During university, we had a guest speaker give a lecture on black market economics for an international relations class I was in. The theme of the lecture was how black market economies are so large and cross state lines to such a degree that we are effectively living in a post-state world dominated by illegitimate and dangerous entities (cartels, mafias, cults, whatever you want to call them).

Leaving that lecture, you couldn't help but feel a sense of despair and paranoia. If these illegal criminal organizations are so large and powerful, yet so elusive, what chance do we have at eliminating them?

I couldn't help but think about that lecture while reading this book. Oswaldo Zavala reveals the myth-making language present throughout mainstream media's interpretations of Mexico's so-called narcos and cartels. These interpretations are purposely far away from the reality of drug trafficking to delineate a clear enemy, make this enemy larger than life, and conceal the true nature of this "enemy."

Zavala's literary analysis is helpful to understand how the discourse around narcos has evolved throughout the decades as the War on Drugs progressed, but I found the book to be a bit repetitive in its points by the end.