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El Sicario: The Autobiography of a Mexican Assassin
In this unprecedented and chilling monologue, a repentant Mexican hitman tells the unvarnished truth about the war on drugs on the American. El Sicario is the hidden face of America's war on drugs. He is a contract killer who functioned as a commandante in the Chihuahuan State police, who was trained in the US by the FBI, and who for twenty years kidnapped, tortured and murdered people for the drug industry at the behest of Mexican drug cartels. He is a hit man who came off the killing fields alive. He left the business and turned to Christ. And then he decided to tell the story of his life and work. Charles Bowden first encountered El Sicario while reporting for the book "Murder City". As trust between the two men developed, Bowden bore witness to the Sicario's unfolding confession, and decided to tell his story. The well-spoken man that emerges from the pages of El Sicario is one who has been groomed by poverty and driven by a refusal to be one more statistic in the failure of Mexico. He is not boastful, he claims no major standing in organized crime. But he can explain in detail not only torture and murder, but how power is distributed and used in the arrangement between the public Mexican state and law enforcement on the ground - where terror and slaughter are simply tools in implementing policy for both the police and the cartels. And he is not an outlaw or a rebel. He is the state. When he headed the state police anti-kidnapping squad in Juarez, he was also running a kidnapping ring in Juarez. When he was killing people for money in Juarez, he was sharpening his marksmanship at the Federal Police range. Now he lives in the United States as a fugitive. One cartel has a quarter million dollar contract on his head. Another cartel is trying to recruit him. He speaks as a free man and of his own free will - there are no charges against him. He is a lonely voice - no one with his background has ever come forward and talked. He is the future - there are thousands of men like him in Mexico and there will be more in other places. He is the truth no one wants to hear.
345 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2011
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August 18, 2016
"The sicario takes us to the real Latin America, not a place of magical realism, but a place of murderous realism."
Me gusto el libro, odie la historia que cuenta.
Siempre lo he dicho, si quieren leer gore o crueldad, no es necesario buscar en la ficción, léanse un libro con relatos de la realidad del narcotráfico y estos si que te enchinan la piel.
La estructura de la historia en si es muy mala, la narrativa y traducción nos quedan debiendo. Como libro solo merecería 2 estrellas. Pero hay que reconocer el valor de ambos autores y del mismo Sicario, para atreverse a hacer publica esta historia, especialmente si tenemos en cuenta lo mucho que se señala la culpa del gobierno mexicano.
"What is increasingly clear is that if this is a war, it is being waged, at least in part, by powerful forces of the Mexican government against poor and marginalized sectors of the Mexican people."
Al principio tenemos 50 paginas de pura presentación, si no conoces nada de el narcotráfico en México si te ayuda a en entender el contexto de la historia, pero si como yo ya sabes bien como es eso la verdad esas paginas son de lo mas tediosas.
Cuando llega el momento de conocer el Sicario, toda la historia te envuelve, y te mete de lleno a ese mundo, el protagonista divide sus anecdotas en niñez, adolescencia, hombre, e hijo de dios.
La niñez: Nada fuera de lo común, es triste si, pero no es taaaaan malo como yo esperaba. Viene de una familia de bajos recursos, pero nunca le falto amor o comida.
La adolescencia: El protagonista es ingenuo pero también vale madrista. Sabe que lo que hace esta mal, pero lo hace porque le vale. Hasta cierto punto entendí las malas decisiones que tomo, porque cuando tenemos esa edad todos, y digo todos hicimos muchas estupideces, obviamente a el le presentan la oportunidad de trabajar para el narcotráfico de una forma sencilla y la toma.
Hombre-Sicario: Aquí viene uno de mis grande problemas con la historia. A mi lo que mas curiosidad me daba y lo que realmente quería saber, a detalle, es ese momento exacto en el que el protagonista decide matar a alguien, el que sintió o como fue ese preciso momento en el que pierde su alma por dinero.
Pero no lo vemos a claridad.
El protagonista tiene una intervención con sus hermanos, lo cual no termine de entender bien. Los hermanos lo culpa a el por la enfermedad de la mama, le dicen que ya no le pagaran la universidad y le dan un ultimátum. El prota decide abandonar la universidad y se mete a la academia de policía.
En un principio yo creí que lo estaba haciendo para reformarse y ayudar a su mama, pero NO. En realidad el entra a la policía con en el único motivo de seguir trabajando para el narco.
Ya había escuchado esto en documentales, que los narcos reclutan a ex soldaos, o ex policías. Pero aquí nos muestra que va mas allá, que el narco manda a su gente a que los entrenen. El prota esta estudiando en la academia de día y en la noche se va de fiesta con los narcos, y recibe muy buen dinero, en ese momento el no hace ningún trabajo para el cartel, simplemente ayudarlos a reclutar mas gente de la policía.
Que esperanza tenemos si en realidad estamos pagando con nuestros impuestos el entrenamiento de personas que vana a huzar esos conocimientos para matarnos????
El protagonista se gradúa de la academia de policía, no nos cuenta bien que pasa después simplemente se salta a contarnos cuando el ya es parte de este Súper Equipo de matones. Y se toma su tiempo explicándonos y PRESUMIENDONOS lo bien que realizaban sus trabajos, y lo fregoncísimo que era ese grupo.
Describe a detalle métodos de tortura, formas de matar a alguien y demás cosas que le pagan por hacer y que el simplemente hacia porque seguía ordenes.
Hijo de Dios: Al Final este tipejo se arrepiente y se vuelve Cristiano.
No le creí lo del cambio, ni siquiera entendemos bien como se da dichoso cambio. Un día decide dejar de drogarse y emborracharse. Por qué? Quien sabe nada mas por que si. Curiosamente a pesar de llevar años consumiendo droga de manera excesiva, la deja así de un día para otro. Pero aunque deja sus vicios, no deja de matar.
Por eso no le creo su dichosa redención, porque lo que lo llevo a dejar el narco fue su orgullo. Porque al dejar de húsar drogas, su jefe ya no confía en el y lo manda a hacer trabajos que según el sicario "Ya no eran de su altura".
Este tipo me viene a decir que esta arrepentido de lo que hizo, que a resucitado en Jesucristo, pero habla de ser Sicario como si se enorgulleciera de eso, constantemente repite que los sicarios de ahora solo son imitadores, que el si era un Sicario de verdad. Hijo de puta, matar es matar, ser mejor como asesino no es algo que deberías estar presumiendo, especialmente si según tu estas arrepentido de ello.
A pero eso si el nos cuenta lo feliz que es por haber renacido en Jesucristo. Por un lado esta bien que la religión o su fe, ayude a personas a cambiar su vida para bien. Un sicario menos en la calle es una gran ganancia para la sociedad. Pero tampoco intentes decirme que ahora ya eres bueno y que cuando mueras iras al cielo. Como si todo el dolor que causaste y que sigues causando porque muchas de las familias de sus victimas nunca encontraran paz, a pero eso si este cabron ya vive feliz.
Otra cosa que no nos cuenta y me hubiera encantado saber es la historia de las mujeres en su vida, es muy poco lo que sabemos de sus esposas. Nos cuenta lo mucho que disfrutaba las fiestas con prostitutas en varias veces de la historia, pero no nos especifica como conoció a sus esposas, tampoco nos cuenta bien que paso con su familia.
En conclusión: Lloro por México, por la realidad que se vive, por las victimas de esta guerra de ambición. Y rezo, de verdad rezo para que pronto se termine este infierno, o con que disminuya un poco, aunque sea un poquito.
Comentario estúpido del día: Cuando muera voy a ir al cielo porque obviamente soy una buena persona. Pero si cuando llegue me encuentro en el cielo a uno de estos sicarios arrepentidos o a Luna Bella, me voy a enojar mucho con Dios.
August 16, 2011
The whole book is a monologue of one man's involvement as an assassin for a cartel operating out of Juarez; it is every bit as disturbing and realistic as you might (not even be able to) imagine.
His is a story of some redemption, telling his tale on the run with his family constantly hiding from the blowback of his history; it is compelling because it is such a dire story.
But, aside from the introduction and a few asides by el sicario, the whole hows, what and whys are largely absent from this text, it is really a much more street-level insight into the violence of drug cartels.
One thing is clear, the drug war is corrupt and corrupting to all who intersect it, from the civilians who occupy the spaces drugs flow through on up to the governments that purport to be stopping it, there is just too much lucre for the madness to stop. Narco-terrorism is going to be to 2020 what the jihadis were to 2001 for the United States and Mexico; organized crime is flush with cash, infiltrated into so many civil institutions, technologically saavy, well-armed (thanks DEA!) and growing in numbers.
The ten-fold increase in border town deaths since 2002, is not to be ignored, it is reflective of the chaos and crises incumbent in cartels jockeying for position. These "awkward teenage years" which have the cartels navigating growth spurts, will precipitate changes likely to increase the scope of the cartels (albeit fewer of them) and the depth of the various vices in which they engage.
This is no joke...
His is a story of some redemption, telling his tale on the run with his family constantly hiding from the blowback of his history; it is compelling because it is such a dire story.
But, aside from the introduction and a few asides by el sicario, the whole hows, what and whys are largely absent from this text, it is really a much more street-level insight into the violence of drug cartels.
One thing is clear, the drug war is corrupt and corrupting to all who intersect it, from the civilians who occupy the spaces drugs flow through on up to the governments that purport to be stopping it, there is just too much lucre for the madness to stop. Narco-terrorism is going to be to 2020 what the jihadis were to 2001 for the United States and Mexico; organized crime is flush with cash, infiltrated into so many civil institutions, technologically saavy, well-armed (thanks DEA!) and growing in numbers.
The ten-fold increase in border town deaths since 2002, is not to be ignored, it is reflective of the chaos and crises incumbent in cartels jockeying for position. These "awkward teenage years" which have the cartels navigating growth spurts, will precipitate changes likely to increase the scope of the cartels (albeit fewer of them) and the depth of the various vices in which they engage.
This is no joke...
June 8, 2025
Yup, if I didn't know it already, and this just confirms it even more, than Juarez is one of the most dangerous places on the planet. The confessions of our hitman, who has a kill count in the hundreds, although they might seem at times exaggerated in the details, are no doubt largely right on the money - nothing shocked me, basically, when it comes to the sheer ruthlessness and brutal methods when carrying out these cold-hearted killings that plague the drug wars - if you get a bullet in the back of the head you came off as one of the lucky ones. When it came to the torture and murder of women, my mind was cast back to the unforgettable Santa Teresa (modelled on Ciudad Juárez) section of Roberto Bolaño's epic masterpiece 2666, but it was Narcos: Mexico, and a recently watched documentary on the political Corruption tied in with the cartels that led me to this book. No wonder the interviews were conducted in an anonymous motel room super clandestine style, with him having a bounty on his head after ripping off his bosses and then spilling the criminality beans; so yeah he's most definitely a dead man walking.
April 8, 2017
This is the only book of its kind. For a cartel assassin to not only escape from his former occupation alive, then willingly share in plain language how it gutted him in every way possible, this is a rare thing. Long after getting out of the business, he decided to marry a girl he'd met in the south of Mexico, where he'd been working an honest job. To do this, he had to submit his real name to the local authorities, along with his address. The cartel hitmen were stalking him around town within three days.
The sicario opens up and talks freely about the disregard for life, the spiritual bankruptcy, the delicate dance you have to do just to stay alive as a member of the cartel. The corruption in Mexico's government is covered, and it's so much deeper than most of us in the USA can fathom. In truth, the Mexican government is very close to being overtaken by narco-traffickers.
There's just so many ways to die there: mess up a hit? Dead. Look at a boss's wife the wrong way? Dead. Average guy argues with a narco over a parking spot at a grocery store? Dead. Boss makes a mistake, tells you to kill the wrong person? The boss is always right, so you die. The cartel has a tight net of informants, from 12 year olds on Juarez corners to cabinet members who report to the President. There's nowhere to hide, no one to trust. The only option is to conform to the will of the capos. Or die. Or maybe you just die by slow asphyxiation, or being gradually boiled alive, because some coked-up, paranoid narco gets it in his head that you're an informant or a journalist. Or because it's a Thursday.
It made me extremely grateful for the law enforcement in the US, because it keeps evil in check, for the most part. There's corruption, for sure. The sicario experienced US Customs agents firsthand that were taking 50k to let a Chevy Suburban loaded to the gills with heroin pass right through the border with no inspection.
Comprehensive and sad, but also a great chronicle of a man whose spirit was contorted and withered by evil, but came back and was redeemed.
The sicario opens up and talks freely about the disregard for life, the spiritual bankruptcy, the delicate dance you have to do just to stay alive as a member of the cartel. The corruption in Mexico's government is covered, and it's so much deeper than most of us in the USA can fathom. In truth, the Mexican government is very close to being overtaken by narco-traffickers.
There's just so many ways to die there: mess up a hit? Dead. Look at a boss's wife the wrong way? Dead. Average guy argues with a narco over a parking spot at a grocery store? Dead. Boss makes a mistake, tells you to kill the wrong person? The boss is always right, so you die. The cartel has a tight net of informants, from 12 year olds on Juarez corners to cabinet members who report to the President. There's nowhere to hide, no one to trust. The only option is to conform to the will of the capos. Or die. Or maybe you just die by slow asphyxiation, or being gradually boiled alive, because some coked-up, paranoid narco gets it in his head that you're an informant or a journalist. Or because it's a Thursday.
It made me extremely grateful for the law enforcement in the US, because it keeps evil in check, for the most part. There's corruption, for sure. The sicario experienced US Customs agents firsthand that were taking 50k to let a Chevy Suburban loaded to the gills with heroin pass right through the border with no inspection.
Comprehensive and sad, but also a great chronicle of a man whose spirit was contorted and withered by evil, but came back and was redeemed.
November 1, 2011
Plus points for this book are that it provides a shocking and horrific account of the conditions in the city which has the highest murder rate in the world; Juarez. This is told from the perspective of a former sicario, or hit man who was an active duty police officer who conducted kidnappings and killings on behalf of the Juarez cartel.
The downside is that the first hand account acts as a double edges sword. While it allows information to be gained from the horses mouth, it also consists of considerable segments of his tale which are repeated, often more than once. This makes a large portion of the book really valueless to the reader. The book would have benefited from more detail on the work which he carried out, preferably with specific examples.
This was definitely a good read but the manner in which it was written could have been better thought out.
The downside is that the first hand account acts as a double edges sword. While it allows information to be gained from the horses mouth, it also consists of considerable segments of his tale which are repeated, often more than once. This makes a large portion of the book really valueless to the reader. The book would have benefited from more detail on the work which he carried out, preferably with specific examples.
This was definitely a good read but the manner in which it was written could have been better thought out.
July 29, 2012
Having lived in Mexico, been robbed in Mexico, and been kidnapped in Mexico - there isn't anything in this book I don't believe. This is a simple retelling of an underworld life from the viewpoint of a hired murderer. It could've used better editing but the matter-of-fact narrative is mostly effective. Like Bowden says, "There are things no one wants to know. And there are lies everyone wants to hear." This book discusses most of these things and lies as they relate to the cartels and the culture of murder and money that has infested Mexico to the highest levels of authority. The protagonist remains one-dimensional throughout the book but there probably wasn't much else that could be done with an anonymous killer.
February 22, 2013
The content is incredibly interesting, but the "authors'" choice to let the Sicario determine the flow and organization was disastrous (as were their spotted and less than academic citations). He often seemed to exaggerate for effect, repeated himself and used cliched phrases. They should've saved the power of his story by couching it in a well organized story, complete with second hand source documents and people.
December 21, 2016
I picked up this book for a short read on a subject that interests me -- and in that regard, the book fulfilled the objective. However, if you are hoping for quality investigative journalism, you will be profoundly disappointed -- the sicario's personal story does not ring true and has all of the hallmarks of an imposter.
By saying that I do not believe his story, I am not saying that I don't believe in the real-life kidnappings that undoubtedly occur many times daily, the brutal executions carried out by drug-addled assassins aided by local police, the untold number of unmarked graves throughout Mexico, or even the massive corruption that infects every level of Mexican government allowing narco-terrorism to flourish. I have no reason to doubt the veracity of this nightmare-fuel which any person who follows the news could fail to notice. No, the story of the "sicario" has all the trappings of someone who DID follow this saga closely, and may have even lived amid the hot, flying lead.
But there's nothing in the uninterrupted, rambling, sometimes-repetitive narrative of the "sicario" that jumps out as something only a contract-killer would or could know. The editors' whole premise of letting the subject speak incessantly for hours on-end is completely antithetical to the idea of in-depth reporting. Probing questions should have been asked before he moved on to a different subject; the "sicario" should have been pressed for more details on specific events, places and times. Are the crude drawings peppered throughout the book supposed to lend credence to his tale? Are they supposed to even be informative or illuminating? If this guy really was some kind of super-killer in charge of planning kidnappings and executions, his team members must've been mind readers because his diagramming skills are complete garbage.
If his story is to be believed, the reader should be provided with the details which make the story believable. It is not enough to take the editors' word for it -- which is explicitly what Bowden asks us to do. The best assurance offered to the reader that the "sicario" is authentic is essentially: a guy that I can vouch for knows a guy who can vouch for another guy that can vouch for this guy. Okey-dokey.
While the absence of verifiable details and the melodramatic assassin-turned-weeping-Christian tale had me skeptical, there was one anecdote that pushed me over the edge. In his escape from his life as a hired killer, he reaches out to a man that was once (and presumably still is) an assassination target of a drug cartel due to his owing them $1.5M. The "sicario" tells us that he was once ordered to execute this man, but was never able to track him down even after making multiple attempts. But during his divinely-guided escape, he opens the phone book, calls the man's office, tells him he's coming to meet him, and then strolls right into his office to meet him face-to-face. Hmmm. What are we to make of this? Obviously, if cartel assassins just knew how to use the yellow pages they could stop futzing about about with elaborate surveillance and kidnapping plans and just ring targets up by pretending to sell them the premium and sports cable package.
But why would someone pretend to be someone they're not? The editors assure us that he is not seeking fame -- after all, he veils himself on camera and there are people that would kill him if they could find him. Sometimes all an impostor wants is to feel like the center of attention, tell people a story, and have them hang on their every word. Oh, and one last thing: "He was paid for these interviews."
By saying that I do not believe his story, I am not saying that I don't believe in the real-life kidnappings that undoubtedly occur many times daily, the brutal executions carried out by drug-addled assassins aided by local police, the untold number of unmarked graves throughout Mexico, or even the massive corruption that infects every level of Mexican government allowing narco-terrorism to flourish. I have no reason to doubt the veracity of this nightmare-fuel which any person who follows the news could fail to notice. No, the story of the "sicario" has all the trappings of someone who DID follow this saga closely, and may have even lived amid the hot, flying lead.
But there's nothing in the uninterrupted, rambling, sometimes-repetitive narrative of the "sicario" that jumps out as something only a contract-killer would or could know. The editors' whole premise of letting the subject speak incessantly for hours on-end is completely antithetical to the idea of in-depth reporting. Probing questions should have been asked before he moved on to a different subject; the "sicario" should have been pressed for more details on specific events, places and times. Are the crude drawings peppered throughout the book supposed to lend credence to his tale? Are they supposed to even be informative or illuminating? If this guy really was some kind of super-killer in charge of planning kidnappings and executions, his team members must've been mind readers because his diagramming skills are complete garbage.
If his story is to be believed, the reader should be provided with the details which make the story believable. It is not enough to take the editors' word for it -- which is explicitly what Bowden asks us to do. The best assurance offered to the reader that the "sicario" is authentic is essentially: a guy that I can vouch for knows a guy who can vouch for another guy that can vouch for this guy. Okey-dokey.
While the absence of verifiable details and the melodramatic assassin-turned-weeping-Christian tale had me skeptical, there was one anecdote that pushed me over the edge. In his escape from his life as a hired killer, he reaches out to a man that was once (and presumably still is) an assassination target of a drug cartel due to his owing them $1.5M. The "sicario" tells us that he was once ordered to execute this man, but was never able to track him down even after making multiple attempts. But during his divinely-guided escape, he opens the phone book, calls the man's office, tells him he's coming to meet him, and then strolls right into his office to meet him face-to-face. Hmmm. What are we to make of this? Obviously, if cartel assassins just knew how to use the yellow pages they could stop futzing about about with elaborate surveillance and kidnapping plans and just ring targets up by pretending to sell them the premium and sports cable package.
But why would someone pretend to be someone they're not? The editors assure us that he is not seeking fame -- after all, he veils himself on camera and there are people that would kill him if they could find him. Sometimes all an impostor wants is to feel like the center of attention, tell people a story, and have them hang on their every word. Oh, and one last thing: "He was paid for these interviews."
December 27, 2016
A dog's breakfast of a supposedly two-day long confessional by a former cartel hitman (sicario) as part of a documentary film. The title says autobiography, but it is most certainly not that, though there are biographical elements. The book supposedly has two editors, but in the introduction they take great pride in saying that the pages to follow are raw, elemental, the untouched story of a killer who got out of the game. Well, in truth, because of the lack of editing, the story grows repetitious quickly. How many times can a guy repeat that the cartels are placing recruits in army training for their own purposes? Apparently, every fifth page or so.
There are also drawings by the ex-sicario that frankly add nothing to the understanding. And they appear about every fifth page or so as well.
The lack of structure detracts greatly from what could have been a very interesting perspective from a foot soldier in the cartel wars.
There are also drawings by the ex-sicario that frankly add nothing to the understanding. And they appear about every fifth page or so as well.
The lack of structure detracts greatly from what could have been a very interesting perspective from a foot soldier in the cartel wars.
June 13, 2011
This memoir of sorts forms the basis of a movie by Italian film maker Gianfranco Rosi "El Sicario: Room 164". Though he is never identified for obvious reasons, this purports to be the story of this individuals role as a killer and long association with a Mexican drug cartel before he escaped and found religion. Long, tedious, salcious it's everything you might expect if you're familiar with the work of "journalist" Charles Bowden who is hell bent on exposing the ruinous goings on of the mexican drug kingpins in the US/Mexico border region. The fascinating art of the story if it's to be beleived is the corruption right up to and including the office of the President Felipe Calderon that allows massive drug dealing in the name of profiteering and keeping Mexican society in a relatively controlled state.
August 26, 2016
While this is a candid and honest account of one man's time as a cartel hit man I was expecting more detail. I'm not sure whether this was deliberately left out or whether he just couldn't remember it I don't know but either way I was expecting and hoping for a more in depth account. It was also a little rambly and a couple of things were repeated, which confused me at first as I thought I'd mis-read or misunderstood something but hadn't. The events he does detail are disturbing although they are not unexpected given the reputation the cartels have (even in the UK) and they do show the lengths they will go to to protect their interests. This is certainly an interesting read but not quite the all out account I expected.
December 23, 2016
Dark shit
August 7, 2020
Informative, worth reading.
A little repetitive towards the end, but it's a quick enough read that you can speed read the reformed sicario's verbose religious commentary and revelation after revelation of government corruption
A little repetitive towards the end, but it's a quick enough read that you can speed read the reformed sicario's verbose religious commentary and revelation after revelation of government corruption
April 13, 2017
Powerful story. Sseems difficult to believe that things have gotten that bad in the border region. One has to wonder the extent of US involvement with this whole situation.
December 13, 2025
empezó bien y luego se convirtió en un sermón religioso. le faltó edición
February 20, 2015
I read this book not sure what to expect. I mean, yeah, drug cartels, Mexicans, assassins, and a whole lot of drama, but I was pleasantly surprised. I was surprised to find the story of an ordinary man who watched himself deform into something inhuman altogether. He had taken a certain path that no man should take. He admits his numerous mistakes. He shares what it was all like from beginning to end as one big reflection of his life--the joys, the pains, the perfections, and the imperfections. He gives it straight without all the Hollywood, New-York Times Bestseller extraneous crap. But if those are what you're looking for, well, I still recommend this book.
I believe that a good autobiography is extremely reflective. Deep. The more I can read not just the author's words but their genuine thoughts and emotions between the lines, the better I feel about it being an autobiography and not just an ego stroke. El Sicario gave this man ample opportunity to reflect and share it with the rest of us at the same time. His story shows us how vulnerable even some of the coldest men actually are. I could only wish that many other biographies had the same depth as this did. And I have to say, the editors did a fantastic job with this piece!
The details about the organized crime across Mexico and the U.S. were also very informative and eye-opening. To see how these things worked, how they affected not just people but entire societies; it's all a world I never cared to know about until I picked up this book.
I believe that a good autobiography is extremely reflective. Deep. The more I can read not just the author's words but their genuine thoughts and emotions between the lines, the better I feel about it being an autobiography and not just an ego stroke. El Sicario gave this man ample opportunity to reflect and share it with the rest of us at the same time. His story shows us how vulnerable even some of the coldest men actually are. I could only wish that many other biographies had the same depth as this did. And I have to say, the editors did a fantastic job with this piece!
The details about the organized crime across Mexico and the U.S. were also very informative and eye-opening. To see how these things worked, how they affected not just people but entire societies; it's all a world I never cared to know about until I picked up this book.
September 9, 2021
This is a truly chilling account (with some aspect of redemption) of the lunacy south of the border. I don't know what characteristics make for a failed state, but according to this (ex)henchman's account, Mexico would certainly qualify for me.
The most chilling aspect is the fact that these "sicarios" are not all socio- or psychopaths. It gives me gooseflesh to think that many are average people with special (deadly) skills, that they look so ordinary that you don't even notice them. Plus, that anarchical state borders ours and crossover is inevitable.
It makes me wonder how many I've actually passed by or even interacted with in my time on this earth. There may be hope for this particular assassin, but hope for Mexico I'm afraid there is none.
Is decriminalizing drugs the answer?
The most chilling aspect is the fact that these "sicarios" are not all socio- or psychopaths. It gives me gooseflesh to think that many are average people with special (deadly) skills, that they look so ordinary that you don't even notice them. Plus, that anarchical state borders ours and crossover is inevitable.
It makes me wonder how many I've actually passed by or even interacted with in my time on this earth. There may be hope for this particular assassin, but hope for Mexico I'm afraid there is none.
Is decriminalizing drugs the answer?
Read
April 27, 2016While it was a semi-interesting read at times on account of the inside description of how the Narcos operate e.g. in cell-like structures and the sheer organization behind it all, it really is just another story about a sociopath, an aberration in human evolution.
I recently read Charlie Bowden's "Murder City" in which this guy also appears and if you compare the two books there are quite a number of discrepancies in what he says and his angle on things and over all it is obvious that he only tells half-truths, twists things and reveals but a fraction of what he's done and knows but then again he's a sociopath, so what can you expect?
My advice is that you read something more edifying instead.
I recently read Charlie Bowden's "Murder City" in which this guy also appears and if you compare the two books there are quite a number of discrepancies in what he says and his angle on things and over all it is obvious that he only tells half-truths, twists things and reveals but a fraction of what he's done and knows but then again he's a sociopath, so what can you expect?
My advice is that you read something more edifying instead.
December 30, 2011
Allegedly a direct transcription of a narco enforcer's reminiscences and regrets, chilling in its detail, harrowing in its naked assessment of the socio-political troubles in Mexico stemming from the drug wars. The sicario claims, for instance, that a quarter of all cadets in Mexican police academies are on narco payrolls before they're even out of training. Sometimes just plain horrifying and repugnant, EL SICARIO is also brutally honest in the best way and necessary reading to get a peak behind the veil of the holocaust currently unfolding south of the border.
April 19, 2018
This book is told in the most uninteresting way possible, there is no story of loss and then redemption merely a list of horrors and then an empty and unsatisfying conversion to Christianity with little examination of his actions but an empty salvation. I found myself sometimes not believing him and just as often not caring.
November 21, 2011
Terrible and fascinating.
December 28, 2011
chilling.....really scarey to have psycopaths among us
November 26, 2018
This is an explosive book, real revelations from a sicario or hitman for the Juarez cartel in Mexico. In the murky world of narcotics enforcers are employed by the cartels to assassinate and extort owed money from victims. This sicario was trained as a policeman with this training funded by the narcos. In the law enforcement school he learnt all the surveillance tricks and how to use the necessary weapons that he could employ in the narco world in a Mexico that was careering out of control. Often holed up for weeks or months on end with kidnapped victims, the sicario often had to execute people in an instant at a moment's notice. Very often he was high on drugs (cocaine) and drink and his world of ultraviolence is revealed in a brutal and honest narrative. As the sicario rose up the ranks and became ever more embroiled in the dirty work, he ultimately found a way out through zealous missionaries who protected him and allowed him to seek repentance for the insidious murders he had committed. This is a journey in a world that is stranger than fiction and the tale is well worth the read.
May 24, 2018
"May 24, 2018 –
70.0% "In this game... everybody have blood in his hands...
...
The game is bloody... and shakes each spiriti!"
May 24, 2018 –
70.0% "1:43:07
..."
May 24, 2018 –
50.0% "It's insane shit... if we look it from a POV of shitty it goes..."
May 24, 2018 –
50.0% "This story is a real assasin... a real killer.
...
Deep down there are secrets which are waiting to get expose... cartel and deep shitty work... that's what this story is all about...
...
Can you swallow so much?"
May 24, 2018 –
50.0% "1:08:00"
May 24, 2018 – Shelved
May 24, 2018 – Started Reading"
- This book and even the movie are damn brilliant!
70.0% "In this game... everybody have blood in his hands...
...
The game is bloody... and shakes each spiriti!"
May 24, 2018 –
70.0% "1:43:07
..."
May 24, 2018 –
50.0% "It's insane shit... if we look it from a POV of shitty it goes..."
May 24, 2018 –
50.0% "This story is a real assasin... a real killer.
...
Deep down there are secrets which are waiting to get expose... cartel and deep shitty work... that's what this story is all about...
...
Can you swallow so much?"
May 24, 2018 –
50.0% "1:08:00"
May 24, 2018 – Shelved
May 24, 2018 – Started Reading"
- This book and even the movie are damn brilliant!
September 2, 2025
The team of this book did an excellent job doing the investigation of narcotrafficking. This Sicario must have been very difficult to find.
Thanks to this I understand better how the violence and all the people that confabulates with the drug business move the strings.
It's such a shame how many young boys can loose their lifes just to have more money doing jobs like that. The Sicario mentions all this things of his younger self that is very risky and he still need to hide.
An excellent book, I really recommend it.
Thanks to this I understand better how the violence and all the people that confabulates with the drug business move the strings.
It's such a shame how many young boys can loose their lifes just to have more money doing jobs like that. The Sicario mentions all this things of his younger self that is very risky and he still need to hide.
An excellent book, I really recommend it.
May 15, 2017
Tome este libro hace aproximadamente 5 años (quizás más) cuando en aquel entonces no había tecnología para escribir un review. Finalmente aquí les comento que me dejo con ganas de terminarlo cuando antes y cambiar al siguiente libro. Es una historia algo monótona, y esperaba más drama, más envolvimiento, más palabras que pudieran darme una imagen visual de lo que es la situación en México. Es un buen libro más no lo recomendaría debido a la falta de contenido.
December 10, 2022
Very intriguing read, and who better to do such an autobiography than these two; Bowden , author of Murder City, and NMSU’s very own Molly Molloy.
Some of this book leaves you asking “no way, can this be real?” If only because your mind doesn’t want to believe how true it is, and what other ugly truths are out there in the desert, lying untold.
Some of this book leaves you asking “no way, can this be real?” If only because your mind doesn’t want to believe how true it is, and what other ugly truths are out there in the desert, lying untold.
January 13, 2018
The incredible attention to detail adds to the authenticity. The book kept me constantly between disgust and sympathy for the Sicario as he carries out the orders and later fights with his emotions and a path to redemption.
April 18, 2018
It's an incredible story about the life of a sicario (hitman) in dangerous, corrupt Mexico. It's a true account straight from his mouth (transcribed and translated from a recording). His turn to God was inspiring, and I was encouraged by his testimony.
December 5, 2018
El resultado de un trabajo de entrevistas muy ilustrativas con un sicario reformado. Diría mucho más si se tratara de un análisis profundo por parte de los autores, quienes se limitan a contextualizar los testimonios del sicario únicamente a pie de página.
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