“Hunting El Chapo: The Inside Story of the American Lawman Who Captured the World’s Most Wanted Drug-Lord” was written by Andrew Hogan and Douglas Century and published in 2018. The plot of the book revolves around the capture of Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, a Mexican drug lord also known as “El Chapo.” Andrew Hogan, an undercover DEA special agent, presents a detailed first-person recollection of the events involved in locating and capturing El Chapo.
Having graduated from the DEA Academy in 2006, Hogan arrived in Arizona to start working undercover in the Sinaloa Cartel, led by El Chapo. The notorious drug lord had by that time escaped from prison for the first time and was announced for international search. The plot follows a series of events and adventures told from the perspective of Andrew Hogan, who worked with his team from the DEA. One of the first operations described in the story is the takedown of a major scheme organized by El Chapo to launder money through different businesses in Phoenix. In the course of events, Hogan and his team get involved in a number of deals that lead them to El Chapo’s crime syndicate. Committed to his goal of capturing El Chapo, in 2011, Hogan takes charge of the DEA’s Sinaloa Cartel desk (Hogan & Century, 2018). From that moment, Hogan’s team focuses more on tracking messages and texts that could be connected to El Chapo and his cartel. This eventually leads the agent to success, and on January 8, 2016, El Chapo is arrested.
Filled with interesting details from the investigation process, the book provides the readers with insights into the procedures and actions taken by the DEA agent to capture the elusive criminal. Unfortunately, it does not present many descriptions or analyses of El Chapo’s character, which would also be interesting to discuss. Although there are several dramatic and gripping parts, the book is also abundant with the recollections of investigation procedures and practices that may seem tedious to some readers. Police work and the tactics used by the investigators are described in detail by the agent who coordinated all the efforts made to identify Guzmán’s location. While some readers might find these passages interesting and insightful, others are likely to consider them monotonous and one-sided.
In my opinion, this book presents a thorough account of the actions taken by Hogan. At the same time, the efforts taken by the Mexican side seem underestimated, which made me see the narrative as biased. It was interesting for me to learn about the way Guzmán organized the cartel’s network of communication. I was also interested in the way Hogan discussed the mistakes that El Chapo made, which eventually allowed the investigation team to locate him. I cannot say, however, that the book has had any positive effect on me. Some parts were interesting to read, but in terms of El Chapo’s character, as well as the characters of his top accomplices, there were no in-depth discussions. I believe I would enjoy the book more if it had presented a more extensive analysis of the criminals’ personalities. Instead, it appears to simply treat them as “negative characters” in this story, which they certainly are. However, not having provided a deeper understanding of the characters’ lives, the narrative seemed self-absorbed to me. Taking into consideration all the points discussed above, I do not think I would recommend reading this book.
References
Hogan, A., & Century, D. (2018). Hunting el Chapo: The inside story of the American lawman who captured the world’s most-wanted drug lord. Harper.