Julian Dorey Podcast #392 - “It’s all STAGED!” - Top Cartel Journalist EXPOSES El Mencho’s Assassination | Kat Szulc
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Mar 6, 2026 Katarina Szulc, Mexico-based freelance reporter who covers cartel activity, offers on-the-ground stories from El Mencho’s compound and the CJNG. She recounts strange forensics, possible staging, ledgers showing payoffs, cartel expansion tactics, retaliation strikes and the politics around the operation. Short, vivid scenes and provocative theories keep the conversation tense and fast-moving.
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Vehicle Details Undermining Narco Vehicle Narrative
- Katarina drove into cabin garages, started the Jeep, and noted front plates removed while a windshield sticker showed registration—small details undermining a clean narco-vehicle narrative.
- She also filmed scattered casings on driveways and interior spaces left intact.
Pay Fixers Pragmatically When Covering Cartel Zones
- When reporting cartel zones, Katarina says journalists sometimes must pay locals or fixers to gain access and safety, accepting pragmatic exceptions to strict newsroom rules.
- She defends limited payments as practical for working in hostile regions where formal press access is blocked.
Theory That Mencho Was Already Dying Or Dead
- One theory: Mencho had been dying or already dead and authorities coordinated a narrative to satisfy U.S. demands while avoiding full disclosure.
- Katarina highlights the unusual closed-casket funeral and the Mexican government's hesitance to release the body.