Beyond Black Ops: Ric Prado’s Life and Untold Stories of Espionage

Robert Young Pelton sits down with Enrique “Ric” Prado, a decorated CIA officer whose covert work shaped decades of U.S. paramilitary operations. Known for his leadership in the Contra War, counterterrorism missions, and the development of modern “find, fix, finish” kill teams, Prado’s life reads like a spy thriller.

Pelton and Prado share a mutual friend, CIA legend Billy Waugh , who goes beyond what was allowed in his best-selling book and takes the audience into uncharted, dangerous, and never-before-discussed territory.

A Childhood in the Crossfire

•  Early Life in Cuba: Ric’s idyllic small-town upbringing was disrupted by armed raids from the mountains.
•  First Taste of Combat: Watching firefights through the window as a boy, learning early lessons in survival.
•  Operation Peter Pan: At age 10, separated from his parents and sent alone to the U.S., enduring life in a Catholic orphanage in Colorado.

Miami Streets and Martial Arts Discipline

•  Growing up small and tough in Miami during a turbulent era of Cuban immigration.
•  Learning English, navigating racial tensions, and surviving street fights.
•  Introduction to martial arts and early exposure to tough crowds, including friends tied to organized crime.

 The Shadow of Felipe Vidal

•  For the first time, we learn of a famous Iran-Contra shadow figure. A rebel, assassin, and childhood friend of Prado: Felipe Vidal. 
•  Vidal’s family history with anti-Castro operations and exile politics.
•  Vidal’s role linking CIA operations to Miami’s covert smuggling world, and his mysterious disappearance in the early ’90s.  Vidal is interviewed by numerous journalists in Costa Rica, is wrongly blamed for a failed assassination attempt, and vanishes. 

From Para Rescue to Paramilitary

•  Ric rises above the mean streets of Miami. First as a paramedic, then as an Air Force Pararescueman (PJ), I mastered survival, combat medicine, and covert insertions.
•  Work as a Miami firefighter/paramedic while training with Special Forces.
•  First CIA contact in the 1970s, leading to contract work with the Special Activities Division in Central America. 

The Contra War in Central America

Robert Young Pelton is a Canadian-American author, journalist, filmmaker, and adventurer known for his conflict reporting and for venturing alone into some of the world's most dangerous and remote areas to chronicle history-shaping events. His work often involves interviewing military and political figures in war zones and spending time embedded with various groups, including the Taliban, Northern Alliance, CIA operatives, al Qaeda, and Blackwater .

He has been present at numerous conflicts, from Ukraine to the the Battle of Grozny and from Qali Jangi in Afghanistan to the rebel siege of Monrovia in Liberia.

Pelton is the author of several books, most notably the New York Times bestselling guide, "The World's Most Dangerous Places," which provides information for navigating high-risk zones. He has also written "Come Back Alive," a survival guide, and his autobiography, "The Adventurist: My Life in Dangerous Places". His work includes feature stories for National Geographic, Men’s Journal, Foreign Policy and Vice. He has worked as a contributing editor for National Geographic Adventure and has worked for major media networks like Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, CBS's 60 Minutes, ABC Investigative Division, and CNN.

Pelton is also the founder of DPx Gear, a company that designs rugged survival tools and knives based on his field experiences.