From Publishers Weekly
In the course of covering the international drug scene for 10 years for Newsweek (she is now with Time ) Shannon clearly developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject. Here she draws on that expertise, basing her book on the torture-murder of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique Camarena in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1985, a case that is still unresolved. She reveals that the U.S. government has talked a good anti-drug fight but has done little more than form study commissions, convene conferences and sign treaties. She contends, also, that Mexico's war on drugs has been rife with corruption, from street cops to high officials. And, farther south, the Colombian administration has been fighting a losing battle against a cartel headquartered in Medellin, with judges and lawmen assassinated by the dozen. The conclusion: the only way to win the war is to end the demand in America for marijuana and cocaine. An instructive study. 35,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; first serial to Time magazine; film rights to Michael Mann Productions; author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
The "desperados" of the title in this excellent work refer, not to drug dealers, but to agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), fighting the war on drugs throughout Latin America. News magazine veteran Shannon focuses on the DEA war in Mexico, before and after the murder of agent Kiki Camerena by drug lords. She also details the role of the U.S. government, which stresses positive moves and ignores negative ones when dealing with drug-producing countries. An incisive and gripping account, and a good companion to Paul Eddy's The Cocaine Wars: Murder, Money, Corruption, and the World's Most Valuable Commodity ( LJ 7/88). Very highly recommended. Sally G. Waters, Stetson Law Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.