Drug Lord: A True Story: The Life and Death of a Mexican Kingpin

Read this book about 20+ years ago. I found it intriguing and very much filled with tense moments. I can't remember any of the smaller details, but that is why I purchased it! I loaned it out and it was never returned. I can't wait to read it again!

This book was very interesting. You feel as though you are in the midst of the desert standing right next to these traffickers as they do their business. The dust is in the air as you turn the pages and you feel the danger as you read.

I had the privelege of living close to Ojinaga during the time Acosta was alive. I remember very vividly when he was shot on the other side of the border by Federal Agents. I had never met Acosta nor his direct enemies, but was acquainted with relatives of Arevelo's. I know his son and the book does not lie. This was every day life for the people of Ojinaga. It is run by druglords still to this day, but to the ignorant eye, you only see a run-down, dusty- almost surreal town of nothingness. Most border towns are gleaming with touristy shops and a bustling market. Not Ojinaga. Bulletholes are still in the side of the Bikini Bar in the Sqaure where a gunfight broke out between Acosta's men and his rival- Most roads are not even paved and Donkeys are a coomon site even in the downtown area. People still talk of him and how he helped the entire town- throwing parties- giving people money- helping out the needy. I read this book and it was almost like listening to Arevelo's son and other residents of O.J. tell me the stories before Poppa ever even wrote the book. Pablo Acosta was no glamour-big shot- He looked like the illegal alien you would see working illegally on a ranch in the hot sun of South Texas. Rough hands, sun-dried skin. I have seen pictures of him other than the book and the book depicts him perfectly. He was a genuine, deep rooted Mexican drug smuggler with nothing to prove other than the fact he knew how to get his drugs across the border and get paid for it. If you like mafia movies, books- if you are looking for genuine stories that depict real life- things you can almost relate to-- this is the book you need to get. It turns you on to the world of real life drug smuggling in Mexico-- The dirtiness of it. The everyday Mexican that turns from a nobody into a native hero and a foreign enemy.

I first read Drug Lord, the Life and Death of a Mexican Kingpin, two years ago and was amazed by the amount of information the author was able to pack into the narrative without bogging it down. For me, it was like a journey through the looking glass, stepping into the distorted realities of a Mexico run by a perverse and frightening political system. I ended up sympathizing with Pablo Acosta, wishing he would save himself by giving up to the Americans. His misdeeds as a border drug trafficker were eclipsed by the ruthless system of government that exploited him. After reading Drug Lord, the stories I read about Mexico in the newspapers made so much more sense. I read the book again recently and was taken this time by the mature, vigorous and sometimes passionate prose. Some of the chapters are in fact brilliant short stories. It took a great deal of courage for an American journalist to explore this border underworld. Perhaps because of the dangers, no other American journalist that I know of has dared to repeat his noteworthy accomplishment. His work is a classic.

Drug Lord is a pleasure to read even though its message is quite disturbing. Terrence Pappa's journalistic talents are obvious; by focusing primarily on the biography of the Mexican drug lord, Pablo Acosta, rather than directly on the issue of drug smuggling, he immediately engages the reader's interest. Acosta is a fascinating character, reminiscent in some ways of Chicago's Al Capone. However, there is one huge difference: Pappa provides convincing evidence that even most powerful drug lords, such as Acosta, are only pawns in a drug trade that involves the highest levels of the Mexico's ruling party including the brother of the former President and possibly even former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, himself. The rampant corruption in the PRI - the political party that has ruled Mexico over 70 years - illustrates how difficult it will be for Mexico to get its social and economic house in order. This means that we can expect the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs (and they are related) will end no time soon.

I will start by saying that I am the first Ojinaga native to admit to what was taking place in Ojinaga at the time. I grew up in the small dusty town and my father was a wealthy man and well known. We owned 4 businesses and I got to meet the Drug Lord himself while he was visiting my father at one of the liquor stores. I witness one of the executions that took place on trasvina street. This book is nothing but inside information on one of the most notorious drug lords of our time and the mentor of Amado Carrillo. It's like reading a fiction gangster moive only this is the real thing. No book I've read comes close to detailing as much information and getting the reader involved in the story. If you want to know how Amado "Lord of the Skies" Carrillo got his start and how Mafiosos lived and died, this book is a must read. I lend this book to my professor and friends and they read it in 3 days, you'll be hooked from page one. Goodfellas doesn't come close to this one.