INSIDE DRUG CARTELS: With America gripped by a soaring drug epidemic, Corey Cepeda looks at the sordid world of cartels flooding markets with narcotics & contraband. A cartel rules in his new novel.

Americans have always had a fascination with crime.  Movies and books about gangsters and the mafia have made millions.  Today, Americans are fascinated by a new sort of criminal - drug cartels.  Books and movies about drug cartels dominate the book shelves and airwaves.  Americans are drawn to this underworld that has replaced the mafia as America’s crime fascination.  What is so intriguing about drug cartels? At a time when drug overdose deaths, fueled by the sale of illegal substances, have soared in America, the question is: How have cartels replaced other criminal organizations? Corey Cepeda, author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed book, La Familia: Loose Ends, says what fascinates so many people about drug cartels is how ordinary people, next-door  neighbors can be active members of it without anyone knowing it.  He says the whole culture of the cartels operating in the open is intriguing to Americans unlike the flashy mafia and gangsters of the past.  And in this episode he offers listeners an inside look of how they operate, not just in the distribution of drugs across national borders, but in the oil and hospitality sectors too. It is a massive, multi-billion criminal enterprise.  In his first book of a new five-part series, "La Familia: Loose Ends" introduces readers to a ruling family reigning terror over Mexico - the De Los Santos cartel dynasty. "Filled with political intrigue, murder and family drama, the twists and turns take readers on a page-turning ride they're not soon to forget," writes Chloe Rabinowitz. "La Familia: Loose Ends" starts with the attempted murder of the country's most powerful drug lord, Vicente De Los Santos, who also happens to be the nation's ruler. It all happens at his 10-year old daughter's birthday party and in the wake, innocent children and women are killed, quickly leading to a national Armageddon. Severely injured, Vicente, "The Boss of Bosses," is out for blood. His eldest son, Ignacio, joins his avenging father while he carries secrets of his own and Ignacio's brother, Santino, returns home to help his family, but becomes suspect that something deeply sinister is afoot. For more information: http://www.thedelossantosfamily.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaFamiliaDeLosSantos --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-aidan-byrne0/support