The Last Narco

June 28, 2010
Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera (a.k.a. El Chapo) is a legend in Mexican drug lore with a reputation as a charming, dangerous vice lord who effectively ran his operation at the peak of the violent drug battles over a decade. Using secret Mexican and American government records and interviews with officials, drug traffickers, and members of El Chapo's cartel, Beith, a journalist covering the Mexican drug war for Newsweek, provides an in-your-face account of the poor peasant boy who rose to become the most feared and ruthless of the drug lords, flaunting his wealth and power while eluding capture from a massive manhunt. Even when El Chapo's capture was announced, officials knew he would escape—and he did, returning to the mountains where troops couldn't touch him. Courageous, gritty, and gripping.