What to Read After Watching Narcos: Hotel Scarface

As per my introduction, I thought I would begin with one of the books that furthered my understanding of American drug policy as it is today- or, more specifically, a book that can help those of us not in our 50's understand the violence and political upheaval that would lead to the notorious War on Drugs!

If you haven't already seen Narcos, I would highly suggest it - though be warned, there is quite a big of violence.  While it is a dramatized account of what happened in Colombia in the 70's, it does quite a good job of sticking to the truth (for the most part). The first two seasons of the show tell the story of Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug kingpin who built an empire through the cocaine trade, as well as the American agents who were tasked with bringing him down. The third season focuses on the events that occurred after his death: namely, the rise of the Cali Cartel.

Before digging into Narcos: Mexico - which focuses on illegal drug trafficking in Mexico - I suggest turning to Hotel Scarface as a companion book. While Narcos does a phenomenal job of underscoring what occurred in Colombia to lead to the common consumption of cocaine in America, Hotel Scarface explores exactly what was going on in the United States that led to the drug's massive popularity and eventual focus as a key aspect of the "War on Drugs".

The setting: The Mutiny Hotel, Miami, early 1970's. A group of disillusioned trained operatives (predominantly Cuban born) decide to put their CIA training to good use to begin running drugs up and down the Florida coast. This is in the years surrounding the Bay of Pigs incident: even as the US fails to infiltrate and take down Castro, many continue to hope they can one day return to their homeland. Enter future kingpins Rudy "Redbeard" and Carlos Quesada: with the help of a soon-to-be notorious man nicknamed "Monkey" Morales, the men quickly begin raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars: an initial investment of $625 per thousand cocoa leaves turns into $600,000 (and this is in the 1970's!) (Farzad, 38-39).

"Redbeard" and Quesada know each other from primary school in Cuba: with "Redbeard's" connections in Colombia the two build a cocaine empire seemingly overnight. They will eventually be caught by the US Justice System, largely due to the Colombian "Grandmother of Coke", Griselda Blanco, who is attempting to get Miami competitors out of her way and is successful in destroying the initial trust the two men had built to run their drug empire. This also leads "Redbeard" to turn informant, a common event at the time: with so many small fish to fry, the CIA and DEA focus their attention on turning (mostly) small-time drug dealers into informants.

From here, around the end of the 1970's, "Willie" Falcon and "Sal" Magluta take over. They represent the new generation: born in Cuba, they escape communism at an early age and are raised in Miami. They also manage to obtain a direct wholesale line to the Medellin cartel (Farzad, 68). These men have a seemingly more long-term cocaine empire, until "Monkey" Morales and other former dealers-turned-informants manage to inform the CIA of enough details to force the men into the American justice system.

The first third of the book focuses on the going-ons at the Mutiny Hotel, where the "Mutiny gang" has so much money they literally don't know what to do with it (it turns out they put several servers and valet workers through college with regular tips ranging anywhere from $1000-$10,000 - and oh, how I wish my serving jobs in college had provided me with this much income!).  The second third (or so) of the book recounts so many crazy stories it turns into one of those too-crazy-to-be-true tales, including drug dealers who know exactly how to play both sides of the fence (drug dealers and government officials), buying one's way out of the justice system, and exactly which music i-cons of the 1970's and 1980's party at the Mutiny. Oh, and you might be interested to know that some of these dealers became competitive sail boat racers: indeed, you can see one of them in an early scene of the 2007 Miami Vice's scenes (not one of the big-timer dealers of course, just one of his most trusted speed-boat operators).

So if you're looking for a true story that fills you in on exactly what rich people can and can't do with their money- as well as the American involvement behind-the-scenes in the early stages of the "Drug War" - this is a book for you. I must confess, I initially began this book and read about the first third of it before that helpful library reminder - it's due soon!- popped up. But it stuck with me for so long - the stories are literally that crazy - that I went back to the library to check it out again and re-read it in its entirety in about four days. The political reality of the "War on Drugs" in the 1970's and 1980's is also well illustrated in this book, which definitely provides a lot of background knowledge on the topic for those looking to better understand why America continues to deal with illegal drugs the way it does. I would also like to add that I have recounted a majority of this book at parties and nights out with friends, so it's been tested and found as an interesting topic of conversation among friends (or possibly people you might be looking to impress?)

Anyway, if you do end up checking the book out, let me know what you think! I believe I'll be shifting to a new topic next post, but I am definitely interested in reading and understanding more about this topic as the whole "legalization of marijuana" is so relevant to modern American politics.

Thanks everyone!