San Antonio was home to an infamous drug kingpin responsible for one of the longest prison sieges in the U.S.
Fred Gómez Carrasco was born and raised on the city’s historic Westside. By the early 1970s, he ran a heroin and cocaine empire that extended from Mexico to Chicago. He returned to San Antonio following a brazen escape from a Mexican prison in 1972.
The audio documentary, “The Return of Fred Carrasco,” explores Carrasco’s story and the impact he had on his hometown.
San Antonio native Joseph Tovares, the project’s producer and host, remembers hearing about Carrasco while growing up in the same Westside barrio.
He said many people at the time saw Carrasco as a sort of Chicano hero.
“We were just hungry for someone to root for, and this guy comes along and we latch onto him,” he said. “What’s tragic and ironic is that he was a heroin dealer — he brought a lot of devastation, death, and destruction to our communities through the heroin he [peddled].”
Carrasco met a bitter end after he attempted to escape from the Huntsville Prison, engaging in an 11-day siege during the armed takeover.
Tovares said the exploration into Carrasco caused him to examine his own life and the issues that afflicted the time.
“The small story is Fred Carrasco, and the bigger story is San Antonio and Texas. You can explore themes of race and ethnicity, criminal justice and addiction,” he said. “That’s really what the story is about.”
Tovares will speak about his research on Carrasco at St. Mary’s University on Sept. 23.
Season 1 of “The Return of Fred Carrasco,” is available on podcast platforms. Season 2 is expected early next year. Listen to the podcast below:
