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El Narco: The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels
'War' is no exaggeration in discussing the bloodshed that has terrorized Mexico in the past decades. As rival cartels battle for control of a billion-dollar drug trade, the body count- 23,000 dead in five years - and sheer horror beggar the imagination of journalistic witnesses. Cartel gunmen have shot up schools and rehabilitation centers, and murdered the entire families of those who defy them. Reformers and law enforcement officials have been gunned down within hours of taking office. Headless corpses are dumped on streets to intimidate rivals, and severed heads are rolled onto dancefloors as messages to would-be opponents. And the war is creeping northward.
El Narco is the story of the ultraviolent criminal organizations that have turned huge areas of Mexico into a combat zone. It is a piercing portrait of a drug trade that turns ordinary men into mass murderers, as well as a diagnosis of what drives the cartels and what gives them such power. Veteran Mexico correspondent Ioan Grillo traces the gangs from their origins as smugglers to their present status as criminal empires. The narco cartels are a threat to the Mexican government, and their violence has now reached as far as North Carolina.
El Narco is required reading for anyone concerned about one of the most important news stories of the decade.
El Narco is the story of the ultraviolent criminal organizations that have turned huge areas of Mexico into a combat zone. It is a piercing portrait of a drug trade that turns ordinary men into mass murderers, as well as a diagnosis of what drives the cartels and what gives them such power. Veteran Mexico correspondent Ioan Grillo traces the gangs from their origins as smugglers to their present status as criminal empires. The narco cartels are a threat to the Mexican government, and their violence has now reached as far as North Carolina.
El Narco is required reading for anyone concerned about one of the most important news stories of the decade.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2011
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About the author
Ioan Grillo
13 books211 followersI’m a journalist, writer and TV producer based in Mexico City. I’ve been covering Latin America since 2001 for news media including Time Magazine, CNN, The Associated Press, Global Post, The Houston Chronicle, PBS NewsHour, Al Jazeera English, France 24, CBC, The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Gatopardo, The San Francisco Chronicle and many others. El Narco: Inside Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency is my first book.
I started covering drug cartels from my early days here. I was always fascinated by the riddle of these ghost like figures who made $30 billion a year, were idolized in popular songs and miraculously escaped the Mexican army and DEA. Over the decade I followed the mystery to endless murder scenes on bullet-ridden streets, mountains where drugs are born as pretty flowers, and scarred criminals from prison cells to luxury condos.
During the same time, Mexico’s drug war morphed into a horrific conflict with brutal beheadings, massacres and mass graves. Journalists here found ourselves reporting on a human tragedy of epic proportions – with a never-ending trail of grieving parents and atrocities comparable to brutal civil wars. The need for better understanding to help find a way out of this hole has become more important than ever.
We foreign journalists all have to turn to our homelands for part of that solution. I grew up in sunny England, near the seaside city of Brighton – famous for its pink candy, pebble beaches, colleges and bubbling night clubs. It is also one of Britain’s top places for drug consumption, switching with the fashions from Moroccan hashish to Turkish heroin to Colombian cocaine. Few there ever think about where the mind-bending substances come from or what they might give or takeaway from those countries. In Europe and the United States a hard discussion on our drug habits and policy is long overdue.
As well as following drug trafficking empires, I cover the other major issues of Latin America such as natural disasters (including the Haiti earthquake), the battle between left and right (including the Honduras coup), and the vast human wave of emigration to El Norte. I also love music and cover it whenever I get a chance. I co-directed a series of three short films with John Dickie, which all include a good dose of Latin American hip hop. They are Barrios Beats and Blood, Bajamar Ballad, and The Gangsters’ Granny.
I started covering drug cartels from my early days here. I was always fascinated by the riddle of these ghost like figures who made $30 billion a year, were idolized in popular songs and miraculously escaped the Mexican army and DEA. Over the decade I followed the mystery to endless murder scenes on bullet-ridden streets, mountains where drugs are born as pretty flowers, and scarred criminals from prison cells to luxury condos.
During the same time, Mexico’s drug war morphed into a horrific conflict with brutal beheadings, massacres and mass graves. Journalists here found ourselves reporting on a human tragedy of epic proportions – with a never-ending trail of grieving parents and atrocities comparable to brutal civil wars. The need for better understanding to help find a way out of this hole has become more important than ever.
We foreign journalists all have to turn to our homelands for part of that solution. I grew up in sunny England, near the seaside city of Brighton – famous for its pink candy, pebble beaches, colleges and bubbling night clubs. It is also one of Britain’s top places for drug consumption, switching with the fashions from Moroccan hashish to Turkish heroin to Colombian cocaine. Few there ever think about where the mind-bending substances come from or what they might give or takeaway from those countries. In Europe and the United States a hard discussion on our drug habits and policy is long overdue.
As well as following drug trafficking empires, I cover the other major issues of Latin America such as natural disasters (including the Haiti earthquake), the battle between left and right (including the Honduras coup), and the vast human wave of emigration to El Norte. I also love music and cover it whenever I get a chance. I co-directed a series of three short films with John Dickie, which all include a good dose of Latin American hip hop. They are Barrios Beats and Blood, Bajamar Ballad, and The Gangsters’ Granny.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
November 29, 2011
Is this the most beautifully crafted writing about Mexico's drug war? - no. For that it would be better to seek out Charles Bowden or John Gibler. It is, however, the most complete and well synthesized history of the Mexican drug trade available in the English language. And I will say this distinction is all about sources. Ioan Grillo has clearly read all of the most important works of the fearless Mexican journalists who cover the Mexican drug trade, while also undertaking a substantial amount of fieldwork in drug producing and trafficking regions of Mexico. Compared to the other major work released recently, The Cartel, there is a night and day sort of contrast when it comes to sources. Grillo's are impeccable, and include working closely some of the bravest journalists on earth, while Longmire's is invested in policy documents and accounts from North of the border. Most impressive, though is that Grillo manages to make more sense of the bloodshed than just about anyone I've come across, which is no small feat. After all, one of the major themes running through the literature of the drug war is the utter confusion of the observer. Grillo manages to make more economic sense of the trade, politics and violence than most accounts. More impressive is that he was able to tie a lot of this information together before Anabel Hernandez's landmark work Los senores del narco was released. Perhaps the factor of being an outsider from both the American and Mexican sides of the trade allows Grillo a better perspective on the mess.
November 22, 2014
This encompasses an excellent historical review of narco crime in Mexico – how it evolved and became more and more vicious.
Mexico has been used as a trampoline (author’s expression) for passage of drugs from Columbia to the U.S. With the suppression of the cartels or drug lords in Columbia (namely Pablo Escobar) the power base shifted to Mexico which also produces marijuana and other stronger narcotics (cocaine and heroin). There are different cartels that compete with each other to transport and funnel drugs to the U.S. There are chiefly the Sinaloa Cartel in Western Mexico and the Zetas on the Gulf side. They war savagely with each other. It is to the point where civil authority has broken down in many cities like Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana and Culiacan. Local police will sometimes unite with the narco gangs to gun down Mexican federal troops sent in to attempt to establish law and order. Some well-trained Mexican troops have left their posts to join the narco gangs to provide para-military training.
So there are now areas where a parallel government uses terror to enforce its power. Sometimes they will commit atrocities in the territory of another cartel to shift the focus of government forces to their opponents’ area. The government is often in a quandary because when it sends in federal troops, who are unfamiliar with the area and are facing guerilla-like warfare, they risk committing atrocities themselves. But if they don’t respond, local residents become more and more under the intimidating control of the cartels.
And the cartels are expanding their entrepreneurship to kidnappings, control of migrant flow to the U.S., and business shakedowns of even large corporations. There are more Mexicans dealing drugs in the U.S. The cartels are establishing liaisons with Central America and of course Columbia.
The author does well to point out that not all of Mexico is a free-fire zone. Mexico City has a crime rate comparable to some large U.S. cities. But over the years the government and its varied police forces (and the author points to this also as a problem, which is the lack of unity in Mexican police forces) have lost credibility. The “War on Drugs” has become more and more violent, has caused civil breakdown in many border cities – and there is little light at the end of the tunnel. The U.S. is rightly concerned about all this – could its’ southern neighbors’ breakdown lead to a civil war between various cartel regions? Towards the end of the book the author suggests that legalization may provide an answer. Legalization would provide extra tax dollars and stop spending on this constant war. But this is not the focal point of the book.
We are given a close-up and multi-layered view of a society being increasingly ruled by drug warlords. It’s quite a frightening world.
Page 186 my book
Humaya Gardens [in Culiacan] has hundreds of other narco tombs in its sun-beaten soil. It is one of the most bizarre cemeteries in the world. Mausoleums are built of Italian marble and decorated with precious stones, and some even have air-conditioning. Many cost above $100,000 to build – more than most Culiacan homes. Inside are surreal biblical paintings next to photos of the deceased, normally in cowboy hats and often clasping guns. In some photos, they pose in fields of marijuana; in others tombs, small concrete planes indicate the buried Mafioso was a pilot... An alarming number are under twenty-five – and have died in recent years: 2009, 2010, 2011.
Mexico has been used as a trampoline (author’s expression) for passage of drugs from Columbia to the U.S. With the suppression of the cartels or drug lords in Columbia (namely Pablo Escobar) the power base shifted to Mexico which also produces marijuana and other stronger narcotics (cocaine and heroin). There are different cartels that compete with each other to transport and funnel drugs to the U.S. There are chiefly the Sinaloa Cartel in Western Mexico and the Zetas on the Gulf side. They war savagely with each other. It is to the point where civil authority has broken down in many cities like Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana and Culiacan. Local police will sometimes unite with the narco gangs to gun down Mexican federal troops sent in to attempt to establish law and order. Some well-trained Mexican troops have left their posts to join the narco gangs to provide para-military training.
So there are now areas where a parallel government uses terror to enforce its power. Sometimes they will commit atrocities in the territory of another cartel to shift the focus of government forces to their opponents’ area. The government is often in a quandary because when it sends in federal troops, who are unfamiliar with the area and are facing guerilla-like warfare, they risk committing atrocities themselves. But if they don’t respond, local residents become more and more under the intimidating control of the cartels.
And the cartels are expanding their entrepreneurship to kidnappings, control of migrant flow to the U.S., and business shakedowns of even large corporations. There are more Mexicans dealing drugs in the U.S. The cartels are establishing liaisons with Central America and of course Columbia.
The author does well to point out that not all of Mexico is a free-fire zone. Mexico City has a crime rate comparable to some large U.S. cities. But over the years the government and its varied police forces (and the author points to this also as a problem, which is the lack of unity in Mexican police forces) have lost credibility. The “War on Drugs” has become more and more violent, has caused civil breakdown in many border cities – and there is little light at the end of the tunnel. The U.S. is rightly concerned about all this – could its’ southern neighbors’ breakdown lead to a civil war between various cartel regions? Towards the end of the book the author suggests that legalization may provide an answer. Legalization would provide extra tax dollars and stop spending on this constant war. But this is not the focal point of the book.
We are given a close-up and multi-layered view of a society being increasingly ruled by drug warlords. It’s quite a frightening world.
Page 186 my book
Humaya Gardens [in Culiacan] has hundreds of other narco tombs in its sun-beaten soil. It is one of the most bizarre cemeteries in the world. Mausoleums are built of Italian marble and decorated with precious stones, and some even have air-conditioning. Many cost above $100,000 to build – more than most Culiacan homes. Inside are surreal biblical paintings next to photos of the deceased, normally in cowboy hats and often clasping guns. In some photos, they pose in fields of marijuana; in others tombs, small concrete planes indicate the buried Mafioso was a pilot... An alarming number are under twenty-five – and have died in recent years: 2009, 2010, 2011.
December 3, 2011
click here to read a really long review; read on through for the short one.
El Narco is truly one of the best books of nonfiction I've read this year. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's even remotely interested in the topic. I noticed that while looking at reviews I found one where someone calls this book "conspiratorial," "left-wing" and "Anti-American." Don't believe it. The book is frightening in its implications, because it's all too real, but the facts are well presented and thoroughly researched. Grillo's own insights and personal contributions even convey some humor to break up what is an incredibly serious situations, and he's been covering Mexico and other parts of Latin America for years and is therefore most credible. Great book.
Ioan Grillo, journalist and author of El Narco has based his book not only on comprehensive and impeccable research, but on firsthand accounts, his own observations and often hair-raising interviews. The roadmap for understanding this book is completely laid out in the first chapter as Grillo examines
a) the transformation of groups responsible for drug smuggling who have in the last decade or so become more militarized into "paramilitary death squads" responsible for "tens of thousands" of deaths, as well as the effects on ordinary people in Mexico;
b) the rise of these groups as a dangerous "criminal insurgency," one that threatens to become a civil war along the US/Mexico border;
c) the combined effects of the lack of success of the US war on drugs and Mexico's own political and economic issues in creating this insurgency; and
d) possible solutions based on what Grillo calls a "drastic rethinking of strategies" that should not depend on US military involvement
But before launching into the meat of the book, Grillo first examines the concept of "El Narco." He notes that in Mexico, El Narco is the collective term used for traffickers, but in reality the term also designates an entire culture in its own right, spawning its own music, co-opting religious icons and religions, its own clothing styles, etc., all based on the drug trafficker as local hero. It is an entire movement based in the "drug underworld," and as Grillo notes, the threat of El Narco and figuring out possible solutions is best understood by following its development.
As the book proceeds, it follows the above-listed guideline to provide an incredible look at how the traffic in drugs in Mexico went from a few people who dominated the poppy/opium/narcotics market to a major insurgency and an all-out war which threatens to explode into unprecedented violence and a very real threat.
El Narco is truly one of the best books of nonfiction I've read this year. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's even remotely interested in the topic. I noticed that while looking at reviews I found one where someone calls this book "conspiratorial," "left-wing" and "Anti-American." Don't believe it. The book is frightening in its implications, because it's all too real, but the facts are well presented and thoroughly researched. Grillo's own insights and personal contributions even convey some humor to break up what is an incredibly serious situations, and he's been covering Mexico and other parts of Latin America for years and is therefore most credible. Great book.
Ioan Grillo, journalist and author of El Narco has based his book not only on comprehensive and impeccable research, but on firsthand accounts, his own observations and often hair-raising interviews. The roadmap for understanding this book is completely laid out in the first chapter as Grillo examines
a) the transformation of groups responsible for drug smuggling who have in the last decade or so become more militarized into "paramilitary death squads" responsible for "tens of thousands" of deaths, as well as the effects on ordinary people in Mexico;
b) the rise of these groups as a dangerous "criminal insurgency," one that threatens to become a civil war along the US/Mexico border;
c) the combined effects of the lack of success of the US war on drugs and Mexico's own political and economic issues in creating this insurgency; and
d) possible solutions based on what Grillo calls a "drastic rethinking of strategies" that should not depend on US military involvement
But before launching into the meat of the book, Grillo first examines the concept of "El Narco." He notes that in Mexico, El Narco is the collective term used for traffickers, but in reality the term also designates an entire culture in its own right, spawning its own music, co-opting religious icons and religions, its own clothing styles, etc., all based on the drug trafficker as local hero. It is an entire movement based in the "drug underworld," and as Grillo notes, the threat of El Narco and figuring out possible solutions is best understood by following its development.
As the book proceeds, it follows the above-listed guideline to provide an incredible look at how the traffic in drugs in Mexico went from a few people who dominated the poppy/opium/narcotics market to a major insurgency and an all-out war which threatens to explode into unprecedented violence and a very real threat.
October 7, 2021
Cartelurile de droguri au ajuns o amenintare reala la adresa guvernului mexican. Se vorbeste de o narco-insurgenta. Totul din cauza poftei de nepotolit a americanilor pentru droguri.
October 16, 2015
Very informative book about the Mexican drug war. Written by a journalist, it has the feel of an extremely long (but interesting) magazine article on the history and evolution of the Drug Trade in the Americas. Would not describe as a book that couldn't be put down, as the narrative does not include characters you follow/get attached to. The book sets up nicely for sporadic reading though as each chapter has a unique angle that does not require you to have read/retain the prior chapter. Like I said at the start, it feels like an anthology of in-depth reporting.
December 26, 2021
El Narco The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels
by Ioan Grillo A Quick Review
Far away from the glitz, glamour and likable protagonists of Netflix’ true crime series Narcos Mexico, journalist Ioan Grillo documents the history of the narcotics trade south of the boarder in extremely brutal detail.
Written in three parts HISTORY, ANATOMY and DESTINY, El Narco is a painstakingly researched biography of every facet of the Mexican Drug Cartels from birth to present day. Grillo leaves no witness unheard and no word unwritten and I found myself wondering if he had a death wish for reporting on the ugliness that has grown out of the narcotics business and scourged Mexico for decades. The kidnappings, the public executions, the beheadings, and most of all the corruption that infects all areas of government.
This was a very disturbing but overall compelling read and I commend Grillo on his boots on the ground, in-depth approach to his journalistic research.
I believe this to be one of the best accounts written about the Mexican drug trade and how it’s tentacles reach into all aspects of society.
A must read for any student of true crime.
5/5
Highly Recommended
by Ioan Grillo A Quick Review
Far away from the glitz, glamour and likable protagonists of Netflix’ true crime series Narcos Mexico, journalist Ioan Grillo documents the history of the narcotics trade south of the boarder in extremely brutal detail.
Written in three parts HISTORY, ANATOMY and DESTINY, El Narco is a painstakingly researched biography of every facet of the Mexican Drug Cartels from birth to present day. Grillo leaves no witness unheard and no word unwritten and I found myself wondering if he had a death wish for reporting on the ugliness that has grown out of the narcotics business and scourged Mexico for decades. The kidnappings, the public executions, the beheadings, and most of all the corruption that infects all areas of government.
This was a very disturbing but overall compelling read and I commend Grillo on his boots on the ground, in-depth approach to his journalistic research.
I believe this to be one of the best accounts written about the Mexican drug trade and how it’s tentacles reach into all aspects of society.
A must read for any student of true crime.
5/5
Highly Recommended
January 21, 2022
Un recuento completo y responsable de la historia del narco en el país. No solo da el contexto político nacional e internacional, sino también el histórico, económico y cultural (sí, habla del Gallo de Oro). Aprovecha al máximo el privilegio que le da ser periodista extranjero en un país que asesina a sus colegas mexicanos, con elementos de entrevistas a funcionarios, sicarios, ex-narcos, policías y otras fuentes, estructurados en una narrativa entretenida e informativa.
Es una gran lectura, especialmente en 2021, una década después de su publicación. Impresiona lo atinado de sus comentarios y —desgraciadamente—lo bien que envejecieron: la fallida estrategia militarista iniciada por Calderón, la corrupción rampante en los tres niveles de gobierno, el tráfico de armas habilitado por EE.UU., la escalada de la violencia. Lo único en lo que erró para mí es en la esperanza que tiene sobre la legalización de la marihuana en nuestro vecino del norte como una solución indirecta al problema. Aunque tal vez aún está por verse, parece no haber sido el caso.
Grillo, hermano. Ya eres mexicano.
Es una gran lectura, especialmente en 2021, una década después de su publicación. Impresiona lo atinado de sus comentarios y —desgraciadamente—lo bien que envejecieron: la fallida estrategia militarista iniciada por Calderón, la corrupción rampante en los tres niveles de gobierno, el tráfico de armas habilitado por EE.UU., la escalada de la violencia. Lo único en lo que erró para mí es en la esperanza que tiene sobre la legalización de la marihuana en nuestro vecino del norte como una solución indirecta al problema. Aunque tal vez aún está por verse, parece no haber sido el caso.
Grillo, hermano. Ya eres mexicano.
May 21, 2013
More than Society Permits
Whenever I review books about the Drug War, the carnage in Mexico, few seem to care. Is it the ostrich-with-its-head-in-the-sand-syndrome, or is it the “I got my blow, my weed. Now get off my back,” mentality? Perhaps it’s my pedantic tone. I try not to rail, but when one is familiar with the torture, brutality, senseless beheadings and acid baths, all for control of prohibited drug sales, then one loses one’s propriety. We permit the Drug War (useless billions spent every year) yet we don’t want to hear about it. Seal it away. It happens down there, or in the ghettos.
If you are not one of these people, then read El Narco. It is a comprehensive account of what is transpiring in the Western Hemisphere, under our very noses, right now. It’s not a pretty story, but a necessary read for anyone who cares.
August 22, 2011
A concise and thoughtful book that provides an excellent background into the violence that has gripped the border as the "drug wars" have escalated in the recent years.
April 23, 2015
The Death Trade
"The dead can't cry out for justice. It's the duty of the living to do so for them."
Mexico's drug cartels. After Islamic terrorists, they're quite possibly the most powerful and dangerous criminals on the planet. Hundreds of millions of dollars have allowed them to buy the firepower necessary to make utter mincemeat of the civilian law enforcement which tries to go after them. And then there's human rights violations they commit which have sealed them a place in the public consciousness. Unspeakable torture kidnapping and beheading. We know their depravity. We understand they have the potential to destabilize the Mexican state if they're not controlled or liquidated soon enough. But where did they come from? How did they replace the destroyed Columbian cartels as the kings of the Drug trade? Ioan Grillo, a journalist who has covered Mexico tells all in this excellent book which should be required reading for those interested in geopolitics and the nature of modern crime. The author takes us through the history of the Mexican drug trade. From the days when opium was grown in the Sierra Madre to the beginning of the modern cartels, facilitated by the outrageous corruption of the PRI dictatorship, the roots of the problem are explored in great detail. Then we explore the present day cost the cartels visit on Mexican society. From the long suffering but defiant journalists who cover the activities of the Cartels to victims of killings conducted by cartels, a fascinating but sobering conflict is given clarity.
For those interested in how the most profitable criminal trade works and the lives it affects, I recommend this book.
"The dead can't cry out for justice. It's the duty of the living to do so for them."
Mexico's drug cartels. After Islamic terrorists, they're quite possibly the most powerful and dangerous criminals on the planet. Hundreds of millions of dollars have allowed them to buy the firepower necessary to make utter mincemeat of the civilian law enforcement which tries to go after them. And then there's human rights violations they commit which have sealed them a place in the public consciousness. Unspeakable torture kidnapping and beheading. We know their depravity. We understand they have the potential to destabilize the Mexican state if they're not controlled or liquidated soon enough. But where did they come from? How did they replace the destroyed Columbian cartels as the kings of the Drug trade? Ioan Grillo, a journalist who has covered Mexico tells all in this excellent book which should be required reading for those interested in geopolitics and the nature of modern crime. The author takes us through the history of the Mexican drug trade. From the days when opium was grown in the Sierra Madre to the beginning of the modern cartels, facilitated by the outrageous corruption of the PRI dictatorship, the roots of the problem are explored in great detail. Then we explore the present day cost the cartels visit on Mexican society. From the long suffering but defiant journalists who cover the activities of the Cartels to victims of killings conducted by cartels, a fascinating but sobering conflict is given clarity.
For those interested in how the most profitable criminal trade works and the lives it affects, I recommend this book.
July 12, 2012
I have a thing for non-fiction history books with a fair amount of violence.....I liked this book. The beginning and end of the book lack a degree of pacing but I thought the amount of research was impressive. This portion of our recent history is under-reported or sound bite fodder on the evening news, but there is a good amount of depth to this book. The author takes the time to break down different factions of the narco gangs, as well as a good historical perspective of each. I think it is good reporting although parts of book may be too gruesome for some.
June 9, 2025
I'd give this somewhere closer to 3.5 stars, if I could. Grillo sometimes falls into the exciting, incendiary language of a journalist trying to write an eye catching headline. Sometimes funny, sometimes misplaced, it did keep the writing from becoming too dry.
If you're interested in the experiences and thoughts of a British journalist on the seemingly all-encompassing problem of El Narco, I'd give it a read. Grillo's many years of work in Mexico as a journalist on the drug beat lend him credit despite technically being an outsider.
If you're interested in the experiences and thoughts of a British journalist on the seemingly all-encompassing problem of El Narco, I'd give it a read. Grillo's many years of work in Mexico as a journalist on the drug beat lend him credit despite technically being an outsider.
December 4, 2025
This was a good learning read. Quite sad though. Also, makes you feel a bit bad for contributing to the demise of society in another country but it does make infernos more fun :/
April 17, 2012
Oh, "El Narco", how I wished I liked you more.
I had high hopes for this book after listening to its author, Ioan Grillo, wax eloquently and authoritatively about the Mexican Drug War on the radio some months back. I wanted to understand the senseless - literally, I can't wrap my head around it - killings of over 35,000 people over the past few years by various Mexican drug cartels who went from nearly unknown in the 1980s to some of the most feared gangsters today. In some ways, the book does provide this context: how the center of drug power shifted from Colombia to Mexico; the rampant corruption of Mexican police and government and its role in the drug war; the tactics of these "criminal insurgents", which include snuff videos, drive-by hits, pitched battles on the streets; and even suggestions on how to win the drug war. And, unless you're a member of Seal Team 6, you have to admire Grillo's conjones for interviewing active sicarios (hit men), especially in an environment where journalists have been tortured and murdered by exposing far less information about the cartels.
But, the book is riddled with problems. Its biggest is that there is far too much editorializing. Some of it is innocuous and is merely poor writing, which can be found on nearly every page, like "TV shows don't kill people. Car bombs kill people." (And yes, elsewhere is also a the more generic "guns don't kill people" cliche, but with the attached parenthetical remark "(Although not according to the NRA)"). Far more insidious, though, is when he uses editorial remarks to cut off important debate, especially if the opposition uses methodology he doesn't understand. For example, Grillo ridicules both the Forbes methodology on estimating the net worth of Chapo Guzman, head of the Sinaloa cartel, - "conveniently bang on number with straight zeros"-, DEA's 3/4's estimate of various drug markets - "Or is three-quarters just a standard estimate for a whole lot of drugs?". It would have been better, though, to understand the size of the market and wealth created because later he uses an economic argument for the de-criminalization of drugs in America, but cannot support this argument with strong numbers.
There are other problems. One was that the description of the La Familia cartel was far less nuanced than and contradicted the account in the almost great New Yorker piece. Also, there is this strange undercurrent of hatred of foreign journalists, who Grillo claims come into Mexico and steal Pulitzers from the more deserving Mexican journalists. Some of it is merited, such as when US television stations wanted to embed a reporter in a Mexican anti-narcotics unit, but some of it seems to come from out of nowhere.
I think the takeaway message of the book is that all the cartel people grew up poor, found a market in the US that is price-insensitive to its products (heroin and cocaine), and will go to any lengths to defend and expand that market because of the poor law enforcement. Even if you are a casual drug user, you will feel like an asshole for basically funding this horrible violence so close to us. You will not feel like an asshole, though, if you skip this book and watch the "Dark Knight", which I thought was a better portrayal of the escalation of cartel-like violence.
I had high hopes for this book after listening to its author, Ioan Grillo, wax eloquently and authoritatively about the Mexican Drug War on the radio some months back. I wanted to understand the senseless - literally, I can't wrap my head around it - killings of over 35,000 people over the past few years by various Mexican drug cartels who went from nearly unknown in the 1980s to some of the most feared gangsters today. In some ways, the book does provide this context: how the center of drug power shifted from Colombia to Mexico; the rampant corruption of Mexican police and government and its role in the drug war; the tactics of these "criminal insurgents", which include snuff videos, drive-by hits, pitched battles on the streets; and even suggestions on how to win the drug war. And, unless you're a member of Seal Team 6, you have to admire Grillo's conjones for interviewing active sicarios (hit men), especially in an environment where journalists have been tortured and murdered by exposing far less information about the cartels.
But, the book is riddled with problems. Its biggest is that there is far too much editorializing. Some of it is innocuous and is merely poor writing, which can be found on nearly every page, like "TV shows don't kill people. Car bombs kill people." (And yes, elsewhere is also a the more generic "guns don't kill people" cliche, but with the attached parenthetical remark "(Although not according to the NRA)"). Far more insidious, though, is when he uses editorial remarks to cut off important debate, especially if the opposition uses methodology he doesn't understand. For example, Grillo ridicules both the Forbes methodology on estimating the net worth of Chapo Guzman, head of the Sinaloa cartel, - "conveniently bang on number with straight zeros"-, DEA's 3/4's estimate of various drug markets - "Or is three-quarters just a standard estimate for a whole lot of drugs?". It would have been better, though, to understand the size of the market and wealth created because later he uses an economic argument for the de-criminalization of drugs in America, but cannot support this argument with strong numbers.
There are other problems. One was that the description of the La Familia cartel was far less nuanced than and contradicted the account in the almost great New Yorker piece. Also, there is this strange undercurrent of hatred of foreign journalists, who Grillo claims come into Mexico and steal Pulitzers from the more deserving Mexican journalists. Some of it is merited, such as when US television stations wanted to embed a reporter in a Mexican anti-narcotics unit, but some of it seems to come from out of nowhere.
I think the takeaway message of the book is that all the cartel people grew up poor, found a market in the US that is price-insensitive to its products (heroin and cocaine), and will go to any lengths to defend and expand that market because of the poor law enforcement. Even if you are a casual drug user, you will feel like an asshole for basically funding this horrible violence so close to us. You will not feel like an asshole, though, if you skip this book and watch the "Dark Knight", which I thought was a better portrayal of the escalation of cartel-like violence.
January 5, 2019
Before Christmas i brought three books, the first was Cosa Nostra by John Dicke which was superb in fact i was not sure the next book would measure up to it, it did and some.. it was El Narco By Ioan Grillo.
The two books are related in many ways, both about serious organized criminal gangs and both about shadow states, the thing that struck me about both the cosa nostra in Sicily and the hell on earth thats happening now in Mexico is firstly the history of both countries, both have long records of the hero worship of peasant villains by many of the local population the second was/is the political systems of both countries .....ie in my humble opinion you cannot fight people like this in liberal democratic societies, rules and law just gets in the way.
In Sicily when the far right came to power there it ended Cosa Nostra for twenty years, the key to getting Mexico back to square one is someone like the President the Phillipines have today, in other words the sort of people Mexico had for a very long time before liberal democracy "came to the rescue", a lot of politicians,people and countries in general simply hide behind democracy and the rule of law hoping the bad men will just disappear, they won't you cannot make an omlette without breaking eggs.. fact is some countries must be led so that others may live in peace ( we see this now in the middle east when we got rid of Saddam and Gadaffi in Libya then laughably tried to get rid of Assad, it does seem a bit of chaos suits some western agendas.).
Anyway if you want to learn about what is going on here in Mexico read this brilliant book, i will not forget this book he is a brave man.
oh and the third book i brought is Hannibal by Ernle Bradford, haven't read it yet but looks promising.
The two books are related in many ways, both about serious organized criminal gangs and both about shadow states, the thing that struck me about both the cosa nostra in Sicily and the hell on earth thats happening now in Mexico is firstly the history of both countries, both have long records of the hero worship of peasant villains by many of the local population the second was/is the political systems of both countries .....ie in my humble opinion you cannot fight people like this in liberal democratic societies, rules and law just gets in the way.
In Sicily when the far right came to power there it ended Cosa Nostra for twenty years, the key to getting Mexico back to square one is someone like the President the Phillipines have today, in other words the sort of people Mexico had for a very long time before liberal democracy "came to the rescue", a lot of politicians,people and countries in general simply hide behind democracy and the rule of law hoping the bad men will just disappear, they won't you cannot make an omlette without breaking eggs.. fact is some countries must be led so that others may live in peace ( we see this now in the middle east when we got rid of Saddam and Gadaffi in Libya then laughably tried to get rid of Assad, it does seem a bit of chaos suits some western agendas.).
Anyway if you want to learn about what is going on here in Mexico read this brilliant book, i will not forget this book he is a brave man.
oh and the third book i brought is Hannibal by Ernle Bradford, haven't read it yet but looks promising.
January 13, 2012
I picked this book because it was the most lauded of the recent crop of English-language books about the Mexican Cartels. I was not disappointed. I have been following this issue for some time now through both newspaper investigations and more systematic assessments like those at InsightCrime and Small Wars Journal. But while the gruesomeness and the severity of the Mexican DTO problem is nothing new to me, Ioan Grillo highlighted several misconceptions that I had gathered from other (usually reliable sources), the most notable being the fact that the current escalation of cartel violence actually predates Calderon's presidency.
Grillo's extensive amount of time in-country is on display as he deftly shifts his focus from one aspect of this multi-faceted problem to another, moving from the macro to the micro and back again. Never so in the weeds as to become tiresome or redundant, but never so cursory as to leave out important facts and trends, Grillo does an excellent job of putting a modern menace within a political, social, and economic context that stretches back for decades. Better yet, Grillo demonstrates a familiarity with sophisticated analyses (in both English and Spanish) that augment his first-hand observations and provide the reader with a opportunity to learn more from other authors. The result is a book that can offer something for virtually everyone, from the completely uninitiated to the longtime analyst.It addresses one of the most difficult and dangerous problems of our time, and is a must-read due to its accessibility and intelligence.
Grillo's extensive amount of time in-country is on display as he deftly shifts his focus from one aspect of this multi-faceted problem to another, moving from the macro to the micro and back again. Never so in the weeds as to become tiresome or redundant, but never so cursory as to leave out important facts and trends, Grillo does an excellent job of putting a modern menace within a political, social, and economic context that stretches back for decades. Better yet, Grillo demonstrates a familiarity with sophisticated analyses (in both English and Spanish) that augment his first-hand observations and provide the reader with a opportunity to learn more from other authors. The result is a book that can offer something for virtually everyone, from the completely uninitiated to the longtime analyst.It addresses one of the most difficult and dangerous problems of our time, and is a must-read due to its accessibility and intelligence.
January 8, 2013
Hugely informative but lacking in a structured argument, El Narco provides a factual backdrop to the cartel situation in Mexico and the cultural and class institutions that perpetuate it. Unfortunately, Grillo cannot hide his uninformed biases and carries on with banal references and snarky quips that made me feel like I was reading one of those political banterings that crop up so frequently these days.
According to Grillo, the Nixon-era war on drugs and subsequent aggressive Mexican policy is not only a failure, but the catalyst for violence and increased drug trafficking. While US citizens/addicts are to blame for their unquentiable thirst for drugs on the demand side, retailers in the US are also responible for the supply side of weapons trafficking to Mexico. Grillo provides information but does little to form a cohesive argument, except at the end where he suggests legalizing not just marijuana (which he refers to inconsistently with slangy-type words that are just ridiculous), but also meth, cocaine, and heroin. Um, eek.
According to Grillo, the Nixon-era war on drugs and subsequent aggressive Mexican policy is not only a failure, but the catalyst for violence and increased drug trafficking. While US citizens/addicts are to blame for their unquentiable thirst for drugs on the demand side, retailers in the US are also responible for the supply side of weapons trafficking to Mexico. Grillo provides information but does little to form a cohesive argument, except at the end where he suggests legalizing not just marijuana (which he refers to inconsistently with slangy-type words that are just ridiculous), but also meth, cocaine, and heroin. Um, eek.
April 12, 2013
Is there an award like the Razzie for worst audio performance? Maybe a Nails-On-Blackboard award? A NOBY? If so I would like to nominate Mr. Paul Thornley’s performance in this book.
Although he is a professionally trained actor, I can honestly say I’ve heard more vocal variation and feeling from a prerecorded message than he delivers here.
This book may contain the secrets of the universe but I’ll never know --- it was too painful a listen.
One thing that puzzles me. From the time the narration is complete to the time the book is purchased, how many people listen to it for quality? Three? One? None? None would be my guess for this book because no hearing person could listen to it and say “Yep, this one is good to go”
If I were the author and had spent months researching, writing and re-writing a book that actually made it to publishing and THEN had it swept under the rug by dreadful narration, I’d be more than upset.
Although he is a professionally trained actor, I can honestly say I’ve heard more vocal variation and feeling from a prerecorded message than he delivers here.
This book may contain the secrets of the universe but I’ll never know --- it was too painful a listen.
One thing that puzzles me. From the time the narration is complete to the time the book is purchased, how many people listen to it for quality? Three? One? None? None would be my guess for this book because no hearing person could listen to it and say “Yep, this one is good to go”
If I were the author and had spent months researching, writing and re-writing a book that actually made it to publishing and THEN had it swept under the rug by dreadful narration, I’d be more than upset.
July 2, 2023
Ioan Grillo is a seasoned journalist who has spent over a decade working in Latin America and focusing on the drug wars. I am normally suspicious of books written by journalists, and almost dismissed this book out of hand. However, not only is the narrative thorough and detailed, but the author actually includes citations and a bibliography for more information.
The book has 3 major sections - devoted to the historical development of the cartels from early 20th century opium farmers to 21st century paramilitary insurgencies, the faith, music, culture, and practices of the current cartel members, and possible outlooks for where the cartels and the drug wars are headed.
While the situation is rapidly changing, this book was published in 2012 so it is still valuable even if a few years have passed. I am interested to see what Ioan Grillo has to add in his 2017 book Gangster Warlords.
The book has 3 major sections - devoted to the historical development of the cartels from early 20th century opium farmers to 21st century paramilitary insurgencies, the faith, music, culture, and practices of the current cartel members, and possible outlooks for where the cartels and the drug wars are headed.
While the situation is rapidly changing, this book was published in 2012 so it is still valuable even if a few years have passed. I am interested to see what Ioan Grillo has to add in his 2017 book Gangster Warlords.
April 2, 2013
Another Kindle sale book for me, this was an interesting read about a horrible situation that doesn't get nearly enough attention. It was a bit long and rambling at points and didn't really deal with hard details, moreso general factors and anecdotes. The author also has some rather annoying writing habits like referring to drugs by dramatic names in the middle of otherwise serious narrative. i.e. 'The seizure of 23.2 metric tons of the White lady made for the biggest cocaine bust in history'. I recognize you can feel repetitive when you're writing an entire book about Cocaine, Heroin and Marijuana, but it was jarring to read. More like reading a blog than serious journalism.
Worth picking up if it comes up as a Kindle deal again, but otherwise I'm sure there's better books on the subject available.
Worth picking up if it comes up as a Kindle deal again, but otherwise I'm sure there's better books on the subject available.
January 11, 2012
Grillo tediously describes awful murders scenes for most of this book! Was hoping for more economic, political, cultural analysis...
June 2, 2020
This is a fascinating read. It really brings to life the drug business and shines a beacon on the brutality and bravado of the people involved. This was a really insightful read and I loved it.
July 18, 2021
It’s everything you need to know about the history and reality of the Narco in México. It’s perfect for an outsider; if you aren’t familiar with this topic, give this book a read, it’s very interesting but also disturbing. For someone who has been aware of the situation for so many years, not everything in the book is new, but still there’s cool data and stories to read about.
It’s great that the book focuses more on explaining the Narco system in Mexico and its origins while not spending much time talking about the figures modern Netflix shows seem to admire so much. And it’s important cause you fix the problem by working on its foundations not cutting heads that will immediately grow back.
Also, it’s impressive how the author managed to acquire all this information and meet all this important players in the game by being an outsider. That on its own is a pretty impressive story IMO.
Things have changed since the book was written and it would be great to have a second part to better understand what’s going on right now, we barely hear about Narco in the news nowadays; but there’s just so much going on in the country right now.
It’s great that the book focuses more on explaining the Narco system in Mexico and its origins while not spending much time talking about the figures modern Netflix shows seem to admire so much. And it’s important cause you fix the problem by working on its foundations not cutting heads that will immediately grow back.
Also, it’s impressive how the author managed to acquire all this information and meet all this important players in the game by being an outsider. That on its own is a pretty impressive story IMO.
Things have changed since the book was written and it would be great to have a second part to better understand what’s going on right now, we barely hear about Narco in the news nowadays; but there’s just so much going on in the country right now.
July 22, 2020
Enjoyed this insight into the Mexican Drug War and the rise of the Mexican cartels. Contains plenty of grim first-hand accounts of brutality received by these cartels. I don't know how they deal with it.
August 14, 2025
When the author is at a high level discussing the general players, history, movements, implications, etc, this book is really interesting. But when he zooms in and gets detailed with individual stories, it's too tedious and loses my attention.
March 15, 2019
Interesting history of the rise of drug cartels in Mexico. But the book jumped around a lot so didn't wasn't the smoothest of reads
August 13, 2024
Wirtten in 2012, I only wish it was more current.
May 1, 2025
It was an interesting read. The historical parts were new to me.
July 1, 2019
Grillo has a strength to pull together different historical strings as he examines the narrative of the Mexican Drug wars. All the way from the humble mountain community roots through to today’s paramilitary death squads. All while focusing on the question « how did we get here? »
While this book takes tangents to mention the bloody details of civilian collateral damage and war casualties. It was not too focused on those aspects to keep readers interested.
Grillo definitely shows off his journalist skills when examining a a topic in detail. He loses points by making weird connections at times when examine the historical side of things (although 2008 events are hardly considered ´history’).
While this book takes tangents to mention the bloody details of civilian collateral damage and war casualties. It was not too focused on those aspects to keep readers interested.
Grillo definitely shows off his journalist skills when examining a a topic in detail. He loses points by making weird connections at times when examine the historical side of things (although 2008 events are hardly considered ´history’).
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