Monica Padman

Los Monos is a monkey.

A monkey.

But what they would use it for is if somebody is bare-complected.

The gringos that spawn, they would call them Los Monos.

Oh, that's interesting.

That's almost a universal racial slur.

There's something comforting about that.

That was what the cartel called us.

They referred to us as the Monos.

But he talked real softly, like with a very low voice and very like the cadence.

Was he even an imposing man or was he just a normal man?

No, he was just very normal looking.

The clothes that he wore, the way he walked, like not trying to make a sound or an impression.

So I look at David like, man, this guy is like the exact opposite of everything that we –

That we thought.

And then, of course, the first thing he says to us is like, hey, this is going to be a one-time meeting and it's going to be real quick because I got to get back to Cali because I'm on standby for Miguel, the head of the cartel.

But as we started to talk and go over things, we ended up being out there three hours that first meeting.

Oh, my God.

Whoa.

Until it got dark.