Publishers Weekly
09/13/2021
Fink (Bon) tells the gripping story of Luis Navia, a prominent Cuban American drug trafficker in the 1980s and ’90s. Navia’s well-to-do parents fled Cuba when he was a small boy after Castro’s 1959 takeover and settled in Miami. In later years, he had no interest in his father’s sugar trading business and partied in college while selling cocaine. From there he became a narco for Colombian and Mexican cartels, transporting billions of dollars in coke around the world. Known as El Senador for his classy fashion sense, Navia attributes his 25-year successful run to being a businessman and not a killer. But it all came to an end in 2000 with Operation Journey, a multinational drug bust that was the largest in history. In 2001, Navia took a plea deal in the U.S. and testified against cartel members in exchange for a four-year prison sentence. Almost as fascinating as his drug years is Fink’s account of how Navia has since led a wealthy lifestyle in Miami with extended family and friends. Though Navia won’t say how much money he has, Fink estimates he has millions stashed in offshore accounts. Those interested in how the illegal drug trade and law enforcement interact will be rewarded. (Nov.)
Booklist
In August 2000, a joint–law enforcement investigation between the U.S. and the British government resulted in the dismantling of a large drug-smuggling ring. Tons of drugs were seized, and arrests were made. Navia, a man who walked a tightrope of criminality and legitimacy, was nabbed after operating in the drug underworld for 25 years. Of Cuban heritage, Navia had worked for Colombia's Medellín and Cali cartels and gradually transferred his skills in working with various cartels in Mexico. He met and sometimes worked with the biggest names in the infamous underground empire: Pablo Escobar, Alberto Sicilia Falcon, the Ochoa Brothers. As recalled to coauthor Fink, Pure Narco amasses Navia's colorful recollections of past exploits in a candid yet guarded fashion. Navia disarms with his charisma and intelligence; his remorse is a little less apparent. He believes that the war on drugs is a hypocritical war with no end. Navia's insights make for a revelatory look inside the treacherous world of organized crime in this new true-crime classic.
Peter Walsh
The best insider account ever written of the global cocaine trade and the outrageous but precarious lives of those at the top.
Steve Murphy
Pure Narco is an unbelievable insider’s look at the life and times of a real narco. During his 25-year criminal career, Luis Navia learned to work with all of the major Colombian cocaine manufacturing and distribution organizations, something not easily done, and miraculously survived to tell his tale. Navia and Jesse Fink provide a detailed and uncensored look at the underbelly of the beast, the international cocaine trade, and give an account that even most experienced law-enforcement professionals never see.
Ross Kemp
Fascinating story. Pure Narco is quite an amazing book. It’s rare that you get someone who was involved in the illegal narcotics trade to talk so openly about their life and lifestyle. Luis Navia has stories for the fireside more than most.
C. A. Heifner
Intriguing and thought provoking. While there is no perfect formula when it comes to telling a life story...there can be an almost ideal result. A truly gripping and detailed account about a life lived on the edge. A must read.
Jenny Queen
I have never read anything like this. I’ve never read anything that drew me in like Pure Narco in this genre, certainly. It drew me in like a great novel.
From the Publisher
In August 2000, a joint–law enforcement investigation between the U.S. and the British government resulted in the dismantling of a large drug-smuggling ring. Tons of drugs were seized, and arrests were made. Navia, a man who walked a tightrope of criminality and legitimacy, was nabbed after operating in the drug underworld for 25 years. Of Cuban heritage, Navia had worked for Colombia's Medellín and Cali cartels and gradually transferred his skills in working with various cartels in Mexico. He met and sometimes worked with the biggest names in the infamous underground empire: Pablo Escobar, Alberto Sicilia Falcon, the Ochoa Brothers. As recalled to coauthor Fink, Pure Narco amasses Navia's colorful recollections of past exploits in a candid yet guarded fashion. Navia disarms with his charisma and intelligence; his remorse is a little less apparent. He believes that the war on drugs is a hypocritical war with no end. Navia's insights make for a revelatory look inside the treacherous world of organized crime in this new true-crime classic.
Library Journal
08/01/2021
Navia trafficked cocaine for decades, which ended in his takedown during the multinational Operation Journey in 2000; here, he and co-author Fink (The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC) tell his story. The Cuba-born, U.S.-raised Navia writes that he should have reaped the benefits of his wealthy upbringing and Georgetown University education. Instead, he says, he succumbed to the seductive call of the cocaine underworld and rubbed elbows with some of the most fearsome cartels in the Americas. The authors editorialize a fair amount; they depict Navia as more ethical than other drug dealers, and Navia describes himself as a "pure narco"—someone who traffics drugs without committing violence. Navia never participated in violence or murder, but he was party to their commission more times than he can count. This account relies mostly on Navia's memories, and Fink says that he can back up the majority of Navia's claims with research; however, the endnotes contain more asides than they do corroborating sources. The book is chopped up into 14 parts over 77 chapters and often jumps without warning between Fink's narration and Navia's quotes and recalled dialogue. VERDICT Readers who enjoyed Jordan Belfort's The Wolf of Wall Street may be interested in the debauchery of this book, but its greater appeal will be limited.—Jessica Hilburn, Benson Memorial Lib., Titusville, PA
