The Dope

The Mexican drug trade has inspired prejudiced narratives of a war between north and south, white and brown, between noble cops and vicious kingpins, corrupt politicians and powerful cartels. In The Dope, Benjamin T. Smith draws on unprecedented archival research; leaked DEA, Mexican law enforcement, and cartel documents; and dozens of harrowing interviews to tell the real story of how and why this one-peaceful industry turned violent, interrogate the US-backed policies that inflamed the carnage, and explore corruption on both sides of the border. Vivid characters--from Ignacia "La Nacha" Jasso, "queen-pin" of Juarez, to Harry Anslinger, founder of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics--propel this thrilling history, which reveals the human cost of the trade. A dark morality tale about the American hunger for intoxication and the necessities of human survival, The Dope is essential for understanding drug war violence and how decades-old myths shape Mexico in the American imagination today. Benjamin T. Smith, professor of Latin American history at the University of Warwick, has published dozens of articles in high-profile history journals and written widely on Mexico for the Guardian, the Jacobin, and Dissent. He lives in Warwick, England.