Product Description

This is a riveting portrait of Pablo Acosta, the scar-faced Mexican padrino who controlled crime along 250 miles of the Rio Grande. It is a linear work that traces the drug lord's rise from humble beginnings, his rapid ascension to power through murder and treachery, his smuggling of sixty tons of cocaine a year into the United States, his struggles to defend his expanding empire against rivals, the betrayals and over-indulgence that fostered his downfall, and his dramatic death at the hands of the same police system that had been giving him protection.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #221903 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

About the Author
Terrence E Poppa

Customer Reviews

A fascinating look at the Mexican drug cartel
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.

drug lord.....it could only happen in Mexico
excellent read....amazing how a government can control the distribution of drugs an the drugs traffickers are just the pawns played out in serious business.Poppa gets you interested straight away by writing the book aimed mainly at Pablo Acosta & his associates rather than go straight to the point of the Mexican authorities being responsible for allowing the illegal trade of drugs in the first place.

A fascinating read
Learn about the rise and fall of one the most infamous Mexican drug lords, his connections that run deep into the Mexican government, politicians, police force and the army. His downfall can be attributed to him getting addicted to his own product, not his arrogance or the many assassinations that he had committed. His many criminal deeds can be easily brushed under the carpet in Mexico as long as you have the funds to satisfy the police force. A truly interesting read.