- [June] Hello, and welcome
to The Doc Exchange, a Real Stories podcast, in partnership with the Grierson Trust. Every week, I'll ask a new filmmaker or filmmaking team about
three documentaries, connected by a single theme, that have made a meaningful impression on their work and life. (gentle electronic music) (seagulls calling) (gentle piano music) (speaking Spanish) - [Reggie] They say to
understand a person, you have to walk a mile in their shoes. So that's exactly what I'm gonna do. I'm joining the Mexican Army to fight on the front line of the War on Drugs. (somber music) Any mental picture I have of Acapulco is, you know, the glory days. Those pictures of
Hollywood stars coming here in the '50s, I guess. Things are very different in Acapulco now and I'm hoping these guys
can help me understand exactly what's changed. Mexico is at war with itself. The country is being torn apart by cartels fighting over
the $30 billion drug trade. (distant gunshots) (somber music) Acapulco was once a
glamorous holiday paradise. Now, it's the fourth most
violent city in the world. A place where 1000 people
were murdered last year alone. (somber music) Now the Army has been
deployed on the streets, the latest desperate response to a war that is spiraling out of control. (somber music) For one week, I'll be living
and working alongside them, finding out what it's like to
be a young Mexican soldier, fighting in a war where you don't know who your enemy is and you
don't know who to trust. (somber music) (truck rumbling) (military marching music) (engine rumbling) (speaking Spanish) - [Reggie Voiceover]
I'm enrolling in Unit 27 of the 56th Infantry Battalion in Acapulco for what is traditionally the busiest week of the year, the Easter holidays. (military marching music) (speaking Spanish) - I think that was for me to learn it. (speaking Spanish) - Hello. There's normally 1500 soldiers here. But for this week, the government has sent in an extra 2500 men to try and help out the struggling police force. (speaking Spanish) (soldiers marching) (speaking Spanish) - This is me.
- This is you? - The one with nothing in it.
- Nope. - You can put your stuff in there. - [Reggie Voiceover]
I've been assigned one of the only English speakers, a 20-year-old private called Luis, as a guide and translator.
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, gel. Anything you need.
- So everything has a space? (speaking Spanish) - I can't put my personal things there, I can't put my vest there.
- No. - Everything has its-
- It has its order. - What's it like living
with this much order? 'Cause you have to wear
your shirt a certain way, wear your sleeves a certain way, hang your clothes a certain way. - It's pretty strict, but
you don't have any choice. When I was a civilian still, I used to go outside to parties, leave everything out there,
put my shoes over there, and leave all the bed messy. Now when I go to my house when I leave, I put everything in order, I clean. It's like, "What happened to you? "You used to be so messy!" I say, "Oh, they changed me, Mom." - [Reggie Voiceover] Luis has been in the Army for 18 months, one of thousands of
ordinary young Mexicans who have signed up to try and help end the cycle of bloodshed. (marching band music) The first duty of the day is roll call. With no training, I feel
totally out of my depth. (marching band music) (singing in Spanish) - So we are overlooking Acapulco Beach. When you're here on service, do you ever go down there to the beach? - Yeah, you go patrolling with a helmet. - With a helmet on, in the sun? - Bullet proof vest, you walk all day. - Well I know if you're
walking on the beach for... - For turtles.
- You're walkin' on the beach for turtles?
- Yeah, people mess around with them.
- There's gotta be something else.
- They're going extinct. - But you're not carryin'
bulletproof vests for turtles. - Ah, it's very dangerous out there? - Why is it so dangerous,
'cause of the turtles? - No, cartels.
- On the beach? What are they doin' on the beach? - I don't know.
- Isn't that weird? - [Sergeant] Roll call! (speaking Spanish) (soldiers marching) (speaking Spanish) - [Reggie Voiceover] I've
never handled a rifle before. But with 18,000 murders
in Mexico last year alone, the Army has insisted that
I get some weapons training. (speaking Spanish) - Grab your weapon like this. Like if you were gonna
point it to the sky. - Okay.
- You know how to grab it, like this.
- What is it? - Like this.
- Okay. - Always keep your hand
out of the trigger. - Yep. - Take the safety off, right here. Pull that one down, all the way down. (rifle cocking loudly)
Just to the right there. Push the trigger.
(rifle clicks) Now put safety. And now you take it down,
put it on the table. (speaking Spanish) - [Reggie] Have you
ever been in a shootout? - Yes, yes I have.
- So how old were you when this happened, your first time? - I was 18.
- Right. And people were shooting at you? - Yeah.
- So who was shooting at you?
- Different types of cartels. - Are they the main threat here? - Yeah, they're the main threat. - And they're not afraid
to shoot you guys? - No, no, they're not afraid. (speaking Spanish) - [Luis] Yeah, we're not
allowed to talk about shootouts. - Is that all he said?
- Yep, that's all. - Okay.
- Sorry. (chuckles) - [Reggie Voiceover] I've
been told after lunch, our unit will be carrying
out an armed patrol on Acapulco's main tourist beach. - So why exactly do you have to patrol somewhere like the beach? You mentioned at points you
have to patrol the beaches in your full gear.
- That's for protection, protection for the
people from the dangers. Like especially this week,
everybody's on vacation. - What makes Acapulco so dangerous? - I can't talk to you about that. - You can't talk to me about it? - No.
- I mean, I need to know if I'm gonna
be out there with you. (speaking Spanish) - [Luis] He said it's not
dangerous, it's just... (speaking Spanish) - [Reggie Voiceover] It's
astonishing to be told there's nothing to
worry about in Acapulco. According to the papers, it's
the deadliest city in Mexico. (speaking Spanish) (suspenseful music) - I've been told that
it's not dangerous here, that it's safe, but there's about 30 of us and we're all wearing bulletproof vests. And everyone's got a gun. It can't be that safe if everybody is this armed, this protected. (suspenseful music) (speaking Spanish) (suspenseful music) They're taking me to, I guess
I'm on my first mission. I'm headed down to the beach. It's busy, it's Easter holiday weekend. It's the busiest time here in Acapulco. And it's also, I imagine, the perfect time to kick up some trouble if you want. Which is probably why these guys are here. (suspenseful music) A sea of green has suddenly departed from these cars and you've got loads of residents, loads of holiday-makers, just stood still starin'. (speaking Spanish) (suspenseful music) - [Reggie Voiceover] Luis
and his fellow soldiers patrol the main beaches five times a day. They're ordinary Mexicans carrying guns as a show of force against
their fellow countrymen. (somber music) - Is that gun on safety? 'Cause you keep hitting me with it. I don't want any accidents. (somber music) - [Reggie Voiceover] In years gone by, Acapulco would've entertained over 350,000 overseas tourists a year. Today, there's barely
a foreigner in sight. (suspenseful music) - It feels like everybody
that we're passing on this beach is Mexican. I'm not really hearing any other accents. What sort of tourists
are you getting here now? - From all over the state,
like different states. Like DF or Sinaloa.
- Right. So they're all Mexican.
- Yeah, they're Mexicans. - Okay, so why aren't there any international tourists anymore? - There are, but, probably not a lot. - There's clearly not
a lot here right now. So why are there a lot less?
- I'm not sure. (chuckles) - [Reggie Voiceover] I'm not gonna get very far talking to Luis. It's become obvious he isn't authorized to talk about certain subjects. Is it possible for me to
talk to any of the tourists? - Yeah, if you want.
- Yeah? - If you want to, I can translate. - Okay, let me ask one
of these guys over here. These young guys, let's
see what they have to say. (speaking Spanish) - Hello guys. I was under the impression
that this was a massive holiday and this time of year gets very busy. And it seems as though all of
the tourists here are Mexican. Why do you think there aren't any
international tourists here? (speaking Spanish) Do you not think that
there's a big problem with cartels and narcos? (speaking Spanish) Enjoy the sun, I'm very jealous of you! (speaking Spanish) Enjoy your day. (somber music) From what the locals have said, the recent trouble in Acapulco is putting off the international tourists. My fear is that the Army
have only allowed me to be here as part of a wider
campaign to win them back. (somber music) (sirens wailing) (somber music) I can't get Luis to give
me any specific details about the cartel violence. But on more personal subjects, he seems willing to open up. (somber music) So how 'bout the guys
you grew up with, then? Were any of them drawn into the cartels? - Actually yes, from middle school. They just got out of school and they got involved in things like that. Some of them end up dead or end up bad. One of them already died. - One of them's already died?
- Yeah. - He's the same age as
you, I mean you're only 20. This kid was the same age?
- Yeah, he was 19. He died in Jalisco.
- What is it that would make a young man
want to join the cartel? - Probably money, women,
drugs, cars, and everything. They wanna look good for
girls and things like that. - So what was it that made you go for the military over the cartels then? - Well, my mom always taught me to do the right things. And I was actually a church person. So I felt like this was the
way it's supposed to go. (somber music) - I'd always imagined that the people who joined the cartels
were just the bad guys. But Luis actually knows some of the people who ended up joining them, and I can't imagine what it's like to have to fight against
people you grew up with. (speaking Spanish) (somber music) I genuinely don't remember the last time I was this physically flippin' knackered. Well, for whatever reason, I
can't find a flippin' brush. I've got to clean the boots with them, so I'm having to borrow one. Like a right novice! (chuckles quietly) Trying to get some of
this sand off here first. (locker door creaking) (somber music) A group of soldiers all walked around and have been tellin' us to wake up. And at that point, we sort
of stared a little bit and the lights came on. We had no choice but to get up. (somber music) Is it always this early
when you guys get up? - Sometimes you don't
sleep, sometimes you do. - Sometimes you don't sleep?
- Yeah, you don't sleep. - Why would you go without sleep? What would be the reason for that? - Patrolling.
- Patrolling, right? - Patrolling, sometimes you're patrolling at 5:00 in the morning, non-stop. You come back and you just
continue what you're doing. Or sometimes they let you off and go outside with your family. I haven't been outside much. - [Reggie] Do you not feel
like you're missing out at all? - I do, a lot. You miss out on everything. Your friends' birthdays,
your father's birthdays, deaths of family members. Sometimes you don't know what happens. You miss a lot, parties and everything. - If you feel that you're missing out on so much, what keeps you here? - I don't know, I like it actually. We're almost like brothers, man. Like I've been with these
guys for years and everything. And they treat you like you're a family. - [Reggie] Life here is
strictly disciplined. A daily routine of patrols
and a grueling fitness regime. (upbeat music) (speaking Spanish) The first duty of the day is a five k run around the barracks. It's 35 degrees. (soldiers chanting Spanish) (speaking Spanish) I've run five ks at home,
but that, this heat? Boy! I've never. (breathing heavily) Oh, that's something else. (speaking Spanish) But there's no time to recover
before we head out again. (speaking Spanish) Well, it feels like we're all leaving. Everybody's suddenly jumped back in and... Getting all clipped up, so I
guess I should follow suit. (suspenseful music) We're traveling into
Colonia Jardin Mangos, one of Acapulco's poorest suburbs. (suspenseful music) The barrio has a reputation
of being a cartel stronghold. Once a normal neighborhood, it's now almost entirely
controlled by powerful criminals. (speaking Spanish) Speaking to the Major, it feels like I'm still being given the Army's official line. I've been told off-camera there were nine drug-related murders
in Acapulco yesterday. The majority in areas just like this. (suspenseful music) In a situation like this, how do you tell if somebody's up to mischief? And how do you tell if
somebody's just an uncle? Nobody is acting particularly erratic. (speaking Spanish) - That's for the untrained eye, but we see it, everything is
depends on how they dress. What type of car they are,
and how they look at us. And how they act.
- Right. So what are the giveaways, then? - People from the cartels usually use these little bags right
here where they can put on their weapons, they
use hats, sunglasses. (dog barking excitedly) (somber music) - [Reggie Voiceover]
These streets feel like a very different proposition
to the tourist zone. (somber music) (speaking Spanish) You don't know who's an ordinary resident and who's a cartel footsoldier. Even with these heavily armed soldiers, it feels like we could be
ambushed at any minute. (suspenseful music) (speaking Spanish) What you looking for here?
- Just to check what's happening in here. Like if there's anybody
kidnapped or something. - [Reggie] Is anybody kidnapped? - [Luis] Um, yes. - [Reggie] These bits of the barrios, I take it, are the bits
that are dangerous, right? - [Luis] Yeah, they are,
especially at night. - Right.
- When it gets dark. (suspenseful music) - The minute we went into
that quiet little road and you could see the dark corners, even in the midday sun, you could see where things could go wrong, where someone could jump out with a gun, where someone could attack you. The minute those places became obvious, suddenly I started to see
how a seemingly quiet barrio could become quite a dangerous place. We didn't come under fire
today, or even see the cartel. But I'm getting the sense of the sort of pressure these soldiers
have to work under. Do you feel like you're
in danger being here? - Not always.
- When do you feel like you're in danger,
then, if not all the time? - [Luis] When I'm outside. That's when I feel in danger. - Has anyone in your unit died? - Not when I was around. But this unit has lost soldiers. - How'd they react to that?
- I haven't seen them, and I don't want to see them react to it. - Why not?
- I don't know. I would probably cry a
lot. I don't like crying. - [Reggie Voiceover] He may
not have witnessed the death of a fellow soldier, but
Luis knows only too well the consequences of living in a country so consumed by violence. - Like my grandpa he
died this Sunday morning and you don't see me crying
or being sad or anything. Because it's part of my job. My grandpa was part of the police. He was in the police. And this guy was basically making trouble and he took out his pistol from his bag and he shot my grandpa and his partner. And my grandpa died on
the way to the hospital. And he got away. - [Reggie] And everyone
knows who the guy is? - Yep. - How'd you feel about
losing a family member in the line of duty? Because your grandfather
was an officer, right? - It makes you feel
proud because he did it working what he liked to do. He actually liked that job, he
likes taking care of people. Like the rest of us. That's why we're here, actually. To take care of our people. - I'm sorry to hear about your grandpa. It's difficult.
- Ah, it's all right. - You only have a couple
days to get over it, well, that's pretty tough. For him to lose his
grandfather on the job, it's probably a massive reality check. Because his grandfather
was a police officer and in theory, his job's
even more dangerous. I was 14 when my grandfather passed away, but he died of something fairly natural. For a guy at 20 to lose his grandfather to a criminal on the streets of the city that you live in and patrol, I don't know how that'd make me feel about coming back to work. The Army is telling me it's safe here. But I wanna find out
for myself the reality of the dangers young soldiers
like Luis are facing. (speaking Spanish) Hopefully, I can now
finally get some answers. I've been summoned to meet
the General at his office. (military march music) - Hi.
- Reggie, pleased to meet you. - How are you?
- Very good, thank you. Thank you so much for
finding the time to meet me. So firstly, I really,
really desperately want to understand why the
military are here in Acapulco. (speaking Spanish) Why do you think that the
police hasn't been able to get control of the situation? (speaking Spanish) So just how dangerous are the cartels? And how powerful is organized crime here? (speaking Spanish) I don't know if that's really
answered the question again. Let's move on, let's move on, okay. So do you think that the locals feel as safe as the tourists? (speaking Spanish) A pleasure to meet you.
(hands slapping loudly) Thank you very much, adios. Well that was a lot harder
than I thought it'd be. I guess what's really important here is maintaining a level of, front isn't the right word,
but presence, you know? There is a version that they're desperate to present to the world, which is that everything is under control. I don't know, man. How I leave this place
and what I leave Mexico with is gonna have to come down to what I see and what
I figure out for myself. (speaking Spanish) Our unit has been given the afternoon off, and I wanna use it to get
some answers elsewhere. To work out just how safe the
area Luis patrols really is. (foreboding music) After buying a local newspaper, I've come to a beach
frequented by residents, five minutes from the main tourist zone where three of yesterday's
nine murders took place. Yeah, it would make
sense that it was there. The picture shows him laid out by a wall. There's candles burning just over here. It was right there, though. That's exactly it, it was right there. They haven't even managed
to clean all the blood away. Look, it's still there! And everything carries on exactly as normal just the day after. Look at that, there's
kids playin' right there. (somber music) So yesterday I was with the
Army patrolling the beach. All of five minutes
walk in that direction. And the beach was quite
clearly a tourist beach, whereas this beach that I'm at at the moment is pretty
much just local people. The reason that I'm here and the reason that I'm absolutely flabbergasted at what's going on here is that three people were shot yesterday. A 15-year-old, a 25-year-old,
and a man who was 54. Right here, 20 minutes
after I left that beach over there with the military yesterday. And there are pictures of
where I'm sat right now, like literally, right here, this is here. It's not taken long to
find shocking evidence. But are these deaths
confined to criminals, or are ordinary people being
caught up in the violence too? (somber music) Do you work here all the time? Was you workin' here yesterday? I read in the newspaper-
(speaking Spanish) That there was something
that happened here yesterday. (speaking Spanish) All right, gracias. Many of the locals are scared of talking. Clara!
- Hola! - [Reggie Voiceover] But
one resident businesswoman has agreed to meet me
at a secret location. - Nice to meet you.
- Gracias. (somber music) (speaking Spanish) - All right, so why did your shop close? (speaking Spanish) These people that have been killed, are they local tourists,
are they cartel members? Are they shop owners,
who's getting killed? (speaking Spanish) (foreboding music) It's clear that the fallout
from this war spreads way beyond rival cartels,
affecting almost every part of Mexican society. Police, government officials,
and even the security services in some areas have been
accused of corruption. The tourists themselves
might not be targets, but with so much violence in this city, can Luis and his fellow
soldiers really keep them safe? (foreboding music) (speaking Spanish) I've managed to track down
Carlos, a local photographer, at his office on the main tourist strip. He's been following the
recent escalation in violence. This is nice. (speaking Spanish) So if it's assassinations that
you're taking pictures of, is this happening out in the open? (speaking Spanish) Anywhere? So even on one of the main beaches here that all the tourists go to? (speaking Spanish) Carlos offers to show me some
pictures he's taken recently. Oh my God. (speaking Spanish) And is that on this, the main beach? That's here?
(speaking Spanish) The photographic evidence is shocking. People have been killed all over the city. Since the Army were first
deployed here five months ago, there have been 29 murders
on the city's beaches. (speaking Spanish) (foreboding music) (speaking Spanish) (foreboding music) Tourism is the lifeblood
of the economy here. It provides 70% of Guerrero State's GDP. So it's understandable why the
Army have been deployed here. And it seems, alongside deterrence, part of the role it plays
is to present an image of a safe city to the outside world. (foreboding music) This is the bit of Acapulco
that the government care about and the police care about
and the military care about. And people are being killed right here! To be fair to them, it's not like they're not doing anything. They are definitely
working their socks off. I've joined in, they're
patrolling the beaches. They're up and down
this main strip all day. They're even going into the
barrios, I've seen it myself. So they are doing something,
they are making a difference. But people are still
being killed even here. So, I don't know, is it enough? (somber music) I'm halfway through my time with the Army. But today, we're leaving Acapulco. It seems like everybody's
packed a massive backpack with what looks like tents on it. It's gonna be a very long
day. (chuckles wistfully) (somber music) The Army's mission here is
to tackle the War on Drugs at both ends of the supply chain. Fighting the cartels in the city and going after the
drug production itself. I'm late for my briefing. So far the Army haven't
exactly been forthcoming about the violence, but I'm
trying to keep an open mind about what they're going to show me. (speaking Spanish) We're heading eight hours northwest of Acapulco into the mountains, where the cartels use intimidation and violence to force
farmers to grow vast fields of poppies used to produce heroin. (speaking Spanish) Just another example
of how ordinary people have been sucked into the drug trade. (foreboding music) What are the dangers here? - We could probably get shot at. - [Reggie] Get shot at,
okay, anything else? - No, that's it, that's as far as it goes. People trying to protect their fields. - Is it commonplace for farmers, then, to organize themselves
and shoot at soldiers? - Yes.
- Really? Even though you're trained and they're not?
- Yes. (foreboding music) - [Reggie Voiceover] The
Guerrero Mountains are where 40% of all heroin
supplied to America is produced. It's an industry worth $10 billion US. (foreboding music) - This is where it all
starts, it starts from here. Destroying plants like
this makes them lose power. If they don't have drugs,
they don't have money. If they don't have money,
they don't have power. - [Reggie Voiceover] We're
heading to a temporary Army base, deep in the mountains. Up here, the military
simply isn't welcome. In these remote locations,
agriculture is the only source of income, so many of the
local farmers are dependent on growing poppies. - You can't tell who's who. Like that motorcycle that's following us, you can look at them and
they're just two guys on a motorcycle, but to
us, they're probably hawks. - What do hawks do?
- They communicate with the people who are planting things in the mountains, so as
soon as we go up there, they're already telling
them we're going up there. And probably as soon as we pass by, they're already communicating with them. And it doesn't take much to be a hawk. All you need is a phone or a radio. - It must be strange
for young men like Luis. A soldier fighting a war
against his own countrymen, never knowing who the enemy actually is. Everybody that passes by, I'm
looking at their backpacks, I'm looking at their bags, thinking, "What are they carrying down?" (brakes squealing) There seems to be quite
a lot of people passing by us going in the opposite direction. (speaking foreign language) Is there any reason that
we're not stopping them? (speaking foreign language) - [Luis] And we have to go to the camp. (speaking foreign language) (foreboding music) - [Reggie] It's hard to even see what direction the road's going, isn't it? - [Luis] Yes, we can't
even see the mountains but they can see us because
of the light of the cars. So we're easy targets right now. (foreboding music) - [Reggie] For some reason,
there's a random van just parked up here in the dark. Doesn't seem to be anyone in it. But as it is dark, we're
just gonna leave it rather than check it and keep going. It does look pretty suspect. - [Luis] We never know if it's a type of ambush or a trap. (foreboding music) - [Reggie] Something you've gotta say to yourselves again, we're in the middle of nowhere right now. And there's a whole village up here. There seems to be a lot of lights and a lot of property as well.
- And very wealthy, they look very wealthy as well. - They look wealthy?
- Yep. - What's the giveaway?
- That's the giveaway. They have a lot of motorcycles, they have good properties. (trucks rumbling) - [Reggie] What are the chances that it's the entire
village that's involved in the fields that we're going to destroy? - [Luis] The chances
are very big, actually. - So we're here now.
- Yes, we're here. - [Reggie] Yeah, and
where we gonna camp up? (speaking foreign language) We're joining another battalion who've been here for the past two weeks. (speaking foreign language) After setting up camp, Luis and I are assigned to night watch. (insects chirping) So if something does kick
off, what happens then? - We just alert the whole camp. That could be you.
- Yeah. - Like I see something, and
I don't wanna move here, just to protect the road and you go and alert the whole camp and tell everybody where the
aggression is coming from. And we just be alert. - It's been a long day. How much does your tiredness play a part in something like this? Because you've been up since
very early in the morning. - One of the things you're not supposed to do to not mess up is not sit down. Once you sit down you're
gonna fall asleep. (insects chirping) Did you hear that? (speaking foreign language) (suspenseful music) Right here, was it? (suspenseful music) (somber music) - [Reggie] I think the thing
that strikes me most is that they aren't really individuals. It's everything is about the team. Everything is about the unit and nothing is about an individual. Because they were saying
that if there were an attack, he'd send me back, and
he'd sacrifice himself while trying to defend his
brothers, the other soldiers. (somber music) I don't know, after a day as long as this, and ahead of a night in this thing, I think I'm coming away
from a very long day with a slightly better
picture of what it means to be part of this unit. (somber music) (foreboding music) Once again, the day begins
before the sun's up. (foreboding music) This looks like the stodgiest, heaviest breakfast in
the world for a reason. The minute the sun is fully in the sky, we're gonna set off. To get to the poppy
fields, we have a long hike across rough terrain ahead. (speaking foreign language) (rifles cocking) (rifles clicking) (speaking foreign language) (foreboding music) To avoid detection, the
plantations are often grown in the most remote parts of the mountains. The Army has used air reconnaissance to locate this poppy field in advance. (creek burbling) (foreboding music) Luis just pointed out this piping. The guys who are actually
responsible for the poppy field, they put piping in so they
can consistently water and control the level of
water going to their crop. (foreboding music) All right, suddenly we've stopped. Which to me can mean only one thing. I guess we're here. - You see all those flowers?
- Yeah. - [Reggie Voiceover] We
immediately find evidence that the poppy growers
have been here recently. (speaking foreign language) - We just found some bags of stuff. - That would be fertilizer for what would be the poppy fields. - Right.
- So now, the only way to destroy
it is to just drop water on it to make it dissolve
and make it useless for them. - We can see their beer cans
and their food and stuff. They've been hanging out here for a while. - They've been hanging out
here, probably sleeping here. There's probably cans all over this place. (speaking Spanish) (somber music) - [Reggie] Growing these
plants is the first stage in heroin production. The farmers extract the natural
gum to make into a paste, which is refined and
then turned into heroin, with a street value of $130,000 per kilo. (somber music) - What's the white stuff?
- That's the white stuff they use to make the gum with. They can actually make heroin out of that. - [Reggie] Wow, and that
just comes out of this plant? - Yeah, it just comes
out of this plant easy. See that? You can see it coming out.
- And that's all they need? - That's all they need. - So how much are they getting out of each of these plants? Because that's not much, from what I- - That's one of the reasons
their fields are so big. Because they have to
take a lot out of them. (machetes clanging) - [Reggie] There are 17,000 hectares of opium poppy fields like
this one across Mexico, making it the number one supplier of heroin to the United States. It's horrifying to think
that a harmless-looking plant like this can be the cause
of so much bloodshed. And that boys like Luis have grown up in a country ravaged by
violence because of it. Has anyone you know ever suffered from the product of a field like this? - A lot of youngsters from middle school. - Friends of yours?
- Yeah, friends of mine. Their lives destroyed by it too, from the addiction of it. (machetes chopping) - If ever you needed motivation, I think having friends who are affected by this stuff is, yeah
that's gonna drive you every morning when you get up at 5:30 to get out here and sweat
and work your ass off. This is, without a doubt, feeding a hell of a lot of people. The village we came through to get here didn't look particularly poor. But at the same time, it's hurting a lot of people all over the world. So for someone like Luis who feels that this is affecting his friends, his family, his area, I can understand why it would be motivating. (machetes chopping) It takes us an entire day
to clear just one field. I'm sure that this exercise has been, at least in part, for my benefit. (somber music) Reports say the Army has
cleared 83,000 fields like this one. But heading back down the mountain, the sheer scale of the
problem becomes apparent. (somber music) It seems like every road we take, we spot another field in the mountain. - It looks like it.
- They're everywhere. - They're almost everywhere. There's some of them are
really hard to get to. - So that's one there, is
that one there as well? - Yep.
- That's two up there. - That's two of them. - And that's just on this mountain. And we've still got all of these to get through to get home.
- Yes, exactly. So we'll probably see
a whole bunch of them. - [Reggie] It's almost like
they're building factories on every mountain.
- It constantly brings in money, it's a nonstop business. Just keep selling, keep making, keep selling, keep making. (somber music) - For every one that you take out, there's another five more just like it. How can you keep up?
- We have to keep up. It's my job to keep up. (somber music) (Luis sighs) I wanna go home, yeah. (somber music) - My time here has come to an end. And I say my goodbyes
to a group of soldiers who are putting their
lives on the line everyday. Bye-bye, bye-bye, take care. I can't help but feel the Army has wanted to convince me that
Acapulco is a safe place, safe enough for the tourists to come back. But despite all their hard work, there were at least 240 murders in the first four months of 2016. So it's almost impossible to agree. And that's just in Acapulco. In the last decade, the cartel violence has claimed the lives of well over 100,000
people across the country. And from what I've seen in the mountains, stopping the supply looks
like an unwinnable battle. There is a real serious issue here, and the people that have been brought in to fix things are
definitely doing the job. But through no fault of their own, I don't know if they're doing enough. (somber music) You can hack down a poppy field one day, but if there are five
being planted the next, are you just chasing your own tail? (somber music) There are some serious problems here and I don't think they're
on their way to being fixed and I don't see them being fixed anytime soon, unfortunately. (somber music) Hey, what's this? Sir Gideon! (somber music)
