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

While patrolling the waterways in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta as Operations Officer, Bill Retz nearly lost his life. Doctors advised him that his navy career was over yet—defying the odds after a difficult recovery—he ultimately rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. Among his commands were the destroyer USS Stump and the Naval War base at Pearl Harbor. As Destroyer Squadron commander he was closely involved in anti-submarine warfare and in early tests of the Tomahawk cruise missile system.




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

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special Forces legend "Tilt" Meyer is back in a special two-part episode, sharing stories from his new book “On The Ground!”

If you joined MACV-SOG–-the Studies and Observations Group—in the 1960s for America's "Secret War" in Laos and Cambodia, the first thing you did was sign an oath to never speak about what happened for 20 years. Now able to speak freely, Tilt shares the sheer adventure and reality of jungle combat. Each SOG team was named after a U.S. state, and they were comprised of both American and local Vietnamese soldiers.

HBH is thrilled to have him back to describe the friendships, firefights, and fortitude of this remarkable fighting group.

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

Retired CIA Operative and government whistleblower Gary Berntsen continues to share insights and details from the results of a four-year investigation into election tampering.

His team’s conclusion: Enemies of the United States including Venezuela, Cuba, China and Serbia have been determining the results of elections in the U.S. since 2006 through the use of electronic systems that they have developed. Using these systems, they now manipulate the results of elections in 72 countries around the world.

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

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Retired CIA Operative and government whistleblower Gary Berntsen reveals the results of a four-year investigation into election tampering. His team’s conclusion: Enemies of the United States including Venezuela, Cuba, China and Serbia have been determining the results of elections in the U.S. since 2006 through the use of electronic systems that they have developed. Using these systems, they now manipulate the results of elections in 72 countries around the world.

Gary Berntsen is arguably the most decorated CIA operations officer in modern times. He is the man who recruited and led the combined CIA-Special Forces teams that helped overthrow the Taliban after the attack of 9/11 and had Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda fighters trapped in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan. He also served as a CIA Station Chief in three counties; led the Hezbollah working group; investigated the East Africa embassy bombings in 1998; and stopped various terrorist attacks around the world.

Gary and his team are now going public with a criminal investigation that will shock the world. The evidence they have assembled is described in a new book by Ralph Pezzullo titled "Stolen Elections: The Plot to Destroy Global Democracy" published by Skyhorse Publishing.

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

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify