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cover of episode The Headhunting Burmese Tribe Running the World's Biggest Cartel: The Wa w/ Patrick Winn

The Headhunting Burmese Tribe Running the World's Biggest Cartel: The Wa w/ Patrick Winn

2024/2/6
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The Underworld Podcast

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Patrick Winn
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专注于电动车和能源领域的播客主持人和内容创作者。
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Patrick Winn: 本书探讨了瓦邦(Wa)的毒品贸易及其与美国的关系,以及瓦邦独特的历史和政治背景。瓦邦位于缅甸与中国的边境地区,长期以来以其好战和独立性著称。历史上,瓦邦曾从事过鸦片种植和贩运,并与美国中央情报局(CIA)和美国缉毒署(DEA)发生过复杂的互动。本书重点介绍了魏学刚(Wei Shigong)和刘索(Saul Liu)这两个关键人物,他们代表了瓦邦内部不同的利益和观点。魏学刚是瓦邦毒品贸易的主要负责人,而刘索则试图与DEA合作,使瓦邦摆脱毒品贸易。他们的冲突反映了瓦邦内部的权力斗争以及美国政府内部不同机构之间的矛盾。 Danny Golds: 访谈围绕瓦邦的历史、文化、政治和经济展开,深入探讨了瓦邦的毒品贸易及其对美国的影响。节目中,Patrick Winn 分享了他对瓦邦的深入研究和亲身经历,揭示了瓦邦的复杂性和矛盾性。从猎头传统到与CIA和DEA的复杂关系,再到魏学刚(Wei Shigong)领导下的毒品帝国的兴衰,节目展现了瓦邦独特的历史和政治生态。同时,节目也探讨了瓦邦与中国、缅甸和泰国等周边国家的关系,以及瓦邦在国际毒品贸易中的地位和影响。

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The Wa tribe, historically known for headhunting, has a complex history involving opium production and their autonomous state in Myanmar. They have a reputation as powerful warriors who resist outside control.

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The Wa tribe, an indigenous tribe residing in the mountainous Burma China borderlands, has long had a reputation as a people not to be trifled with. And yes, they were actually headhunters, well into the 20th century. Known as powerful warriors who weren't keen on outsiders telling them what to do, they were able to carve out their own autonomous state in Myanmar despite the ruling junta's militant authoritarianism,

Long before they launched the powerful United Wa State Army in 1989, various warlords had grown opium and sold it to a shadowy group of Chinese dealers known as The Exiles. And then in the late 1980’s, there’s a man that takes the helm. He’s quiet, unassuming, basically an accountant and logistics guy. He’s half Chinese and Half Wa. Not a tough guy cowboy headhunter war lord. But even today, they still speak his name quietly, if at all. Wei Xuegang. And he sets up his heroin trafficking operation to be one of the biggest the world has ever seen. 

Much, much more in this episode, with Patrick Winn, Bangkok based journalist and author of the new book Narcotopia, including various CIA and DEA entanglements, battles with the infamous Khun Sa, and the move to the potent asian methamphetamine pills known as Yaba.

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