Drug Warrior: Inside the Hunt for El Chapo and the Rise of America's Opioid Crisis

DRUG WARRIOR                                      JACK RILEY

Jack Riley, grandson of a Chicago cop known for using his fists, was born to be a drug warrior. Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, who farmed marijuana and opium poppies as a teenager in Mexico, was born to be a drug lord. Their worlds collided when Riley, a career special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, was promoted to lead the fight against Chapo on the border at El Paso.

Drug Warrior is the story of Riley's decades-long hunt for the world's most-wanted drug lord, set against the rise of modern international drug trafficking, and America's spiraling opioid epidemic. Jack Riley started his career as an undercover street agent in Chicago busting small-time dealers. By the time he worked his way up to second in command of the DEA-a post few field agents ever reach-he had overseen every major mission to capture foreign drug kingpins since the 1990s and had witnessed first-hand how El Chapo changed the game. As brilliant as he was lethal, Chapo not only decimated his competition, he foresaw Americans' dependence on opioids and heroin, and manipulated supply to increase demand. Riley's story culminates as he and the DEA win their greatest victory-the capture and extradition of his long-time nemesis-and Chapo faces his darkest fear: U.S. justice.

A riveting memoir of life inside the drug wars, and a never-before-seen glimpse of the inner-workings of the DEA, Drug Warrior is a critical examination of how America's opioid crisis came to be, and the extraordinary people fighting it.

PAT'S REVIEW

A book about Jack Riley lives as a DEA agent, his rise through the agency and then with the final capture of “El Chapo”. Along the way, he also gives you a look at the problem with the different drugs that come into our country and the difficulties that not only his agency but every law enforcement agency has enforcing the laws around those drugs. What most people don’t know is just how much it affects each and every one of us and yet everyone thinks it does not. With petty theft, homeless, other crimes some of these are because of the drug crisis. Though at times the author repeats himself and maybe could have given more credit to the entire team that took down not only “El Chapo” but others and not just one person which is the way the story comes across at times. Knowing from experience, not one person can do it, it takes others even if they don’t get or want credit, so to all of them thanks. Overall a good book. I received this book from Netgalley.com I GAVE IT 4 STARS. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com