Some of Mexico's leading drugs traffickers have been killed or captured in recent months, including the head of the powerful Sinaloa cartel. But inside the secretive world of this feared criminal organisation it's clear that it remains as active as ever.
Hector is not what you might expect a drugs smuggler for the Sinaloa cartel to look like. There is no flashy truck and chrome-plated Kalashnikov. Instead, the spry 68-year-old drives a tiny Honda and runs a small convenience store.
But he is the real thing. I had asked a Mexican contact with knowledge of the cartel to introduce me to someone on the inside. For years, Hector has been his guide to the secret workings of the oldest and richest drugs mafia in Mexico.
The Sinaloa cartel - its tide of dirty cash and its pitiless violence - reaches into the police, business, and politics. The arrest in February of the cartel leader, El Chapo "Shorty" Guzman, made little difference to the organisation - there is too much MONEY to be made.
"This place is sick with the narco culture," says my contact. "They have been living with it in Sinaloa for 100 years.