I Was A DEA Agent Who Took Down The Cali Cartel | Chris Feistl

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 743 Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2025

⏱️ 106 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Chris Feistl spent 26 years working for the DEA, including three years in Colombia during the 1990s, helping take down one of the most powerful drug empires in history — the Cali Cartel. His real-life work was portrayed in Narcos: Season 3, but the truth behind the show is even wilder. From undercover operations to high-stakes cartel takedowns, he witnessed firsthand the danger, corruption, and chaos of the war on drugs. Over his career, he earned the DEA Award of Honor, Award for Exceptional Service, and multiple Performance Awards for his role in international investigations. In this exclusive interview, he opens up about what really happened in Colombia, how Narcos got it right (and wrong), and what it was like to spend decades hunting some of the world’s most dangerous traffickers. #LockedInWithIanBick #DEAAgent #Narcos #CaliCartel #TrueCrime #DrugCartel #NarcosNetflix #realstories Thank you to BLUECHEW for sponsoring this episode: Visit https://bluechew.com/ and use promo code LOCKEDIN at checkout to get your first month of BlueChew & pay five bucks for shipping. Connect with Chris Feistl: Website: www.After.Escobar.com. After Escobar is available on Amazon (http://a.co/d/4U3kWXB), Barnes and Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1146855946), www.AfterEscobar.com, and in select bookstores worldwide! Signed copies of After Escobar available only at www.AfterEscobar.com. Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00 Becoming a DEA Agent & Taking Down Cartels 04:44 Early Life, Law Enforcement Dreams & First Arrests 13:11 From Small-Town Cop to Federal Agent 20:01 Joining the DEA: Training, Requirements & Reality 27:47 First Assignment in Miami — Cocaine Capital of the '80s 38:41 Inside the Miami Drug Wars: Chaos, Cartels & Corruption 45:42 Cartel Smuggling Tactics & DEA Challenges on the Ground 53:03 Dirty Cops, Corruption & How the DEA Adapted 01:01:12 Hunting the Cali Cartel Bosses in Colombia 01:12:40 Deep Undercover: The DEA’s Dangerous Life in Colombia 01:20:01 Surviving the Cartel Wars — Second & Third DEA Tours 01:31:00 Coming Home: DEA Retirement & Life After the Mission 01:36:02 How Netflix’s Narcos Got It Right (and Wrong) 01:40:02 Hard Lessons, Close Calls & Reflections from a DEA Agent Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Harry.
0:00.7	Hello mate.
0:01.5	Got any tips for the football?
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0:23.4	18 plus opt in and bet on any football marketing at odds of evens or greater no, cash out seven-day expiry terms and conditions apply at gamblerware.org. Look, if you wanted to be a DEA agent, a real DEA agent in the late 80s, you had to go to South Florida. When was the first time you were really tested as a police officer?
0:37.8	It was staggering the amount of cocaine that was coming into Miami at that time. What do you think
0:42.0	was the first lesson you learned on the job? So it's basically we're going after anybody who's
0:46.4	wanted within the Cali cartel, but specifically those four kingpin, so to say. Chris Faisal spent
0:51.7	26 years as a DEA agent, including multiple years in
0:55.7	Colombia, helping take down the Cali cartel. If you've watched Narcos, season three, you've seen
1:01.7	a story on screen, but the real story is even crazier. From undercover operations to hunting
1:06.8	cartel bosses, this is the real DEA story behind Narcos.
1:16.6	Chris, welcome to Lockton. Thanks so much for coming on the show today. Thanks, Ian. I appreciate it. It's great to be with you. Yeah, I'm glad that it was warmer today,
1:20.6	so you didn't escape the warm weather to come out here. And I came with all my cold weather gear,
1:26.6	too. I didn't really need it. Yeah, and thanks to Steve Murphy for connecting us. He's gotten us so many great here. And I came with all my cold weather gear, too. I didn't really need it.
1:27.7	Yeah, and thanks to Steve Murphy for connecting us. He's gotten us so many great guests and
1:31.7	another one in the books today. Steve is one in a million. He's a good friend, good guy.
1:36.2	Yeah, and speaking of books, tell the audience about the book you graciously gave us today.
1:41.5	So after Escobar, taking down the notorious Cali godfathers and the biggest drug
1:45.5	cartel in history, if anybody is seen Narco Season 3, the next line of progression in that show is
1:53.5	DEA and the Colombian security forces go after the Cali cartel. So this book is basically about myself,
	...

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