What followed was 4 days of moving from one deserted ranch or dry wash to another. His full gang included about 55 men, 10 women & numerous children & babies. I was fed and treated well but only Juan Carlos would talk with me.
His gang would receive drug drops by plane, occupy a town & were regularly harassed by the federales who tried to ambush them as they moved through the countryside. Once the gang was discovered a shoot out would occur and Juan told me that many were killed. I believed him as he had tripod machine guns, numerous automatic weapons, a mobile howitzer, and boxes of explosives and grenades. He also had 2 reconnaissance airplanes.
Juan later confided that originally he was going to take me hostage for whatever the U.S. or my family would pay, but after travelling with me & seeing how I treated him with respect & generosity, he thought I was unlike any gringo he'd ever met & now he considered me a friend.
After 5 days with Juan, he told me that I'd be free to leave the next day. About 9 the next day, the same airplane I'd seen before landed & several wrapped parcels were unloaded. Juan cut one open and with the end of his knife put some white powder on his tongue. He said the value on U.S. city streets of his load of heroin was more than one million U.S. dollars.
He embraced me & ordered two men to escort me to my car which he said had been discovered by the Mexican Green Angels road service and repaired. He invited me to his "palace" in Ensenada where he had many women, much drugs and all the amenities of a local jefe of crime.
Two hours later I was dropped off at my car and then began another two days of what became a separate series of experiences & problems on my way back to the border. Only this time it was mexican government officials and police that I had to contend with. And that's another story. TO BE CONTINUED
