Description:

The product of five years’ investigative reporting, the subject of intense national controversy,
and the source of death threats that forced the National Human Rights Commission to assign
two full-time bodyguards to its author, Anabel Hernández, Narcoland has been a publishing
and political sensation in Mexico.

The definitive history of the drug cartels, Narcoland takes readers to the front lines of the
“war on drugs,” which has so far cost more than 60,000 lives in just six years. Hernández explains
in riveting detail how Mexico became a base for the mega-cartels of Latin America and one of the
most violent places on the planet. At every turn, Hernández names names—not just the narcos,
but also the politicians, functionaries, judges and entrepreneurs who have collaborated with them.
In doing so, she reveals the mind-boggling depth of corruption in Mexico’s government
and business elite.

Hernández became a journalist after her father was kidnapped and killed and the police refused
to investigate without a bribe. She gained national prominence in 2001 with her exposure
of excess and misconduct at the presidential palace, and previous books have focused on
criminality at the summit of power, under presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón.
In awarding Hernández the 2012 Golden Pen of Freedom, the World Association of Newspapers
and News Publishers noted, “Mexico has become one of the most dangerous countries in the
world for journalists, with violence and impunity remaining major challenges in terms of press
freedom. In making this award, we recognize the strong stance Ms. Hernández has taken, at great
personal risk, against drug cartels.”

From Publishers Weekly

First published in Mexico as Los señores del narco in 2010, this dry translation brings Mexican investigative journalist Hernández's exposé about drug trafficking in Mexico to an English-speaking audience. Five years in the making, it's an in-depth, unforgiving look at the deep-rooted corruption that has allowed the cartels to flourish; they now influence and control vast swaths of the country. Numerous anecdotes and interviews flesh out a decades-long narrative, touching on everything from CIA and DEA involvement, to how the drug lords run their empires from prison, to the way these powerful men live and die. It's a scathing, sobering report, as Hernández lays the blame not just on the drug cartels, but on all those who exercise everyday power from behind a false halo of legality to make their law of ÿsilver or lead'  a reality. While appendices containing glossaries of acronyms and short bios do much to reduce reader confusion, there's still an immense and exhausting amount of information to absorb. Those willing to slog through the dense bits will find a thought-provoking portrait of the crime and corruption that dominates our southerly neighbor. (Sept.)

From Booklist

Most Americans are aware of the carnage wrought upon Mexico by the powerful drug cartels. Still, this account of the rise and continued domination by these cartels is both shocking and unsettling. Hernandez, a widely respected investigative journalist, first published this work in Mexico in 2010, and many of her charges and warnings have been confirmed by subsequent events. According to Hernandez, Mexico is already a “narco-state.” That is, the cartels have become thoroughly embedded into key sectors of Mexican society, including the military, the police forces, the courts, and both the local and federal legislatures. Utilizing seemingly authentic secret files and credible sources, she exposes high-level corruption with mind-numbing details, and she doesn’t shrink from flinging accusations of both incompetence and complicity at former president Calderon, hailed in the U.S. for launching the “war” against the cartels. Critics within Mexico have accused Hernandez of painting with too broad a brush. Perhaps so, but she still presents a convincing portrait of a society poisoned by its worst elements and presenting a serious challenge for our own country. --Jay Freeman