The Cartel Puppetmaster: Juan Matta Ballestero

Juan Ramon Matta Ballesteros began life as a pickpocket in his hometown of Tegucigalpa, before heading out on the perilous border roads of Latin America as an emerald smuggler. Soon he was making friends in high places, scoring deals on consignments of cocaine - and connecting coca producers in the Andes with up-and-coming narcos in Mexico.

All the while, Matta forged ties with the elites and corrupt soldiers who’d run Honduras for a century, capturing the small state and ensuring its future as a coup-happy transshipment point for years to come. But when Matta took part in the narco world’s most notorious murder, in 1985, his world came crashing down.

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