Narco Business

The most prosperous company in Mexico is not in the top 10 Aztec companies and is not even listed in the legal commercial register. It is a consortium of drug cartels that floods the world market with illicit products, from cocaine to heroin and synthetic drugs, and whose money has infiltrated 81% of the country's economic and social fabric. In four generations, the small-time Mexican smugglers of the 1920s have transformed themselves into the most influential mafia and financial powers on the planet. These capos are no longer artisans but bosses of multinationals, in suits and ties, who use the Internet and heavy artillery, live in upscale neighborhoods and are protected by men with “earpieces”. This investigation plunges us into the heart of the Mexican narcotics business. The author paints a portrait of these men, sons of good families or peasants, who have become millionaire businessmen who cold-bloodedly eliminate those who get in their way: judges, police officers, prosecutors, journalists, politicians... and competitors. Through this story, a country also takes shape: daily violence, immigration, poverty, corruption, politics and the question of its future: narco-dictatorship or constitutional state? Babette Stern est journaliste, spécialiste des grands sujets économiques internationaux. Après 10 ans au Monde, elle a été correspondante de Libération au Mexique et en Amérique latine, où elle se rend régulièrement.