Stolen Map, Lifted Pay Wall and Other Tales
On a sweltering morning in Mexico City yesterday, I looked with sleepy eyes at my screen to find a newsletter had taken a map of cartel turf that I published here on CrashOut with a paywall, slapped their label on it and put it out for free. They did say it was “based on analysis by Ioan Grillo” in tiny letters but unfairly claimed authorship of the new graphic. After I complained, they made a second bigger link to me but kept their name on it.
We had a bit of a ding dong on Twitter (which loves a ruckus), and I don’t want to drag it out here. The spat gets into the difficulty of keeping ownership of original work in the hyper-connected media landscape and how to make a living from actual on-the-ground reporting. But I decided that it was out the bag now so I would republish the original story here on CrashOut for free - here it is below, with the full analysis.
Mexico's Cartel Map 2024
Para leer en español click aqui. On front lines between Mexico’s warring cartels, gunmen can spray walls to claim territory like street gangs. I took this picture of a Jalisco New Generation Cartel marker on the bloodily-contested border of Michoacán and Jalisco state in 2022. A decade earlier, I had reported on the Gulf Cartel and Zetas fighting block b…
While we’re here, I’d like to re-share a couple more of the most popular stories I’ve had on CrashOut because the number of subscribers continues to shoot up and many will have missed earlier work.
This article below is from a remarkable interview by the gallant Luis Chaparro of a narco nicknamed El Plaga who was supposed to be in jail but claimed to be on the street still operating. It’s especially relevant now as El Plaga’s case was handled by the Baja California state prosecutors, who are also dealing with the dubious murder of the Aussie and American surfers.
Narco "El Plaga" Gives Me An Interview. Mexico Says He's In Prison But He Says He's Free.
(Para leer en español click aqui. To read in English on the website click here.) Editors Note - Our compañero Luis Chaparro has done it again with an exclusive interview - and this time it’s even more controversial. The man known as “El Plaga” is not only an active narco, rather than one in witness protection; he’s officially in Mexican prison but says he’s out. Again, this is a difficult beat to cover with tough calls to make, but we believe that the information here is of big public interest and has to be out there. I have put half the interview for free, and half - including exclusive info on the fighting inside the Sinaloa Cartel - behind the paywall. It takes resources to cover this and for those with a paid subscription, know there will be a lot more to come and you are going to have better intel than anyone else in the room. The drug war is brutal but surreal and opaque and we hope this sheds some light. IG
I began writing CrashOut occasionally in early 2022 but I launched properly last August and this below was one of my first stories, on the paradox of violence and growth in Mexico. I was pleased as I managed to get on paper what I had been seeing and feeling for a long time.
The Paradox of Mexico's Drug War and Peace
Narco Politics by Ioan Grillo is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Back in 2008, I was filming a documentary in the Mexican city of Culiacán when we accidentally drove into a murder scene. It’s not that we didn’t want to be there; we’d spent the week running after bulle…
Meanwhile, in this piece here I take it down to El Salvador and get into the thorny and uncomfortable truths of Bukele’s crackdown on gangs and how we cannot deny it is effective and popular even as it is undoubtedly brutal.
Three Uncomfortable Truths About Bukele's Crackdown On Gangs
Narco Politics by Ioan Grillo is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. In 2017, when El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele was mayor of his capital, San Salvador, I interviewed him for Time Magazine and he talked about how peace and love was the way to defeat the street gang…
Finally, here Christian Cipollini takes us into the chilling first-hand tale of how a sicario in California can get away with murder for three decades; which is a concern if you see what is happening in SoCal now (more on that to come).
California’s Homegrown Serial-Killing Sicario
Cartels carry out the vast majority of their murders south of the Rio Grande and try to avoid leaving bodies in the United States where they make billions of dollars selling drugs. But there’s been a series of narco killing sprees on U.S. soil which I will cover in this newsletter. An overlooked case is that of El Mano Negra, or Black Hand, from Central California, who journalist Christian Cipollini has gained unique access to over six years for an upcoming book. Martinez’ confession is brutal but it’s crucial to understand how cartels operate in the United States and where it could lead. IG
There are plenty more stories both free and pay-walled if you want to skim the archives on www.crashoutmedia.com. And now is a stellar chance to make the easy clicks to become part of the CrashOut crew as a paid subscriber for the bargain five-dollar offer (or the price of a pint of real ale). Do it before you think twice and then down a steaming mug of coffee or iced tea or whatever your poison is.
I’ll be back on Monday with a new and fresh story. And for all those in Mexico and those who celebrate it wherever you are - Feliz día de la madre!
Copyright Ioan Grillo and CrashOut Media 2024
The map is incredible by the way. It looks like you got it down to the individual municipalities. Unreal work man.
Hey Ioan, man that sucks about people stealing your work! The Internet is truly like the Wild West. Anyway, what state, in your opinion, is the most dangerous to travel through right now? Fresnillo and Zacatecas? The burbs of Guadalajara? TJ and the Baja desert? Anywhere you recommend not to drive through? I love taking road trips to Mexico and have never had problems outside of a stolen car stereo and phone, but I'd like to avoid the rough spots!