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The Fort Bragg Cartel

Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces

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The Fort Bragg Cartel

Written by: Seth Harp
Narrated by: Dan John Miller
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About this listen

 INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A New Yorker Best Book of 2025
A Forbes Best True Crime Book of 2025

“Probably the most gripping, memorable, eye-opening book I’ve read in months.” —David Wallace-Wells, The New York Times

“Propulsive.” —The Washington Post

“Engrossing. . . . Truly shocking.” —The New Republic

“The most mind-blowing piece of investigative journalism I’ve read since Chaos.” —Spike Carter, Air Mail

A groundbreaking investigation into a string of unsolved murders at America’s premier special operations base, and what the crimes reveal about drug trafficking and impunity among elite soldiers in today’s military

In December 2020, a deer hunter discovered two dead bodies that had been riddled with bullets and dumped in a forested corner of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. One of the dead men, Master Sergeant William “Billy” Lavigne, was a member of Delta Force, the most secretive “black ops” unit in the military. A deeply traumatized veteran of America’s classified assassination program, Lavigne had done more than a dozen deployments in his lengthy career, was addicted to crack cocaine, dealt drugs on base, and had committed a series of violent crimes before he was mysteriously killed. The other victim, Chief Warrant Officer Timothy Dumas, was a quartermaster attached to the Special Forces who used his proximity to clandestine missions to steal guns and traffic drugs into the United States from abroad, and had written a blackmail letter threatening to expose criminality in the special operations task force in Afghanistan.

As soon as Seth Harp, an Iraq war veteran and investigative reporter, begins looking into the double murder, he learns that there have been many more unexplained deaths at Fort Bragg recently, other murders connected to drug trafficking in elite units, and dozens of fatal overdoses. Drawing on declassified documents, trial transcripts, police records, and hundreds of interviews, Harp tells a scathing story of narco-trafficking in the Special Forces, drug conspiracies abetted by corrupt police, blatant military cover-ups, American complicity in the Afghan heroin trade, and the pernicious consequences of continuous war. Crime Military Murder Organized Crime Politics & Government Public Policy True Crime
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Everything we know, I know, is a lie. This book shattered my soul. I knew MOST of the info talked about in the book but the absolute corruption and criminality of the SOF described in this book has broken me. I have no faith in America or the West.

BEWARE OF AUTHOR BIAS: the author is EXTREMELY biased against Trump, makes excuses for Obama…. Typical left wing ideologue. I had to bite my lip and roll my eyes at a couple parts. I’m not denying the corruption of Trump but the excuses made to make Obama seem less evil is…. Laughable.

Author also has an obsession with crying about minorities in the military…. Great book but an obvious political and woke ideology behind this book

Great book, soul crushing information. Extreme author bias and woke ideology

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Great book and a fascinating subject. Certainly seems like this is just the tip of the iceberg of what is going on in the unaccountable, deadly, drug-fueled world of Fort Bragg. Once a government commits to covering up war crimes, it isn't a shock that its institutions choose to cover up the same activities at home.

Terrifying Glimpse into an Unaccountable World

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Seth Harp really knocked this out of the park. Do yourself a favor and pick this up. you won't put it down until it's done.

compelling

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Very unnerving details in this book, important reporting and essential for anyone looking to understand military complicity with drug trafficking.

Important reporting

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I’m forever griping that there is no written material worth giving up time for. Not anymore. This book ticks all the boxes…story line, research, command of the English language and a pervasive passion that underlines every word. This is a huge book and should be assigned reading in American schools.

Be prepared to be transported!

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