[Music]
I've come to a place that's world famous
for being a party
town but I'm going Beyond The Glitz and
the glamour to try and uncover reports
of a notorious underworld all I do is
kill that's all I know how to do scary
mother this is a place where nearly half
the males arrested of traces of cocaine
in their system 5,894 G of cocaine and
some parts of town have seen a 40% rise
in the murder rate are each of you
prepared to kill prepared to
kill I'm in Miami USA one of the world's
toughest
[Applause]
towns
Miami a picture postcard tourist
destination Fame for its features and
its nightlife a mecca for entertainment
with a personality to
match scratch the surface of Miami's
Glitz and Glamour and it reveals a much
darker
picture you'll never have a club where
nobody's doing drugs
it it's not possible anyone that's
looking for drugs in South Beach can
find the
drugs over the last 18 months there's
been an upsurge in gang violence giving
Miami a higher murder rate than New York
and
La I'm here to find out
why that is a spectacular size that's
Miami that's Miami we all know for Miami
Vice and you talk to the the Old Guard
the old cops who ran the beat then and
they say that an awful lot of what you
see here the shiny buildings the great
condos an awful lot of that more than
anybody really wants to admit um was
built on drug
money I'm on my way to meet someone who
knows all about how this City's drug
trade operates a man who single-handedly
built an Empire from the prophets of
cocaine John Roberts was once one of the
biggest importers of cocaine in American
history in the 1980s he imported
approximately $20 billion worth of drugs
would it be true to say that a lot of
the Miami that we see the glitz and the
Glamour the tourist side of Miami the
beach was built on cocaine I would say
on your business 80 to 90% of it was
built on cocaine when I came down here
and I used to go to what's now called
South Beach there was nothing but lines
of old people and Rockers just sitting
there waiting to die you know what I
mean till God or whoever controls
whatever it is your turn to die they'
die and the next old person would get in
the chair and they'd Rock back and forth
so this town was it's fair to say was
built of cocaine I I wouldn't like
somebody to you know argue the other
side and tell me how else it was built
cuz there's no other way there was no
there was no industry in Miami back then
you look back then you didn't have what
you have now there was no industry there
was nothing back then Miami was Miami
was the South Miami wasn't far from Miss
Missippi you know it was real really the
Southern Southern rednecks back then
could paint a picture of the lifestyle
that um this incredible huge incredible
billion dollar business gave you there
was nothing you couldn't do you couldn't
buy we used to eat in a restaurant
called the forge what we had was our own
room I'd go in there with my friends
we'd get [\h__\h] up excuse my English
drunk destroy the room throw drinks
against the wall have parties with girls
on the table and under the table destroy
the place they'd send me the bill the
next day they'd fix the room and I'd
come back a week later we did it every
week but the good times and easy money
didn't come without its fair share of
extreme
violence cocaine everybody's nervous
everybody's uptight everybody's looking
at everybody's strange the people I was
involved with unfortunately Rafa he he
would take a mound to Coke he'd pile it
on the table and he'd have one of his
guys empty the cigarettes out and he
would load it back so this man was a
paranoid schizophrenic I mean you could
be sitting at dinner and the table next
to you would look at you he decide to
kill the whole table and I'm not
exaggerating that's how paranoid the man
was and next thing you knew they'd be
he'd be shooting everybody at the table
next year and you'd be going out the
door you know what I mean you didn't
know it was going to
happen as cocaine became big business so
did the violence as Colombian drug
dealers high on their own Supply shot
each other up up on the streets of the
city this was the era of the Cocaine
Cowboys and it made Miami the murder
capital of
America but in the 21st century there
are new rules of engagement in Miami's
drug trade turning parts of the Town
into a war zone you take me here you see
this you live by it you going to die by
it I don't need my child living and
dying by
this I tell you what you figure it
out after New York and La Miami is the
most popular American tourist
destination not bad for a city that
arose from a swampy flatland a little
more than a hundred years
ago
airp Miami owes its very existence to
the illicit trade in cocaine a trade
whose Workforce has been fueled by the
flow of immigrants into the
city in the past 50 years wave after
wave of migrants have flooded this city
all looking for an opportunity to
flourish in 1980 Fidel Castro tricked
the us into admitting hundreds of Cuba's
most violent criminals before the
authorities knew it was going on Miami's
crimer rate sword this was the era
immortalized in the film scarf
after the Cubans came the Jamaicans who
fought deadly battles with Cuban gangs
for control of the city's drug Market
the latest wave of migrants the Haitians
are now major players in Miami's drug
trade I'm with John Roberts once the
largest cocaine importer in American
history I'm interested in his views on
Haiti's involvement with today's cocaine
trade it's rampant there now it's
rampant now there's murders cuz somebody
looks the wrong way or something you
know it's just stupid out there now
what's interesting is when the Haitians
came over here the black
African-Americans they hated them AB
100% correct the Haitians became like
what the Jamaicans used to be now the
Haitians have taken over because their
capacity of violence is as great as any
else yes and they have much more Force
there's not that many Jamaicans here
compared to Haitians in numbers alone
they outnumber
them so that that's why the Haitians
have pushed them
out in Miami's drug trade joh was a
major player but he wasn't selling the
drugs on the street that was left to The
Gangs to sort out whose rule is the
barrel of a gun and the ones with the
most guns right now and a willingness to
use them are a Haitian gang known as the
Z pound which roughly translates as
Haitian to the Bone their notoriety has
spanned nearly two decades I've heard
stories of extreme brutality Street
executions and voodoo rituals they
reside in the suburb which has become
known as Little Haiti about a 10-minute
drive from the tourist areas of South
Beach even though most visitors to Miami
wouldn't dream of going to this
neighborhood cocaine has an inescapable
presence in this city it was discovered
that 78% of all dollar bills Miami
contain traces of cocaine the highest in
the entire
country I'm with the city of Miami
Police and I'm with their gang unit
specialist gang unit they're going to
take me a tour of the city's Gangland
hotspot they're also going to take me to
Little Haiti and they're going give me a
little insight as to where Zan fit into
a matrix of Gangland violence in this
the city of
Exiles what strikes me almost
immediately is just within a few blocks
we leave the glitzy skyscrapers of
downtown Miami and enter a whole
different different world it's still
daytime but there's a probable sense of
tension on these
streets this is the kind of New York
version of the projects around here this
here yeah this is the project right here
a lot of Narcotics a lot of guns in this
area a lot of driveby shootings up here
and right here in Little Haiti what's
the what what's the weapon of choice
among uh The Gangs here and the drug
dealers in Z pound the AK-47 which the
uh street name for it here is a chopper
we're on the outskirts of Little Haiti
and it feels like anything can happen at
any
moment here sure enough two streets away
a drug dealer is about to have a
surprise
visit both marijuana and cocaine
all that for weed je all this for a
little bit of weed see it right there
bro
marijuana these simultaneous incidents
show that no matter how big or small the
quantity Miami police force has a zero
tolerance when it comes to
drugs
when people talk to us about uh Z pound
I got a sense that they were created you
know from a from different DNA different
ingredients to other gangs the crimes
they committed were you know hennies
they were really really really bad
compared to the normal type of crime we
were used to scene as far as the gang
aspect goes of it was it the sense that
when the Zan started kind of organizing
was it a sense that they were quicker to
pull the trigger than anyone else I mean
what was it about their crimes that set
them apart they're just letting you know
their roof less yeah you know that
that's that's their nature um for what
reason I don't know but you know they're
just they are you know A step
above the other individual they are
right here right here right here right
here right here right here uh don't get
up they walking away Kevin brother
Kevin is this man hey over here
everybody put your hands on the car to
me these guys look like a bunch of kids
hanging out after school but I'm
informed they are in fact Affiliated to
another local Street gang fre
five and the Gang uniters aren't about
to take any chances split your [\h__\h] on
camera what's wrong with you
[\h__\h] [\h__\h] put your hands
anywhere I can't see them again the
police informed me that this girl
Jennifer was a target of a driveby
shooting only last
week so what happened so was shoo they
just shooting at us yeah and why do you
think they shooting at you I don't even
know who would want to shoot at you guys
I don't know punks yeah punks don't got
no lives and you guys are School you
school yeah we go to school stay in
school yeah I'm and
uh and how old are you me yeah 18 15
yeah this is CCTV footage of Jennifer
and the actual drive by
shooting even though the bullets went
through the window of a local library no
one was
injured the police investigation
revealed Jennifer was selling drugs on
someone else's Turf in these parts of
Miami that's a crime punishable by death
what do you want to do who do you want
to be when you grow up graic designer
graphic designer yes yeah yeah I love
drawing yeah yeah but I don't think I'm
going to make it then all the records I
got too much fun in me sir well too many
Drive buys you're definitely not going
to make it man I hope I end up getting
killed one day I don't like this world
this world getting too hard for me for
real it's too rough out
here it's amazing once in one you know
they they're just kids you know but you
know you talk to the officers here and
you know their records their subject of
drive by shootings drug deals think
they're 15 what future do they
have teenagers like Jennifer are being
sucked into gang life with little
prospects of ever getting out it seems
the gangs have a strong grip on the
city I'm on my way to meet one of Miami
top crime journalist Frank Alvarado to
find out more about the influence of Z
pound the newest and deadliest gang in
the
city my understanding is is that
zound um like a lot some of the other
gangs they started really coming over
after ' 92 after the military coup in
Haiti forc the max Exodus of Haitians
over you know here to Miami and I guess
shortly after like they arrived here
zound through fear and intimidation they
were just taken over the streets of
Little Haiti and it's not unusual when
the police show took homicide scene to
find 50 casings on the floor because
their the motorcy ring behind zound is
to you know empty their guns everybody
that's in the car has to empty their
guns Frank has an idea about a possible
route into the Z pound through an ex-
gang member called Bulldog Bulldog has
made a name for himself in Miami after
appearing in a number of lowbudget
feature films
ah yes here's our
boy
Bulldog he'll get you the zound for
sure ladies and gentlemen give it up
presenting to you from around the world
the ghetto president bu dog I'm the GTO
president every city I represent my
presid stop arguments has agreed to meet
me but there's a catch he wants to do it
in the heart of Little Haiti and I've
Been Told to come
alone here at the streets are run by
numerous Haitian gangs the Z pound being
the most feared and dominant this area
is life with unemployment and the
perfect place for gang culture to
flourish it's disconcerting to think
that I'm only 10 minutes away from the
affluent tour strip of South
Beach the Chef creol Restaurant is a
focal point for the community here
serving traditional patient
food bu Mac everyone calls it's Donald
everyone calls me mac how you doing all
right Ma how you doing hi Mac I'm Kila
Kila how you doing do man introduction
on camera yeah well you know it's all
good hey you know you're my passport you
know into this world I'm like the GTO
resident they call me you know I was
real wild in the streets you know bullet
holes everywhere
where here here went in here come out
back there I went I was under my legs I
was paralyzed for 6 months you know the
guys were shooting at you how are they
doing are they still alive they're not
doing that good you know yeah I mean
without incriminating yourself you know
are they breathing oxygen or are they
are they taking nitrogen what are they
doing it's a long time ago though you
know all of got got dealt with you have
to earn your respect on these
streets well that's um that's a bulldog
and uh
yeah see what whether he kind of opens
the door for us into this whole world of
uh Z
pound yo blind this Bulldog man I got a
film crew here man from UK I'm trying to
bring him to Zan man I need you to open
some doors for me to get the The Zo
BR all right so I'm going to meet you a
little bit and then we do some
introductions from there all right I
want you to bring you
arm Bulldog tells me to follow him to an
undisclosed
location road's blocked by a police car
up here but that guy more or less said
I'm a
killer and this story
that zop pound is more complex than the
amount of bodies and the amount of drugs
that they've shifted over the
years I hope this gang will give me an
insight into how the city's drug economy
Works Hardy driving are more
prowling and uh he's waving at people he
knows and he's making his presence
felt and um his presence means that our
presence isn't a threat to anybody so
that man's our passport and also He's
our safety
net in a quiet back street in Little
Haiti we
wait some members of the Z pound will
come and find
us what you already know just blind
suddenly the Z pound appear almost out
of nowhere and they keep
coming I hadn't expected to see them in
such
numbers these guys have earned their
reputation as one of Miami's most
violent gangs by using deadly force to
control this neighborhood Prime real
estate for lucrative drug
dealing good man I was soon about to see
for myself why this gang is so
feared why would you want to torture me
color your eyes I might don't like the
way you look I might not like the way
you smell today I'm just a angry
[\h__\h] I'm in Miami investigating
the deadly drugs trade a black market
economy that has helped to build this
city into a glamorous World
destination I've gone to Little Haiti
only a 10-minute Drive North from
Miami's iconic beaches but here the city
has a very different
feel
my contact bulldog has brought me face
to face with Z
pound the latest in a long line of
immigrants who have arrived in the city
chasing the American dream through
violence so did the did the police come
around by here all the time looking for
you guys are giving you guys hassle they
come over here trying to hassle us
period Point Blank this is the hood man
they [\h__\h] with us every day man I've
been getting Tex day where is the money
to be made is it dealing inside the
community with the crackheads Hispanic
doing with the JAMA business is being
conducted on all levels all types of
people of all walks of life business is
business so when I say business is
business for all people that understand
that you understand business is
business evidence of recent Drive buys
are apparent when some gang members
patrolling the area
arrive zp for Life sir this real that's
real sir bullet ho sir CHP of bullet sir
DP Bab
baby AK47 live sir yeah [\h__\h] the hot
boy go and let the people know what have
to happen sometime man around here man
you can easy get click clack ain't no
coming back from
that now you you been in the wars uh you
don't want me ask you about your scars
there well this happened before I got
with the this happened when I was young
I don't want my son being 15 to have to
endure what I Endure this here I was in
a wheelchair my mom cried days and
nights and I had to witness my homeboy
Mama Crying by never ever seeing their
children again so I wouldn't want that
for mine you take me here you see this
here you live by it you going to die by
dying by this you feel me plain and
simple you live by it you going to die
by it I don't need my child living and
dying by that that's a choice I made and
trust me that's a choice sometimes I go
to bed with can't sleep about sometimes
cuz I got a conscience like any other
man has a
conscience with the evolution of Zan
ain't going to be what it start off we
started off as gangsters but we ain't
going to end it up as gangsters but at
the same time no cross us cuz you will
get [\h__\h] up all dude
Mac I'm introduced to another gang
member who has turned up with his son
and what's zound about killing
[\h__\h] all I do is kill that's all I
know how to do eat sleep [\h__\h] and kill
really simple I do what I do best and is
that is that obviously for business
you're not just doing it for kicks for
pleasure you're not doing it for just
for pleasure
pleasure do I believe that I take
pleasure in torturing [\h__\h]
really yes I would take pleasure in
getting out right now and torturing you
if I could why why would you want to
torture
me color your eyes yeah I might don't
like the way you look I might not like
the way you smell
today how many do you think you've
you''ve uh uh taken down over the years
if you don't mind me asking I lost count
by the time I turned 21 I lost count
personally I like to use my knife I like
to be personal with it it's nothing it's
nothing more it's nothing more exciting
than watching the person take their last
breath you know the look in their eyes
when they realize their life is
over and this is your son here is it
this is my son and you don't mind to
hear him does he know about your
lifestyle he know what I do and and what
do you want for him would you mind if he
followed in your footsteps or do you
want something different for him I
prefer a better life for him that's what
I do what I do so he can have a better
life yeah I feel if I exterminate enough
of you [\h__\h] out there by the time he
grow up he wouldn't have no problems
yeah I'm just a angry [\h__\h]
angry well it's hard to get a sense that
uh uh Z pound is just a gang or a drug
dealing business it seems to have a huge
amount of support right across the
community here in N Haiti you know and
here these are you know uh some of the
senior figures in the community you know
and one of the guys just show me blind
showed me a gun and that's five to 10
years and I think they're pretty open
about their street activities which
about drugs and everything associated
with that that's murders killings and uh
revenge and
retribution do you know what some of
them are scary [\h__\h]
[\h__\h] I noticed a t-shirt being
worn proudly by a gang member and I was
about to find out who's pulling the
strings you going to tell me who this is
this man CL yeah this is a this is a
tough man isn't it yeah good man you
know and where is he now lock down lock
down yeah he in
jail I'm told macazo the gang's leader
has been charged with four counts of
murder
to understand what makes this gang so
ruthless on the streets of Miami it's
important to understand where they've
come
from these are the streets of Haiti's
Capital Porto Prince one of the most
dangerous places on Earth this is where
the Z pound were
forged ever since the Haitians freed
themselves From Slavery and gained their
independence over 200 years ago the
country has been in a constant state of
chaos and violent
unrest in September 1991 thousands of
Haitians were killed in vicious Street
battles after the country's newly
elected president was
overthrown it was a ferocious and bloody
coup causing a mass Exodus of refugees
seeking asylum in the
US they were not welcome those that did
get into the country bound together and
settled in what was to become known as
Little
Haiti L has decided he wants to show me
a different side of Haitian culture away
from the gangs he wants to take me to
meet his mother-in-law a voodoo
priestess the Miami 54 Street is like
the first place you come to in Miami if
you Haitian Little Haiti 54th
Street put together you already know buy
is in embedded in Haitian culture I
don't practice it's part of my culture
man looking around it seems that Voodoo
and Christianity have merged to become
one religion how important is it here
you know that the is very important to
us especially the haian people and what
does it mean is it kind of the spirit
within the haian community is it's
Voodoo is very strong now you're you're
a voodoo priestess with would that be
fair enough okay now that's just it
seems to me you must carry a lot of
stress cuz if you're trying to take a
lot of pain from other people it's got
to go somewhere they not me I do not
take it my spirit take it my spirit do
the work not
me because if there was for me how you
think I could do a work like that I have
to call my spirit first to do the work
so what can you do you can heal you can
nurture can you me I do everything only
thing I don't do I do not kill people
okay anybody who's sick they're welcome
so if we want to get a voodoo blessing
sense from you you can do it for you do
for me
yes that is nothing bad on it you see
you could smell
it it's very strong but it's good it's
obviously been decided that everyone
could do with a good look topup and I
can see why when you live on the main
streets of little hazy you're going to
need all the luck you can
get that's my girlfriend that's your
girlfriend my
$86 Voodoo good luck charm the spell has
been cast but you know what it's um I do
uplifted real or imaginary in my head or
in the spirit world I don't know it
makes me feel good for a moment I have
to remind myself that I'm still in Miami
prayers go up blessings come
down back amongst the tourists in South
Beach it's hard to imagine that the Z
pound are only 10 minutes up the road
but this short Journey makes me think
that there are two cities within Miami
and I wanted to understand how the Two
Worlds came
together were visitors to Miami
inadvertently mixing with gangs like
zound by looking for a good time amongst
the bars and clubs of South
Beach Miami Beach is a is an interesting
place because you'll see a little bit of
everything um from the street level
stuff to the the highend nightclub you
know designer party drugs you'll never
have a club where nobody's doing drugs
it it's not
possible you'll have some dope Peddlers
that'll come over they'll take the bus
they'll drive over from some of the
areas on the mainland like Little Haiti
and they'll they'll end up here and
they'll sell their marijuana and their
cocaine and stuff uh uh street level
sales to people here on South Beach I
think that's the whole reason a lot of
these clubs exist is because of coke and
meth that's the drug people are going to
be on and they're going to be awake and
they want to
party back with the Z pound Bulldog's
been in contact he tells me the gang are
Keen to show me what life is like when
they're selling drugs on the
street they insist I must meet them
tonight my rendevu is outside and unlike
the English pub in the middle of Haiti
called Churchills and to my surprise I
find an unexpected friendly face in the
form of the local
doorman you don't mind me saying it's a
bit bizarre to hear an English accent in
the middle of kind of Little Haiti when
I first started the first 6 months yeah
I'll be honest I was scared as [\h__\h] I'd
be sitting here like this cars would
pull up with tinted windows and I'd be
thinking about it like God you know they
could roll a window down because we've
been with some of the Zan and let me
tell you they're packing yeah but I mean
me they're carrying right every now and
again like I said it will go off whether
it's a shooting shops fired a lot of it
is what I call territory we have a nice
car park here they're trying to muscle
in on the car park charging the people a
dollar or
two I live in the hood I live just a few
blocks up the street even when I drive
home even though I know people know me
I'm always like I got my key ready to go
in my gate once I'm in my gate I feel
safe but I'm always
alert Chris's views on Little Haiti only
reinforced a sense of ention I feel in
this
neighborhood it's not long until I get
the call I've been waiting for we've
been dragged to the back streets of
Little Haiti it's their part of the hood
it's their part of the world and I don't
know what's going to go on but they're
Keen to bring us to a house I think
across there and they're having a big
meeting I think they're Keen just to say
that their talk has not been cheap and
that they are the real deal you know I
mean the casualties on these streets
tell us they're the real deal the rest
of the drug dealers and ex drug dealers
in this town tell us they're the real
deal and they're Keen to let us know but
what we're going to see and what's going
to happen I don't know Bulldog
appears I don't want to put y'all in
that okay I mean to the point Bulldog's
not comfortable with the situation he
doesn't think it's safe for us to go
inside but this is what I've come for
and I'm not keen to turn back
now
hi
buddy no one's going to be seeing we're
not going to show any faces there has
been a change of mind they don't want us
to
enter Bulldog seems tense as we return
to the
car but out of the darkness Jay dog a
gang member I'd met earlier in the day
approaches he has some new instructions
to take me to an unknown
destination while we're traveling I take
the opportunity to ask him about the Z
pounds leader
Mao you know what makes himself special
I mean he's just a guy that just don't
give a [\h__\h] um he's
100% goo go what do that man gangster
gangster yeah you know I mean all the
boys 100% gangster there is you know
there's no flawed flawed [\h__\h] in our
camp I can say you know cuz everybody
keep a ganger and keep it 100 100%
gangster all day every day and does that
mean sticking together together and
having no fear sticking together having
no fear getting money I mean all around
the board what makes what makes you
gangster is what you do and how you do
what you do you know what I'm saying so
mag Gazo he's doing his time and you
know with no pressure on his back he's
just doing it you
know I'm not sure what kind of place
I've been brought to even Bulldog is on
edge I over here one of the gang members
talking on the phone to
macazo whatever they have planned it
seems it has to be run past their leader
for him to endorse from his own prison
cell some of the Zan foot soldiers have
agreed to meet with me a quick glance
tells me these guys are different from
the other gang members I've met so far
these are the guys that sell dope
directly onto the streets and have to
protect their patch with the barrel of a
gun but needless to say they wouldn't
tell me any details of that even
operation so guys Zan what does it mean
to you is it a political movement or is
it just a family I mean tell me what it
means 360 good good answer so what does
it mean to you for you zound you know
what it means to me means life without
zound it would have been no name for
nobody in my but for the sers that are
for you it brought Unity for us it was a
it was a time where Haitians couldn't
even walk these streets you feel me for
you to walk these streets you have to
have balls and you have to represent
where you from without represen where
you from you ain't [\h__\h] you feel me so
we had to come up with a click you know
what I'm saying they came up with a
click zound a couple of areas we had to
go in do what we do you feel me cuz
without respect you ain't [\h__\h] you feel
me and I hear a lot of people say Hey
you know respect don't make a man and
this and that you know what I'm saying I
tell you what you figure it out with
guns without
Z you feel me I mean it's like that you
feel that so if you carry a gun it seems
to me in this neighborhood you have to
either kill or be prepared to kill be
prepared to kill okay is that true you
carry gun in this town on this block you
have to be prepared to kill prepared to
kill are each of you prepared to kill
prepared to kill yeah have any of you
killed you going to
say know I'm
say not not but but you have if you're
on the block with a gun you got to be
prepared to kill yeah all
day
just as suddenly as they made their
appearance I'm told my time is up and I
have to
leave you here just come out of the
meeting with the guys AK-47s glar you
know these are guys who have killed I
mean there's probably you know it's not
a hysterical assumption on my behalf you
know you know very likely those guys
have you know B bagged you know four or
five people maybe much more you know I'm
there it feels all cartoon it feels like
a performance art and you know because
I've seen so much of that in in the
movies I'm thinking I'm seeing another
part of a movie set that's [\h__\h] real
they were there tonight that performance
was put on on the orders by macazo and
he's the main man he's the Serpent's
head who's locked
up to try and really understand Miami
and how a gang like Z pound works I need
to get access to macazo inside his
prison cell but he's serving a double
life sentence for murder so this isn't
going to be
easy Miami a City built on the profits
of cocaine and propelled by a constantly
shifting underclass of immigrants all
seeking their own slice of the American
dream for many in this underclass crime
and gangs offer the fastest way out of
the ghetto real Heyday of crime in this
city was um in the 80s when these
tourist areas around here were
practically noo areas now the police
clamped down and moved the crime and uh
and they dispersed the criminals and the
muggers and the drug dealing from this
tourist area and it just moves it back
into the UN City the crime hasn't gone
away it's just
relocated I'm here investigating the
latest immigrant gang to have stamped
its mark on the city a deadly Haitian
gang known as the
zand I've learned that they're major
players on the distribution side of the
drug trade in this city last night I met
with some of their foot soldiers the
guys that work the streets and protect
their
Turf I'm now about to meet their leader
macazo macazo is currently serving a
live sentence for four counts of
attempted murder and two counts for
conspiracy to commit murder he's
appealing these
convictions this is uh Dade County
Prison this is the pre-trial detention
unit and we're about to meet macazo the
head of Z pound now we know last night
when they put on a show of for Force for
us that macazo had arrange that entire
um event here uh in prison we're about
to meet his lawyer and himself it's
going to be very sensitive cuz he's
facing some serious
charges macazo has already already spent
the last 6 years behind
bonds I've been granted an interview on
the condition that I meet him in the
presence of his lawyer I'm MAC how you
doing I'm ma to how you doing I'm very
well ma obviously his lawyer doesn't
want macazo to say anything that would
endanger his appeal as you know we're
over doing a um a story about Zan first
of
all how's jail I jail is hard I mean but
you know hanging in there yeah it's hell
but you know got to survive what is
zound status for you for me I
mean pride thing to be proud a movement
a cause you know that's what we fought
for I mean I know you got you know a lot
of things negative things that they say
about Z pound and and for me to sit here
and you know like I'm a saint or Angel
you know I'll be fooling myself and
fooling y'all with which I'm not but I
mean I had my little runin or whatever
and but mainly the movement was more for
a cause fighting for our people and and
just standing for them you know just
wanting to see them be proud of who they
are you know growing up on the streets
what you had to go through it's it
surprises me that so many of your
characters are still alive because it's
sometimes it's dangerous place there
yeah it's a rough life you know wouldn't
wish this life on no one
with his appeal looming I understand
that Mazo has to be on his best behavior
but it's difficult for me to marry the
man I've just met to the ruthless
gangster the police believe he
is before I leave Miami I head back to
Little Haiti to meet Bulldog I asked him
to fill in the blanks for me now on the
subject of maazel he's at the top of the
tree he's a god OG Original Gangster
he's in for three attempted murder MERS
any number of disan so they say right
but anybody who gets what I hear on the
streets that guy is not to be [\h__\h]
with not to be [\h__\h] with of course
being a is a nobody gets the top of a
tree like that unless of a long body can
to his name lots of but thees on your
gun but to be realistic to to be
realistic with you ain't too many
[\h__\h] people running these streets
that don't have a lot of body counts
macazo is a living legend out here if it
wasn't for macazo and his generation man
this Haitian Community still be running
around here getting kicked in their ass
it's it's bad being black and poor in
America but being black Haitian and poor
there's nothing worse than that
man for some the only way to Miami's
riches is through the illicit drugs
tray the Haitians are the latest
arrivals and it's their struggle for a
market share that's given rise to the
rate it's a dangerous world and the ones
at the bottom the foot soldiers often
pay the ultimate
price when opportunities are sparse many
feel they have no
alternative around here man you can easy
get click clack ain't no coming back
from
that
I came to Miami to investigate why this
town has such a spiraling murder
rate but I can't help feeling that Miami
Skyline stands Testament to the fact
that crime does sometimes
pay in this city of Exiles that message
does not go unnoticed as everyone looks
for a fast track out of the
ghetto this is the gang culture
mentality in the USA and it's not about
to change anytime
soon