, and I remember they were
looking at the federal police and they're hiding from them.
It said, told me that didn't trust them me and
they're hiding from their actually driving buyer walking by it.
(23:02):
You know, there's a live federal police and they're focusing
on there's one plane. There was kind of big one booze,
probably planing and driving buyer walking by it. You know,
there's a live federal police and they're focusing on there's
(23:23):
one plane. There was kind of big one booze probably
plane and wearing the dark and the hangar. We stood
there for like a long time, probably now we're in
a half and then between them just calling bounces, have
you left it? Have you left it? It's those type
(23:45):
of conversations are you okay? And she would be like
they're asking for you, and I ask you for you.
I want to turn jail with the Chiel by time
I'm going to meet someone in so helpless. So I
(24:06):
started having a little bit anger, Like I'm having anger
because I'm sitting this bulletproof truck with them and our
family is over there, like this is for them, me
being in dangerous one thing. And I was disappointed myself.
I was I was angry. It's just like nerve wracking.
Like I think I'm always how mentally strong, I just
(24:29):
can't even so many thoughts and many things coming to
my my mind, and our phones are ringing ringing. A
couple of cousin is calling because they just had rated
one of them their stash houses in l A and
they'd like, Kate, check on your guys. They just hit
one of the houses. No, it's us that was getting
(24:54):
as upset because we're still in Mexico. They had started
like an operation that was the first house to hit
that go to so many houses I think in Mexico,
and we're still sitting in Mexico. I wasn't don't stop ringing.
(25:17):
We literally get bad or they don't stop ringing. We
weren't even paying attention to you know. I had people
that are calling me like those our antec and it's okay, No,
she's she's all right, and she's upset, she's don't be right,
she's packing up a car. Leave her leaver. Are you
(25:39):
sure you want me to go ahead? No? No, no leaving,
just making fit up. That was just the worst night, Marcus,
the worst night might could think of, and the worst price.
I felt like we were doing it. We were doing it,
we were the cause. And it took a few hours.
(26:02):
And I remember a big plane lands and I guess
that was a plane that we weren't going. The drivers
up to the plane and there's a dry whatever you do,
don't look anywhere, just go straight into a plane. Just
(26:22):
they didn't want to know one to see us. The
plane is like a cargo plane or something, because I
remember has the seats this way like on a bench,
like a bench, and I remember like it was dark
like that. It was really dark inside the plane was dark.
So when I go, I'm the hank of nothing like
(26:45):
going on the plane and there's like twelve fourteen marshals
and agents and that they have guns on them. They
have like rifles and they have guns down and turn
the plane and they're like, hey guys, okay, you know,
just talking to agent. They're more like operational mode. When
(27:07):
we get down, we sit down and just where where
our phones? You know, our bag of phones and we
should have our bag of phones. And I didn't take
time for us to fly out of that. When j
and Pa laughed, It's like I just all I could
(27:32):
remember was just seeing their faces. They just look so lost.
I just sparked something in me because I knew he knew,
like there was just no plan for us. I couldn't
get their faces, like the image of their faces out
(27:54):
of my head because they're just the defeated and I
knew that they were just only worried about us getting
out safely. At that point, people are coming to the house.
M hmm. They're knocking on the door. They were asking
(28:17):
from Shaye and Peter. These are the same people that
would be at my house every day, always there, everywhere
they went. We couldn't move around the city freely at
that time. They had to keep tabs on them always,
(28:38):
and like I just didn't know what to say, and
the cloud was ticking, and I'm just I'm trying to
get everyone together and trying to get all the stuff
in the car. When asking me what's wrong, what's wrong,
and I'm like leaving. He said, you're taking a kid.
(29:00):
So I'm like, I'm leaving him. He's cheating on me.
And he's like, it's not true. We would never do
that too. Don't take the kids like this, and are
you going? And I'm like, baby, come with me, Baby,
(29:20):
come on, and I'm trying to cut on the show.
I need you to come with me. I'm so free
because I'm like, what are we gonna say? Like why
are we both leaving at the same time I would
be leaving with all the kids. I didn't know what
to say. And I'm just like, maybe let's go. You're
(29:41):
coming with me, And she's like a lot. She's like
looking at me and she's just like frozen. She's not
saying anything like come on me, but the babies in
the car. Come on. I got in my car and
she gets in her car and like just follow me.
(30:02):
And we're loading bags in the car and she's just
looking at me and she's scared. She's just nodding her
head and like tears in her eyes, and I'm like
get in the car. And then by that time other
people showed up. What's going on? And I'm like a thing.
(30:24):
And at that point, I was just looking scared. I
was just scared. I was scared out of my mind.
I'm like, get out of here. So I'm like, oh
my god. So I'm like, okay, I'm just leaving. And
we just drove and I'm calling it to make sure
my mother in law, my father law are there, and
my nephews right there. Everybody's there like cool, like maing
(30:45):
sure that the whole family is together, and and I'm like,
we're driving out the subdivision right now. We want to
meet you on this street. We meet on the street
where we're going. We're going, We're going. And at that point,
if they've called her dad and him and my brother
(31:07):
in lawkay, they flew in to the first place we
went to was the airport to pick them up so
you can help us drive back. At this point, there's
like eat cars following each other, and I'm like, we
(31:31):
look so fucked up right now. I'm scared to separate,
and I knew we should have separated, but I'm like,
there's no way, because I was just too scared to
drive alone. It's a twelve hour trip from Guadalajara to
the border crossing at Larado. Every border town in Mexico
(31:52):
it is carton infested because these towns are so vital
to the massive drug phone to the US. Well, here
we are and novel Arrado, which is controlled by a
rival cartel, Settas, who are known to be the most
savage cartel in Mexico. They have committed some of the
most brutal acts of violence like torturing people, beheadings to capitating.
(32:15):
I remember just how terrifying it was, not knowing if
I was going to be able to get there. The
family were crammed into the cars val vv vv's dad
and brother, Jane, Pete's mom and dad, Margarito Sr. The
older sister, older brother, Almando, and his wife, plus three teenagers,
(32:36):
a two year old, and three babies who were only
a few months old. The eight car convoy began its journey. Yeah, yeah,
(33:12):
h I see the plane land. First of all, the
(33:40):
ages are like, I didn't think you guys arena show up.
I'm like, thanks, man, you're not helping me, Like I'm
broken It on and then they're hiding us through the checkpoint.
The military check went into the private hangars for the plane.
Where waiting for the plane to land, and my brother
and I heard that the plane was going towards Mexico City,
(34:02):
which is south of Gualajara. We're like, why let's go
that way. I know, for whatever reason, we had to
go to Mexico City first. I'm like, no, let's just
leave here, please, let's just I felt that parallel, like
I want to be out of Mexico, like we're not
safe here. And no, we had to go to Mexico
(34:23):
City and they had like a they had rented like
a hotel, and they had like the whole all the
whole hotel was like close up and there was like
a lot of agents, like I'm talking about like fifty
sixty agents. I remember landing and I was still able
to communicate with my wife, please please leave, and what
are you guys waiting for? I was so piste up
(34:45):
that Val was packing stuff, like what the fund is
wrong with this woman? And I remember like that martial
charge he seemed on the phone, that why is he
still his phone? They bring us into this hotel room
and they surround, wasn't there like again asking those questions
and it was so like hectic. I we just want
(35:05):
to leave, Like my stomach hurt, I got sick. I'm
throwing up all the way back. They're mad at me.
I'm on the plane. It's miserable they didn't take us.
The next morning, I'm just like, you know, just wanting
to leave, Like I just want to leave Mexico. You know,
the phones are blowing up, just like extended stay a
(35:28):
little hotel crazy for about this. We have a house,
a stash house two blocks from there where I have
like three of my workers. City No, and I'm like
the fuck. And I guess they got a whole floor
(35:49):
because I remember they kind of like covered us and
we went up to the elevator and on the second
from the ages were actually out. They have to like
right for in their hands. They have a part of
the whole floor hotel rooms and they put us in
this room and a bunch of Marshall's coming. There's like
(36:12):
four agents and Marshall's in there with us. So it's like,
you know, they've got two beds and it's like they're
just sitting on the on the bed in different places
of me and my brother Peters are sitting on the
bed and we're kind of talking to each other like lane,
you know, like what's going to remember He's showing me
that the top was cousin and and then here calling
(36:33):
like they don't stop calling, and you said, didn't answer,
checking up on ball. By the time we got to
the room back, I had said that she was on
the road, which it was like a big relief. I mean,
it was relief that she was on the road, but
it was like I think they were traveling like eight
year nine a Carol eight or nine cars, all Lusry
(36:57):
vehicles going to a enemy territory. That was scary to me,
and I couldn't even say it, like what was I
gonna do? It was like a risk anywhere, like any
turn we talk, it was risky. And I just kept
(37:18):
calling her. It was just like where are you because
she was not gonna have phone service, right, and please
call me every times you get please call me, I
would asked her the baby, right, I was exhausted, I
could have those off. It was late and I be
(37:40):
then I put those of them and I waking up
and I had no calls. That worried me. It worried me,
like it was like five six some money, no calls,
Like I remember beginning up in the Marshal was a
kind of somewhere up so dozing off and I'm just
(38:03):
like I'm gonna just wash up. I remember, like I'm
gonna shower, you know, complete my last free shower, right
and because I don't know what we're happening, was happening
right before that anything, they're not saying nothing, and the
bounds of colleague and she was like like more closer
to a border and that was like a sense of relief.
(38:26):
She like me, drove to the night. You know, I'm
so tired. What are we gonna do that? Listen, just
drive to a border. Just drive straight to a border.
Just when you get to just explained to you know
who we are. And I think we were making calls
like you know, my brother Mano, I wasn't born in
the US, so he can't just come across my father.
(38:54):
It's in the same situation. I hate the future. Oh
was trying to make cause and closed so like to
our journey to you know, trying to use the I
want going to do. We could do guys, like you know,
I feel like they're paying tingents that I understand that
they had like going out, but their main focused was
(39:15):
me and my brother as it's always been, right like
everyone else, just you know, their easy way out is
like they always have the easiest plan, like no feelings
too bad. And I get it right, I guess they're
not concerned about our family, concern about their owner, their
case or whatever the case is. And since they want
to think all we would say like this is for
(39:36):
our family, they have to be the center of you know.
I always thought that they would understand that, and now
just a bunch of cause and just cares. Once it
was like nineteen in the morning, we left the hotel
and they take us back to the hangar and now
(39:59):
it's you know, like it's alive, right, people everywhere, workers,
you know. I guess it's like a cargo type of
airport in that sections, like just all kinds of people.
So they literally they needs in the truck. I'll take
you for like at least two hours. We're sitting there
in the truck, nervous, right, and we're still calls. We're
(40:21):
tired and and I know that valand I'm going to
all to a hotel almost too scared. It's just me
in the car with my two babies in the back.
(40:44):
It looked like this whole like entourage. And we had
to drive well the hours to get to the border.
I would drive to the border all the time, so
I knew the roads and you'll like the back of
my hand. But I'm like, they gotta passed all these towns.
He looks so fucking crazy, and it's the night, and
it just looked like we had flashing lights just like
(41:08):
the spotlight on us. And we drove to the whole night.
When he stopped. We stopped one time for gas, but
I was like, it's cool, let's cool, let's cool, let's gool.
It was freaking out. What everyone's freaking out, and everyone's
(41:30):
confused in what do we do? I kept saying, what
do we do? Like we go, we go, we go,
It's cool. When I've seen him scared scared me, I
think I was just more scared because I felt like,
h oh, what the fun going to? I I know
(41:58):
it just like everybody was like at me to figure
it out to be the strong one. I'm sitting there
like good, I know. I don't even have any interruption.
We had an old ful service. I couldn't call j
I couldn't ask him what to do. And I just
(42:22):
kept going and my adrenaline was going. I wasn't even tired.
We didn't sleep, didn't care. Just let it get to
the border. I just wanted to get there. And then
my mother was like, we're gonna go to the hotel.
We knew exactly what hotel we're going to. It's the
same one we always go to. The hotel. It's right
there at the border. We could literally see the border
(42:42):
from the hotel. And he's like, we got to go
to the border, like my dad can't. We can't cross us.
And I'm like, what do you mean. He's like, we
can't cross we have no papers. They're not gonna let us.
Then we can't go, Like I can't leave it here.
He's like, wow, we're gonna have to wait. We're gonna
(43:05):
have to stay. We're not gonna be able to get
across the border. And I'm like, then we're all going
to go to the hotel. And we went to the
hotel and I remember it was early morning, still dark
outside and maybe like five six of the more. And
(43:27):
we get there. We're like okay, and then mine was like,
I'm gonna check in. I'm gonna get rooms. I'm like,
all right, we're gonna sit, we're gonna wait, and we're
gonna make sure they're gonna let us cross. They're gonna
us into the into the US. And then he's like okay.
So we go to lay down, and then not too
(43:52):
long afterwards, my phone is ringing, ringing, ringing, and I
jump up and it's Mandol. He's like about my nephew
called his girlfriend and he told her that we were
(44:12):
at the border, and I'm like, how would he do that?
Why would he do that? He's making I'm nope, he's
talking to his girlfriend and he was telling her by
and he said that we're at the border and I'm like,
I'm gonna know, we're here. We gotta go. He's like,
(44:36):
I know, we all got up. I think we weren't
even there for a half hour. I'm like, we gotta go,
we gotta go. You can't be kicked in, no, we're here.
Kind of paranoid because my nephew's girlfriend, her family's in
(44:56):
the cartel. Yeah, I mean, he's like, we can't eat
mon though, Like they're gonna switch hotels. We've gotta get
out of here. I'm even switch hotels. So as we're
(45:19):
gonna leave, I'm so nervous and scared that I remember
that I hit the side of the it's safety sopiz,
which is kind of like slows you down. I hit
this tide. It was like a steel one and it
justesn't ripped my tire off the rim. And so we're
in the middle of the street, on the busy street.
(45:42):
We could see the borders. They got the next stop right,
and I'm like, the fucking tire, the fucking tire. So
my nephews jumped out and their model jumped out and
they're trying to jack the car up and put the
spare tire on and O He's like, let's go, let's go,
(46:02):
let's go. And I was like, no, I can't eat
the car. Get this one's under my name. That car
was under my name. It can't beat the car. She's like,
look that car. Let's going. Like no, they're going, we're going,
And they're like hurrying up and it's dark but the
sun is starting to come up, and then they're like, no,
(46:23):
we got it. We got Le's goal. We got it.
So then we jumped back in the cars and mind you,
we're like in the middle of the street at this point,
and we just look so fucking crazy because there was
just so much commotion going up and so can we
drive up to the border and we get there and
(46:45):
they asked us for our papers and I'm giving them
my passport, I'm giving them kids papers. I was like
the first one ticket there. They're like hold on, hold on,
because I'm like, go, go, go, go go. And they
were like stop, Low, you can't come in. Stop what
(47:07):
are you doing now? And I'm like, no, you gotta
let us in. They're coming for coming out the office
and they're like stop and I'm like no, they're gonna
kill us. I jump out of the car and say baby,
and she's sitting in the car freaking out. And then
he's like, you can't come in. You can't come in,
and you gotta wait. Everyone gotta wait. I was like, no,
(47:28):
we can't wait. We gotta go in. He was like no.
Nobody moved the cars and at this point we're all
lined up and if the cars are stuck, and I'm like,
they're gonna kill us. They're gonna fucking kill us. You've
gotta come. You called called Chicago, call the day, called
(47:51):
the U. S. Government, like, go us some when they're
gonna kill us. We gotta get out of here now.
And they were like what A pulled to the side,
so they allow the cars to come through. They pull
us aside and we're past the first light, but they're
just the second light that we can't come through. We're
(48:12):
just called to that side. And then I'm like listen,
I said, we have to get out of the country.
We have to get back to the US. Were US
citizens and they're like, well, where's o the papers to
make my kids they were born in Mexico. And they're like, well,
they can't come in because if you don't have the
(48:33):
right paperworker said, no, you don't understand. You don't understand
where U. S. Citizens My son is. He's a U.
S citizen. He's got dual citizenship just by me being
the U. S citizen. He's a US citizen. I just
don't have the paperworking yet. But they can come in.
And he was like, no, we have to make phone calls.
(48:54):
And we're calling. We're calling Milwaukee, we're calling lawyers, were
calling everyone that we could pass it call and I
remember my phone ringing. I don't know if Jake and
in contact with someone or what, but my phone rings
and I'm like hello. They're like, this says I think
his name is Matt. He's the one that was in
(49:15):
charge his use attorney from walking. He's like, listen, it's okay.
Can like, you know, we're stuck here and they don't
want to let us it and my kids don't have
papers and we don't know what to do. You have
to tell them that you have to let us come in.
And he's like, yes, don't worry. You need to calm down.
(49:36):
You need to calm down. Everyone has to calm down.
Just listen to me what I'm telling you. And I'm
like what. He was like, We're gonna take you into
the office and you're gonna show them all the paperwork
you have, and they're gonna let you come in. Making
(49:56):
phone calls, we're calling. Do you see we're calling? They're
trying to let you guys in. And I'm like okay,
I'm like, but and you it's cuts right. He's like, yeah,
you guys are okay. You guys are gonna be fine,
I promise. And I'm like okay, So I hang up
and then I'm like, baby, get out the cars. Come on,
(50:17):
let's get out the cars. We're going into the office
with the kids and it was like cold outside, I remember,
and we're taking the babies inside. We get in there
and I'm like, here's our papers, this is what we have.
And they're like, do you have any guns on you?
Do you have any money and you And I'm like what.
(50:38):
I'm like no. They're like, okay, well we just have
to ask and we need all the keys of the
cars because we had to put the cars on the
X ray machines to make sure that you can guys
are not bringing anything back with you. I'm like, going,
fucking kidding me, Just let us in and they were like, oh,
(51:01):
we just have that. This is routine. I'm like, it's
not routines. What I called back the U. S. Attorney
from alwalking and I'm like this is bullshit, Like what's happening?
Why are they doing this? Was like, can they just medicine?
He was like, it's routine. They have to just they
have to search the car. They have to make sure
(51:22):
that nobody's bringing nothing back. I was like, I said,
you don't understand. My brother in law, my father in law,
my mother in law is still back at the border.
My nephew called girlfriend, that's a switch hotels, like they
know we're here. Thanks. He's just held them to medicine.
(51:44):
Don't worry, you're gonna be coming in. They just need
to like check everything first. And at that point I knew,
I just knew this was our life. It didn't matter
whatever Champagne didn't properated. I knew at that point that
(52:05):
we are always going to be treated that way. They
were going to always look at us like criminals. I
knew it, and I just I felt like we need
such a huge mistake. I just felt like, these are
(52:25):
the people are supposed to be helping us, These are
the people are supposed to be keeping us safe. You
felt like you've made a huge mistake by the corporation. Yeah,
because no matter what, they were never gonna never in mind,
you had a six week old baby in your arms
(52:50):
to the point I was two year old. I must
have been really distressing. Yeah. I didn't understand why agents
didn't allow member them at all. My father in law,
(53:14):
I didn't understand why they didn't let them come in.
I didn't understand why I didn't make a cause. I
didn't understand why they didn't do anything to help us.
I don't understand. My brother laws out there for two days,
three days before they could help him, and I remember
when they finally let us through, I was just like,
(53:37):
oh my god, we fucking made it. H kind of
(53:59):
believing make the city. They put us on. They have
like a big private jet. We're on the plane with
a few agents, one than being the agent for the gym.
He tells me, he said, this is just so crazy.
I'm like what he said, you know, my whole family
knows you. I said, huh. He said, you grew up
(54:26):
in twenty six straight and my family has a business
that you would go to. He didn't want to tell
me what business, Like I knew you as a kid,
and I was like, like, you know, I spent the
time like just giving him different businesses that you know.
I think it was a hardware story. I just have
(54:48):
a feeling he was just asking me questions, you know.
But it's weird because he was asking us questions but
about about our life, but not because I was cooperating.
It was more like talk like curious to know things
growing up on twenty six ships. My neighbor next to
me who the owner construct it was a construction company
(55:09):
or like electrical company. He on. The house had burnt down.
They turned it into an office and it was like
the house right next to us on the north side.
My neighbor to the north and uh, the neighbor would
always be nice to me and my brother. He would
buy us like toxicles and always talked to us. And he,
(55:31):
you know, his truck will roll up and he would
leave it open and go in the office, you know.
And they had like a big window, and I see
him all the time. Man, I remember his family, not
quite like I remember he had a family. I just
don't remember like back then you know their faces. But
(55:53):
while I was cooperating, a new agent head came into
the the team that was like I guess was handed
in our case over the years. And I remember like
she came in to me, I felt like she looked familiar,
and I just kind of like look at her. But
I guess I was just used to seeing different agents.
And she said, you know my dad, And I said, huh,
(56:19):
like do you know my dad? Do you remember who
used to buy you popsicles? When when you were a kid.
And the minute she said that, I mean maybe because
I also knew her last name, I put it together,
he's your dad and she was like yeah, like oh
(56:40):
my god, Like I remember being a kid and sitting
down the stairs just waiting for him to show up,
like every day, you know, around that two o'clock, especially
in summertime, because she would always like, you know, crack
a joke and say hey, really nice man, you know,
and she's like, that's your dad. I grew up. But
while I live right now see you, And I'm like, wow,
(57:05):
you know, like sometimes you can't make this stuff up.
She's actually probably still in as part of the case,
part of that team. And it was around because that
she knows a lot of money childhood that her dad
definitely and you know, you know who my family was
and how we grew up and here we are, you know,
(57:29):
so there's a chance I do see that that here's
our neighbor, right, he's an agent and we're drug traffickers.
People do make it. People do good things. You always
are known for like the bad people, right, Like if
you think about Chicago, oh, the violence, you know, it
(57:52):
just seems like the negative always. It's going to be
what I would remember for how you're perceived was seing
that plane. I just remember like being tired, and we're
just like making small talk and we still have our phones,
(58:14):
wheels and stuff like that. The whole night in our
phones were just going off steadily, steadily. Everyone is calling
our workers from the States. We land in Dallas. I
remember we kind of taxi like close to another hangar.
(58:34):
Let me wait there for a little while, and I
see that, you know, Customs comes you know, to the
plane to bring the stairs and comes to the plane
and they're like, all right, let's get off. Weird to
feel relieved to land at Dallas Airport, To feel relieved
(58:56):
to land in Americas like in the USA. It was
so weird, like finally feel like, okay, we're not in Mexico,
but having that thought about where is my family. We
are walking down and I see he has our birth certificate,
you know, an I D like I D picture in
(59:16):
his hand. And when we land, she it's a lady.
She checks the document. Okay, and she's okay, and uh,
I remember I took the last step and I just
like stretching out my legs a little bit and my
brother gets behind me, and he's like okay, and they're
(59:38):
like all right, turn around, it's excuse me, you can
turn around, put your hand, me on your back, and
they hit me live. Put the heck sis. That was weird,
(59:59):
like my brother, and then looking at us like this
is their life for now on. No that goes the shackles.
They read me my rights and it's like they took
the bone. They started searching us. That was like reality
(01:00:24):
just hit me all that as came to this in
a way, I was like, well, what they expect, right,
And again I'm supposed to know this. I'm supposed to
I'm supposed to think about these things. And I can't
(01:00:46):
even tell you, like, yeah, you were thinking like prison,
But I didn't crossed my mind, not even that day,
not even me you know, landing. But it brought me
back to reality that no matter what, no matter what
I did, no matter how much a sacri prison, you know,
(01:01:07):
I was still gonna be, you know, a prisoner, right.
I was still I wanted person, and I was gonna
have to pay for my mistakes for sure. You know
that I'm having those ankles. I mean, they shackled me.
I was like, I do you have to shack for me,
like yes, just keep telling herself that we're doing the
(01:01:30):
right thing, asking the ages over and over, bleakly, just
checking my family. It's weird to be like yeah, expressed
like a brand and GEF five, you know you as
Marshall's jet speaking towards just take a prison. It's not
(01:01:51):
just the steel on your on your legs in hand.
I think it's more like the meaning right that when
I think the guilt kind of started like coming and
like I have to pay right for everything I did.
(01:02:11):
So we sit there for a while, probably refield and
jump back down on the plane distempt shackled and handcuffed,
and it was just different now. The rider was different.
It's a little quieter, you know. Me and my brother,
I think we were just right that this is what
(01:02:36):
we signed up for. And we end up flying into
small airport right out north of Chicago that actually we
used before to transport money and landing the airport on
I remember when the plane landed, were looking out the
window and I just saw nothing but police lights and
(01:03:00):
lots of exacting. When the door opens, it's called like
it's it's really colder and the door opens and it's
like the ages walking. I remember tapping a foot outside
the airplane and standing there. I just see the sea
of like blue jackets like d E A U S
(01:03:22):
Marshals and I just started getting like pictures flashes, the
pictures being taken and when I saw the cards and
like all the agents in marsh was just like staring
at us. I think it was the first time I
ever felt like, holy ship, I'm not just the drug dealer, right.
(01:03:45):
I had no idea to me, I was just selling drugs.
I was just knowing what I did. It was like reality,
like why are we doing this? How a weet? Right
(01:04:10):
in the middle of us recording this podcast. Yeah, okay,
so we're gonna start. Phones started to ring. Val and
Viviana rushed out of the room to take the calls,
and very quickly the mood changed. You could feel this
(01:04:32):
nervous energy as j and Pete realized something was wrong.
Fifty and I had left the house to give the
family some space. An hour later we returned to try
and continue recording. Things felt very heightened. Can you say
what is happening today? Or would you rather than not? Um?
I think I think that I think that our fear
(01:04:57):
of the revenge something else we that we don't touch
on as much as I think that we should. Charlie,
I think that we don't touch on them. The fear
of retaliation from the cartel for what Pete and Jay
did is a constant threat in the lives of the
Flora's family. But it's not just the cartel that they're
afraid of, you know. We pray for the best. I'llcome
(01:05:19):
for our family, you know, and whatever that that is.
We're trying to, you know, start fresh and starting new
life with so many things like demons, like chasing behind us,
like scoutary feet. I feel like we do live in fear.
I feel like we're always going to live in fear.
I feel like our life is never going to be normal.
(01:05:42):
Only a couple of months after the twins came out
of prison, Val and Viviana were arrested in their own homes.
I see thems around my house, and they came in
with the slat team and army garpens, she guilt and
helmets and a R fifteens. I couldn't believe that they
(01:06:08):
came and ready to knock the door down when I
seen them coming and look like a bunch of soldiers
in front of my house and they're marching up the
street to come to the house, and I remember running
to my son's room, my daughter's rooming and waking them
up and telling them the Feds are here, the Feds
(01:06:30):
are here. Both of them were released after a few days,
but they have pending charges against them for money laundering.
This all goes back to when Pete and Jay turned
themselves in back in two thousand and eight. Valen Viviana
collected drug money owed to their husband's Pete and Jay's
older brother, Armando, was also involved and is named on
(01:06:52):
the same indictment. The calls that Valen Viviana received whilst
we were recording this were to tell them that Armando
had turned and to save himself, had decided to cooperate
with the government against Vow and Viviana. Syvianna and I
are looking at up to ten years in prison, and
(01:07:15):
that's a real number. It's part of the reason why
we wanted I wanted to share the story. These decisions
we make, no matter how they are or whatever we
try to fix, is coming at a cost. To this day,
we're still trying to make things right. We're still trying
to correct our wrongs and and you know, we might
(01:07:37):
get something right on one end and and failing and
somewhere else. Everything comes to the price. We're sharing the story,
not to glamorize. If anything, we think they'd be like, wow,
you know what, they're doing the right thing by sharing
their stories. You can see how much suffering is. I
guess no one really understands that now that our husband's
(01:07:57):
cooperation really made people upset. They had p I is
in front of our house, and nobody understands exactly what.
You know, what we've been through because of our husband's cooperation,
and I feel like we're still letting do it. There's
(01:08:18):
this morning yeah on the lad thinking that we were
seeing how four ls were sitting there discussing some issues,
and at that moment of the bathroom scenario came back
into our minds. You know what worry talking about coming
in and cooperating. I guess what we're actually staying at,
(01:08:39):
like the bathrooms, like right there, and we were actually talking.
We did have a laugh about something that wasn't so
good to hear and battery point, Hey, it seems like
we're stilling that Washington, you know, the we're sitting on
the bad and we're talking and we're like talking about
(01:08:59):
today was court, and we're talking about mine and the
Vianna sentence and my brother in law and where it's
just like trying to wrap her head around it, and
I'm like, guys, this is exactly where we were Mexican two.
(01:09:26):
It feels like it's kind of where's you down a
lot to just keep continue going through things and do
not not only now, but throughout the whole sentence and
through everything. And I looked back sometimes and I look
at my brother. I think the other scenario was just
like this sentence wise back home, don't like live your
(01:09:47):
life and let me and my brother justus do what
we're doing and just whatever it happens happens. Becausepecially, I
don't know if that would have been any better. I'm
grateful for my family, but you know, that situation is
always like that question when we have been worse off
of when ye have been better. My attorney today, I
(01:10:07):
had a conversation with him this morning and he just
was trying to put everything into perspective, and he was
just saying that it's just really hard to understand what
me and Viv being mothers, being wives, and everything we've
been through, and our husband's basically have a life sentence
(01:10:30):
because of the way that we have to live our lives.
It's never gonna go away. And for us to be
facing the time that we're facing, he just can't understand it.
It's just hard for anyone to fathom, right. I definitely
feel like it's a life sentence for all of us
as far as um present time. I feel like that
(01:10:52):
hurts even more because the crazy thing is is I
think that at some points how we've always, like Jay said,
lived with fear, and it's almost like it's part of
our life. I feel like I don't have any regrets.
(01:11:13):
I feel like this is where I'm at, this is
where I'm supposed to be, and I take responsibility. I
take accountability for all my wrongs, all my rights. I
think that it's made me into a stronger person. I
feel like it's made us all, you know, resilient and strong.
(01:11:33):
But I think that it's just us not being together
is the scariest part of it all. As things stunned
at the end of production on this season, the trial
for Viviana Evolve is set for mid Keep It Here
the epic next season has come. On the next season
(01:12:00):
of Surviving El Chapo, the twins who brought down a
drug lord. Here the next part of Pete and J's
story and find out what happens as the Florest family
continue to face the consequences of their decision. As soon
as I said to one of the door they lack it.
It's a special unit for cooperators. They take me there
and I'm like, excuse me, for how long am I
(01:12:23):
here for? And she said for good. Here I am
transferred to new prison and I get putting in style
and I was supposed to be alone, and then they
came like, oh, you're gonna have a selling make room.
He should be here any minute. When he gets here,
I look at like, oh my god, I know you.
I'm with Sammy the ball. It's the worst place. The
(01:12:44):
food is cooked by the inmates. So every time they
send the food trades up, they come with a little
special surprice. I'm talking about every time if it's going
to be a dead rat, roaches, who knows what they
do to the food. It was like that in terms
of a week. I remember that she gets up to
call the baby bottle. We're rinsing the bottle in the bathroom, right,
so Peter, I'm gonna come in. I remember, just walk
(01:13:07):
into the bathroom. I just missed her so much. Yeah,
so we got busy in what happened to that man.
He was taken to a tennant ranch. They found his
vehicle and it's a threat. It was called I'm nervous.
(01:13:29):
I'm like, I can't find my comfortable spot, I'm cold
in my mouth is so dry. And I could see
like the defense table off to the left, and here
comes the juror and they walk in and then right
away soon as they walk in there they're looking at
the witnesses. They don't stop staring at you. I'm sitting
(01:13:50):
there like nervous, and they're not looking I see that
they're They're landing Choplin and my staringtist like he smiling,
saying hello everybody. He calms and he turned around. He
staring right at me. He's just staring him. M h.
(01:14:19):
And we'll bring you all the latest with val and
Viviana's trial. There's only somebody can take. Make sure you
follow and subscribe to the podcast to be the first
to find out when season two drops. Stay tuned Surviving
(01:14:43):
l Chapo The Twins Who Brought Down a Drug lad
is hosted by Curtis fifty Jackson and me Charlie Webster.
Our producers are myself alongside Jackson mcclennan. Research and editorial
support is from Casey Hurts. Edit and sound designed by
Nico Palella. Original score by Ryan Sorenson. Executive produced by
(01:15:06):
Curtis fifty cent Jackson and myself Charlie Webster. If you'd
like to know more about this story, head over to
lions Gate Sound dot com. Curtis fifty cent Jackson presents
a lions Gate Sound and G Unit audio production exclusively
for I Heeart podcast m