CHICANO SQUAD
Five young officers. Hundreds of homicides. A city on the brink.
Forty years ago, Houston's Latino community was plagued by discrimination, police violence and a growing number of unsolved murders.
With tensions between police and the community at their peak, five young officers were placed in an audacious experiment: A new all-Latino homicide squad, with little training and few resources, assigned to solve the city’s most vicious crimes.
Chicano Squad tells the true story of these men, their divided loyalties, and a city on the brink.
Hosted by Cristela Alonzo and Produced with the Vox Media Podcast Network.
CRISTELA ALONZO - HOST
Cristela Alonzo is a comedian, writer and advocate that recently served as a Latina surrogate on the Biden-Harris Presidential campaign. She has made TV/Film history twice as the first Latina to write, produce, and star in a network sitcom (Cristela) and the first Latina to star in a Disney Pixar film (Cars 3). Her stand-up special called “Lower Classy” is currently streaming on Netflix. Aside from entertainment, Cristela focuses on advocacy work, particularly fighting for issues affecting immigration, universal healthcare and lower income communities. She works with numerous organizations including Special Olympics Texas, People for the United Way, Planned Parenthood, LUPE (La Union del Pueblo Entero) and serves as advisory board member for Define American.
EVA RUTH MORAVEC
Eva Ruth Moravec is a freelance writer who has covered criminal justice for more than 15 years. She is also the co-founding executive director of the Texas Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that maintains a portal for data on the state’s criminal justice system. Eva Ruth started reporting at weekly newspapers before joining the San Antonio Express-News and later The Associated Press. Her investigative series, “Point of Impact,” highlighted shootings by police of unarmed Texans and ran in three daily newspapers. Eva Ruth’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Atlantic and ProPublica as well as numerous Texas publications.