Drug War Zone: Frontline Dispatches from the Streets of El Paso and Juárez (The William and Bettye Nowlin Series in Art, History, and Culture of the Western Hemisphere) [Paperback]

Howard Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2009 | Series: The William and Bettye Nowlin Series in Art, History, and Culture of the Western Hemisphere

Thousands of people die in drug-related violence every year in Mexico. Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, adjacent to El Paso, Texas, has become the most violent city in the Mexican drug war. Much of the cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine consumed in the United States is imported across the Mexican border, making El Paso/Juárez one of the major drug-trafficking venues in the world.

In this anthropological study of drug trafficking and anti-drug law enforcement efforts on the U.S.-Mexico border, Howard Campbell uses an ethnographic perspective to chronicle the recent Mexican drug war, focusing especially on people and events in the El Paso/Juárez area. It is the first social science study of the violent drug war that is tearing Mexico apart.

Based on deep access to the drug-smuggling world, this study presents the drug war through the eyes and lives of direct participants. Half of the book consists of oral histories from drug traffickers, and the other half from law enforcement officials. There is much journalistic coverage of the drug war, but very seldom are the lived experiences of traffickers and "narcs" presented in such vivid detail. In addition to providing an up-close, personal view of the drug-trafficking world, Campbell explains and analyzes the functioning of drug cartels, the corruption that facilitates drug trafficking, the strategies of smugglers and anti-narcotics officials, and the perilous culture of drug trafficking that Campbell refers to as the "Drug War Zone."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

HOWARD CAMPBELL is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Texas at El Paso. He is the co-editor of the University of Texas Press Inter-America Series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press (October 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029272179X
• ISBN-13: 978-0292721791
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #544,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating ethnography of border violence November 27, 2009

By Mark L.

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The US Mexico Border is one of the most unique among anthropological spaces. Apart from being bi-national, it is enormously complex in the variety and interplay of cultures and social classes. The area, now affected by a drug war in Mexico, remains "safe" on the US side and anarchic on the Mexcian side. Yet the communities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are deeply intertwined and inextricable. In this context, the author delves into the sub-cultures and groups that are part of the drug war. He interviews police officers, drug dealers, border patrol agents and a host of social actors who play out this complex and dangerous drama. The author spends a great deal of time framing the border context and then lets his subjects tell their stories. For those who want to see good anthropology in action, this is a great example. For others, who just want to try to understand what is going on in the trenches of the drug war, the book is indispensible.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Drug War Zone April 1, 2010

By Alesia Zagara

Format:Paperback

"Like the oral historian Studs Terkel, Howard Campbell-a professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Texas at El Paso- aims to "record the voices of the common workers". The common workers in this case are all intimately connected -as drug traffickers, law enforcement officials and innocent bystanders - to the drug trade between Mexico and the United States. By anchoring his work in both the US city of El Paso and the Mexican city of Juarez, Campbell is able to present lengthy, firsthand accounts of life on both sides of this violent, otherworldly "drug war zone".
Few previous works have explored the complex dynamics and consequences of cross-border drug trafficking as absorbingly as this book. Among the fascinating characters we meet are a self-proclaimed anarchist dealer who cites Margaret Mead in support of his belief that drugs should be legalized; a historian who recites the legend of La Nacha, who outwitted her rivals to become one of the most powerful drug dealers on the US-Mexico border; an innocent Lebanese Mexican who sold scuba diving gear to ambitious drug smugglers; and a "dyed-in-the-wool Republican" from Texas who used to work for the border patrol but now believes that the drug war is futile. Campbell also seeks to familiarize readers with the complex vocabulary and culture of the drug trade. We learn that, in Mexico, territories controlled by specific drug cartels are known as "plazas", while "tienditas" are the shops, privates homes, or street-vendor outlets where drugs are sold. "Narcocorridos' are the popular ballads written about the lives of drug traffickers and "narco-mantas" are the frightening placards which display messages from drug cartels in publics places.

Although Campbell clearly defines all of the unfamiliar terms used in the interviews, the inclusion of a glossary of key words and phrases would have been useful. More maps would have helped too. However, Campbell helpfully offers some context and background information before each interview and his concluding chapter effectively brings together themes from all the interviews, while adding more information and analysis. His introduction solidly grounds the research in anthropological and sociological theories and reveals Campbell's ample knowledge of previous work in this area.

Campbell writes, at the time his book went to press, more that 1,600 killings had been reported in Ciudad Juarez in 2008, making in the bloodiest year in the city's recorded history. Sadly, this record no longer stands, as 2009 saw more than 2,500 killings. Drug War Zone is a valuable attempt to understand the causes and consequences of these statistics."

---Tiffany Bergin, Times Literary Supplement (February 12, 2010)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Interesting and Insightful May 24, 2011

By Adrian S

Format:Paperback

The book is extremely interesting and approaches the issues surrounding the drug war in the border area from a very informative perspective. The stories, many times, are as interesting as anything Hollywood can produce but have the added value of sharing real life experiences. It was a difficult book to read because it makes you face the harsh economic and social realities of many residents of these border towns, but it is very difficult to put the book down. To me, the most fascinating part of this book is the fact that the complicity, or at the very least lack of real attempts to stop the drug trade, of the Mexican and American authorities is openly stated and demonstrated throughout the book. It is something that the general population here in the US has yet to come to accept or believe and makes it difficult for many American's to analyze the impacts of the drug war on both sides of the borders.