Explosive, bestselling account of Mexico's drug cartels and the government - business nexus that enables them.

Narcoland describes a disastrous 'war on drugs' that has led to more than 80,000 deaths in half a dozen years. This is a book that exposes how everything in Mexico is implicated in the 'narco system.' Anabel Hernandez, journalist and author, accuses the Mexican state of complicity with the cartels, and says the 'war on drugs' is a sham. She's had headless animals left at her door and her family have been threatened by gunmen. Narcoland became, and remains, a bestseller: more than 100,000 copies sold in Mexico. The success is impossible to overstate, a staggering figure for a non-fiction book in a country with indices of income and literacy incomparable to the American-European book-buying market.,The most remarkable feature of Anabel Hernandez's brave and invaluable account of Mexico's blood-drenched drug wars is that she survived long enough to write it. We would all be poorer without Hernandez's determination to account for a civil conflict that has cost at least 60,000 lives. There could be no greater shame for Mexico should such a fearless and dedicated reporter come to any harm. Narcoland, with its explosive descriptions of decades of corruption permeating the upper echelons of government, leaves an extremely bad taste in the reader's mouth about the state of Mexico's perennially corrupt institutions - and begs the question: how much has changed? For Narcoland, Anabel Hernandez spent five years combing police, court and US papers, securing access to informers and sources and pursuing often fruitless requests for official files. The result is a searing indictment of a war on drugs she believes was a sham from the start.The stark truth of a sham 'war'...A product of five years' investigative reporting, Hernandez's meticulously researched explanation of the links between the Sinaloa cartel, the world's biggest criminal organisation, and Mexico's leadership makes for jaw-dropping reading.,In this brave work, the author argues that since the presidency of Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (1964 - 1970), all of Mexico's rulers have maintained close relations with groups that import, export, and sell illegal drugs. Indispensable reading for anyone who wants to understand the origins of the violence ...An extraordinary book for making the necessary journey to our heart of darkness.

“An investigative magnum opus.”
—Los Angeles Times

“A riveting story ... an incredibly brave journalist.”
—NPR Morning Edition

“This is a book that you read twenty-five pages at a time and then take a break from, shaking your head in disbelief that everything it contains could really have occurred. That it did only makes Hernández’s undertaking all the more necessary.”
—Barnes & Noble Review

“Rigorous, disturbing narrative of how drug cartels infiltrated Mexican society’s highest levels ... Essential reading for a serious understanding of how the war on drugs is destroying the social fabric of South American nations.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“The most remarkable feature of Anabel Hernández’s brave and invaluable account of Mexico’s blood-drenched drug wars is that she survived long enough to write it.”
—Sunday Times

“Braving the wrath of drug traffickers and government officials alike … Hernández has exposed the corruption at the heart of the drug war that has killed over 80,000 of her compatriots since 2006.” —Nation

“Anabel Hernández accuses the Mexican state of complicity with the cartels, and says the ‘war on drugs’ is a sham. She’s had headless animals left at her door and her family have been threatened by gunmen ... Narcoland became, and remains, a bestseller: more than 100,000 copies sold in Mexico. The success is impossible to overstate, a staggering figure for a nonfiction book in a country with indices of income and literacy incomparable to the American–European book-buying market.”
—Ed Vulliamy, Observer

“Anabel Hernández exposes the most murderous drug organization in Mexico, the Mexican government. Of course, this level of corruption is only possible thanks to the moral and financial support of the leaders in Washington. Here’s the story the media never has the time to tell you.” —Charles Bowden author of Murder City: Ciudad Juárez and the Global Economy’s New Killing Fields

“Jaw-dropping reading.”
—Independent

“While many Mexican politicians and officials merely pretend to fight the drugs producers, Anabel Hernández has taken a genuine stand in favour of the rule of law and decency in her society. [Narcoland] is in itself an important statement. She deserves our respect and admiration for making it.”
—Spectator

“A searing indictment of a war on drugs Hernández believes was a sham from the start.”
—Financial Times


From the Hardcover edition.