Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields, and the New Politics of Latin America - Softcover

Grillo, Ioan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1620403811 ISBN 13: 9781620403815

Publisher: Bloomsbury Press, 2017

Synopsis

"Without this testimony, we simply cannot grasp what is going on . . . Americans would do well to read [Gangster Warlords]." --The New York Times Book Review

On a ranch south of Texas, the man known as The Executioner leaves five hundred body parts in metal barrels. In Brazil's biggest city, a mysterious prisoner orders hit men to gun down forty-one police officers and prison guards in two days. In southwest Mexico, a meth maker is venerated as a saint while enforcing Old Testament justice on his enemies.

A new kind of criminal kingpin has arisen: a hybrid of CEO, terrorist, and part rock star, commanding guerrilla attacks, strong-arming governments, and taking over much of the world's trade in narcotics, guns, and humans. What they do affects you now--from the gas in your car, to the gold in your jewelry, to the tens of thousands of Latin Americans calling for refugee status in the United States. Gangster Warlords is the first definitive account of the crime wars unleashing humanitarian disaster in Central and South America and the Caribbean, regions largely abandoned by the United States after the Cold War. Author of the critically acclaimed El Narco, Ioan Grillo has covered Latin America since 2001 and gained access up the cartel chain of command in what he calls the new battlefields of the Americas. Moving between militia-controlled ghettos and the halls of top policymakers, Grillo provides a disturbing new understanding of a war that has spiraled out of control--and needs to be confronted now.

About this title

About the Author

Ioan Grillo has reported on Latin America since 2001 for international media including Time magazine, Reuters, CNN, the Associated Press, PBS NewsHour, the Houston Chronicle, CBC, and the Sunday Telegraph. His first book, El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency, was translated into five languages and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Orwell Prize. A native of Britain, Grillo lives in Mexico City.

Review

"A vitally important book." ―starred review, Library Journal

"A striking exploration of the horrors of mass violence in the Western Hemisphere, with the author offering hope that radical policies could provide positive change." ―Kirkus Reviews

"Grillo's diligently researched story has as many colorful characters and as much dramatic plot as any good piece of fiction might, but his is the real deal . . . Gangster Warlords is journalism at its finest." ―Shelf Awareness

"There has quite simply never been a book like this before . . . Taut and endlessly revelatory, Gangster Warlords is required reading for anyone who seeks to understand the drug wars taking place in Latin America today--and especially for any Americans who might imagine it’s just 'their' problem." ―Scott Anderson, bestselling author of LAWRENCE IN ARABIA

"Grillo's new book is steely-eyed and sensitive reporting on the criminal kings at the front-lines of the continental catastrophe called the war on drugs." ―Daniel Hernandez, author of DOWN & DELIRIOUS IN MEXICO CITY

"With El Narco, Mr. Grillo gave us an unprecedented glimpse into the vicious world of Mexican drug cartels. In Gangster Warlords, he masterfully expands the criminal landscape to include villains across Latin America and the Caribbean. The depth and detail he provides on fearsome organizations like the Red Commando in Brazil and the Shower Posse in Jamaica cast a much-needed spotlight on groups not regularly featured in US media. A sobering and fascinating look at deadly gangsters in often-neglected corners of our own hemisphere." ―Sylvia Longmire, author of CARTEL and BORDER INSECURITY

"Something new and terrible is happening in the Americas. It has murdered a million people in ten years, and yet we don’t fully understand it. Until now. Combining hair-raising reporting with erudite analysis, Grillo has written an indispensable guide to the new world disorder." ―Richard Grant, author of GOD'S MIDDLE FINGER

"The stories in Gangster Warlords offer a dramatic portrait of a region torn by poverty, dysfunctional politics and the bloody allure of crime. Grillo has written a riveting Latin American tragedy. If only it were fiction." ―León Krauze, Univision

"Ioan Grillo captures the power and the horror of the Latin American drug cartels with unrivaled reporting and riveting writing. With Gangster Warlords, he once again proves his mastery of interweaving the broader context with vivid, on-the-ground journalism to provide readers with a street level view of a complex war fought without clear front lines." ―Matthew Heineman, director of CARTEL LAND

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1620403811
• ISBN 13: 9781620403815
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384