Balko interviews DEA whistleblower Sandy Gonzalez

Radley Balko interviews Sandy Gonzalez, a DEA agent whose career ended prematurely because he pushed for an investigation into the House of Death murders, which were committed by drug informants, possibly with the knowledge of ICE and DEA officials.

Comments

[Cass]

Ciudad Juarez is also the home of las muertas de Juarez, the four-hundred-and-counting murdered women and girls whose cases neither the American nor (certainly) Mexican government show much interest in. And one of the main culprits, according to most observers, is that very same drug cartel.

I do hope I live to see a saner discussion in this country of the so-called "war against drugs" some day.

[Cass]

...and a fun fact from Wikipedia:

"In 2008, Ciudad Juárez was designated as 'The City of the Future' by the prestigious magazine 'Foreign Direct Investment' published by the influential 'Financial Times group.'"

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

Cass, have you read "Daughters of Juarez" by Teresa Rodriguez? It's one of the most powerful pieces of journalism I've ever come across.

[Cass]

I have read it, Lindsay, and I probably had to leave it and come back a dozen times because it was so painful. It is, as you say, a very powerful piece of work.