Run by the Venezuelan regime and military, the Cartel del Sol is currently the largest transnational criminal organization in the world, earning trillions of dollars per year from drug and human trafficking, and other crimes. The name derives from the fact that the Venezuelan military wear suns on their uniforms in place of epaulets.

In fact, this cartel oversees better-known criminal groups, including the Tren del Aragua (recently, Colombia's Cali cartel, and Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. Ex-CIA Operative Gary Berntsen lays out the facts: The Cartel del Sol's origin, leadership, and administration—as well as its partnership with Russia and China, both of which help launder drug money in the U.S. and around the globe.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Shot down October 1965, Lt. Commander and naval aviator Porter Halyburton, who was part of Fighter Squadron 84, was helped by local villagers and then taken into custody by the North Vietnamese Army. He was then imprisoned in the infamous Hanoi Hilton and moved to other prisons throughout North Vietnam.

Initially declared dead, Porter describes how he and his fellow POWs forged friendships and developed unique mental exercises to help them cope and survive the deprivation and torture during their years in prison. In 1973, after eight years in captivity, Porter was finally released. The day he left Vietnam he decided to forgive his captors. In his book “Reflections on Captivity” he shares his philosophy of forgiveness and rising above hate. He and wife continue to visit Vietnam.




Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com