Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their Godfathers
Regions: Mexico, Sinaloa
Product of five years’ investigative reporting. Chronicles the Sinaloa Cartel from its beginnings in the 1980s, naming not just narcos but politicians, judges, and entrepreneurs who collaborated. Winner of the 2012 Golden Pen of Freedom. Originally published in Mexico in 2010 as Los Señores del Narco. Argues the current drug war is rooted in Reagan-era policies and systemic state complicity.