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The Making of a Massacre
Audiobook
Published March 8, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 29, 2020
For me, this was like True Crime Light.
The extremely brutal fiction of Don Winslow has toughened me up, though make no mistake, this was a massacre.
I enjoyed how the actors told the stories exactly how they were told to the journalist and I enjoyed the serial format. I do, however, feel like it was a bit padded, with long pauses and/or short musical interludes.
As I said above, Don Winslow has opened my eyes in regards to the DEA, and other government entities. They’re not always the good guys they purport to be. This little series exposes that and a few other ugly realities as well.
The extremely brutal fiction of Don Winslow has toughened me up, though make no mistake, this was a massacre.
I enjoyed how the actors told the stories exactly how they were told to the journalist and I enjoyed the serial format. I do, however, feel like it was a bit padded, with long pauses and/or short musical interludes.
As I said above, Don Winslow has opened my eyes in regards to the DEA, and other government entities. They’re not always the good guys they purport to be. This little series exposes that and a few other ugly realities as well.
June 4, 2018
“Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” that's what came to mind when I listened to this work. In this documentary the author/journalist goes to the place where a tragic massacre had taken place in a small town in Mexico. Most of the victims had nothing to do with the drug cartel that had set up in their town and taken over. Some had a connection with the informants that provided information to law enforcement, some were at the wrong place when the cartel men made a sweep and rounded them up...the majority would be executed and incinerated and their houses bull dozed. Retribution was swift and without mercy. I found it shocking but also informative.
May 9, 2018
It's the story of how a massacre happened, and yet it's so boring. Free on audible.
October 22, 2020
Es un reportaje periodístico en formato podcast sobre la masacre de los Zetas en Allende.
No sabía nada sobre este episodio de la historia reciente de México y me pareció que estaba bien construido y sin reparar más de lo necesario en detalles escabrosos.
Algo que me ha molestado un poco es que los actores que doblan al inglés a las fuentes mexicanas fuercen un acento "latino", porque conozco a muchos mexicanos que no hablan con ese acento en absoluto.
No sabía nada sobre este episodio de la historia reciente de México y me pareció que estaba bien construido y sin reparar más de lo necesario en detalles escabrosos.
Algo que me ha molestado un poco es que los actores que doblan al inglés a las fuentes mexicanas fuercen un acento "latino", porque conozco a muchos mexicanos que no hablan con ese acento en absoluto.
July 30, 2019
Very interesting to hear about this. I hadn't heard anything about this before listening to this
July 28, 2018
This story is unbelievable, yet believable when you live in the border and have knowledge of how bad it is over in Mexico. The US government has a lot of blame on their hands. The blood of many innocent victims is on their hands. They can't just say, "We were just doing our job," knowing that passing along vital information to the Mexican authorities is always a bad decision. This story infuriates me yet there's little I can do.
August 29, 2019
This one made me cry, though I do admit to being soft. I remember stories of the original massacre, but nothing prepared me for the full horror of the story. In March 2011, members of a drug cartel rounded up various people, including many innocent civilians in and around Allende, Coahuila, Mexico. Allende is in northern Mexico, near the Texan border so I am assuming that is why the story got the coverage that it did.
The audiobook takes us back before the massacre and the reasoning behind the massacre. Basically, the journalist states that the US DEA got some very important intelligence on this particular cartel (Los Zetas) who had been running drugs into the USA. The informant was adamant that the information stay out of the hands of the Mexican authorities. Senior level DEA agents decided to share the information instead. The information got back to the cartel. Then in March 2011, over 300 people were rounded up, most of them killed, burned alive in a massive fire on a ranch outside of town. The homes of about 80 families were looted, burned and bulldozed to the ground. The firefighters were told to stay away or be killed. The police and civil officials did nothing. There was no help for anyone. Some of the victims include a 15 year old boy who was out with friends. His friends and their entire family were rounded up and killed along with the boy. This story hit me hard as the mother of a teenage son myself. He was an ordinary boy with a loving family. He died in fear. His mother has been left broken.
There was a man who was searching for family members. He left behind a beloved wife, a daughter and an unknown son. The family who owned the ranch were nearly decimated. A 5 year old girl and 3 year old boy were spared but they lost their baby brother, parents, grandparents and an 80+ year old great grandmother. I think this story hit me the hardest because the girl, now 12, still blames herself for her baby brother's death. She argued with the men saying she could care for him but they said no. She still thinks she could have saved him.
In so many cases, the victims were completely innocent. Yet the authorities were ready to call them all cartel members making money from drug smuggling. That may be what hurts the most, to have the victims' integrity expunged to make a convenient narrative for the authorities. As well, it took 6 years for a proper investigation to be carried out. The result of which were death certificates for the missing dead and a box of earth because they couldn't trace the small amount of body parts remaining in the ashes at the ranch. The families do not feel any sense of closure or safety. Yes, the cartel brothers have been arrested and imprisoned for drugs crimes, but there is fear that they still run things from prison. Yes, some low level people were arrested for the massacre but there is no discussion on how the cartel got the leaked information from the DEA. The DEA still see it as casualties as a part of a war on drugs and do not accept any blame. The whole pathetic incident is mired in corruption from the Mexican side and bad management from the American side. The victims remain without justice and their families continue to grieve.
I did not intend to write so much but this story has touched me for some reason. Maybe it's the senselessness of it all. That poor girl pleading for the life of her baby brother sums it up. It was inhuman and beyond the pale.
The audiobook takes us back before the massacre and the reasoning behind the massacre. Basically, the journalist states that the US DEA got some very important intelligence on this particular cartel (Los Zetas) who had been running drugs into the USA. The informant was adamant that the information stay out of the hands of the Mexican authorities. Senior level DEA agents decided to share the information instead. The information got back to the cartel. Then in March 2011, over 300 people were rounded up, most of them killed, burned alive in a massive fire on a ranch outside of town. The homes of about 80 families were looted, burned and bulldozed to the ground. The firefighters were told to stay away or be killed. The police and civil officials did nothing. There was no help for anyone. Some of the victims include a 15 year old boy who was out with friends. His friends and their entire family were rounded up and killed along with the boy. This story hit me hard as the mother of a teenage son myself. He was an ordinary boy with a loving family. He died in fear. His mother has been left broken.
There was a man who was searching for family members. He left behind a beloved wife, a daughter and an unknown son. The family who owned the ranch were nearly decimated. A 5 year old girl and 3 year old boy were spared but they lost their baby brother, parents, grandparents and an 80+ year old great grandmother. I think this story hit me the hardest because the girl, now 12, still blames herself for her baby brother's death. She argued with the men saying she could care for him but they said no. She still thinks she could have saved him.
In so many cases, the victims were completely innocent. Yet the authorities were ready to call them all cartel members making money from drug smuggling. That may be what hurts the most, to have the victims' integrity expunged to make a convenient narrative for the authorities. As well, it took 6 years for a proper investigation to be carried out. The result of which were death certificates for the missing dead and a box of earth because they couldn't trace the small amount of body parts remaining in the ashes at the ranch. The families do not feel any sense of closure or safety. Yes, the cartel brothers have been arrested and imprisoned for drugs crimes, but there is fear that they still run things from prison. Yes, some low level people were arrested for the massacre but there is no discussion on how the cartel got the leaked information from the DEA. The DEA still see it as casualties as a part of a war on drugs and do not accept any blame. The whole pathetic incident is mired in corruption from the Mexican side and bad management from the American side. The victims remain without justice and their families continue to grieve.
I did not intend to write so much but this story has touched me for some reason. Maybe it's the senselessness of it all. That poor girl pleading for the life of her baby brother sums it up. It was inhuman and beyond the pale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2018
Making of a Massacre was an interesting format. I could best describe this as like an audio podcast format of a 60-minutes type show. I think that this type of format could be very interesting for future shows in a number of genres from crime to drama. I think I'd really like a weekly show in this format or a mini series that you look forward to each week. The story here is nothing entirely unheard of considering the big news stories of U.S. mess ups on the cartel front like Fast & Furious. It is well done and it was a story I had never previously heard before. The presentation is also well done. Some of the voice actors are a bit too dramatic for their parts, but for the most part it was worth the listen.
December 21, 2020
What an excellent telling of the massacre that happened in Allende, Mexico. You think you know how drug cartels and trafficking works until you hear about it or are a victim of it.
My heart goes out to all those who lost their lives and their families over something so senseless as drug trafficking. Drug trafficking is real, carteles are real, but none of it is necessary.
The thing that really stuck out to me was the line “Mexico es 100 por ciento corrupto.”
My heart goes out to all those who lost their lives and their families over something so senseless as drug trafficking. Drug trafficking is real, carteles are real, but none of it is necessary.
The thing that really stuck out to me was the line “Mexico es 100 por ciento corrupto.”
September 11, 2021
Such a sad tale of absolute brutally, heartbreak and pure evil. It was delivered in a detached manor, that made it difficult to empathise with the people involved, as it just didn’t come across as realistic. I had to pause it several times and remind myself that this was no fictional story. This was and still is very real, and unfortunately that really wasn’t portrayed.
August 10, 2018
The story is heartbreaking and riveting. The presentation, especially the music and some voice acting is melodramatic(borders on cartoonish). The over-the-top nature of the presentation makes the narrative feel fictional, and that is a huge disservice to the people affected by the massacre.
May 28, 2020
Worth a listen simply because it's a true story, however you can save yourself a lot of time by searching online for articles about the massacre.
There wasn't anything that really gripped my attention throughout, and it's forgettable.
There wasn't anything that really gripped my attention throughout, and it's forgettable.
May 24, 2018
Interesting docudrama from Audible about the drug cartels in Mexico. Profound and moving in the extreme this is an interesting listen and should be listened by everybody.
June 13, 2018
Excellent true crime reporting around a specific event tied to drug cartels in Mexico. And I got it for free from Audible-win win!
September 13, 2018
An amazing first person account of the drug war in Mexico. Excellent read!
January 18, 2019
Chilling account of what happens when power, corruption, money, and drugs are more important than humanity.
February 23, 2019
A chilling story and strong journalistic effort from ProPublica exploring a powerful Mexican drug cartel and what led to the 2011 massacre in Allende, Mexico.
May 5, 2019
Very interesting true story
December 18, 2019
So dry. I thought it'd be great but it was so incredibly boring and put me to sleep. Very disappointing
April 11, 2020
This was a good book that kept my attention. It was a bit scary and disconcerting but if as true as it seems there is much to be concerned for in this world.
Read
December 14, 2020Sucks.
March 28, 2023
Absolutely heartbroken for the victims and their families
March 29, 2019
Sometimes the cruelty of humans and their blindness to the real twisted horror of the world is shocking. I read this as I wanted to learn more about it. I heard nothing about it where I live and the fact that people try and bury this, hide the full horror worries me. We are not perfect and never will be but the cruelty of the cartels and the depth of their corruption saddens me. A must read if you can stomach it. Can be a little slow at times.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews