Tag Archives: Views & News

Drug War Finances and Gangs

I ran across this interesting breakdown of how the illegal drug industry breaks down, money wise.

In “Why the US Doesn’t Have Mexico-Style Drug Cartels… Yet,” Nathan Jones shows how much market share the U.S. network of small and mid-level distributors control — in fact, it’s the majority of the revenue in the cocaine biz, according to his graphic.

This coincides with my own view of gangs as end-level retailers in a vast underground industry that spans the Americas. While gang kids may believe they’re fighting for respect or their version of a cause, they’re actually just the end of the line, a disposable workforce in a massive $29.5 billion business.

I’ve reported before on Nuestra Familia’s new direct ties to Mexican cartels and I just finished an article on the connection between U.S. gangs and the Mexican drug wars for an upcoming issue of Nieman Reports.

I’m also working on a piece about La Familia Michoacana in Northern California, so stay tuned.

Folsom Prison Blues

Good story on NPR this week giving background about California’s Folsom prison, and our state’s prison problems in general: Folsom Embodies California’s Prison Blues | by Laura Sullivan.

I spent a day inside Folsom in 2003, and it’s amazing how much has changed for the worse even since then, when inmates were already doubled up in cells designed for one. Back then, the vocational programs were impressive and the gardens around the old prison were quite beautiful. The inmates took pride in them, but according to this story, they’re gone now, too.

Salinas gang murders

An ignoble distinction… Salinas just matched San Jose’s murder total for the year: 18. Except San Jose is a city of nearly 1 million and Salinas is 150,000 on a good day.

And it’s barely August.

I’ve spent the last week covering shootings, four dead and four wounded, including a 14-year-old boy. I know I’m supposed to be the dispassionate journalist, but there are days when I just feel sick… and sad.

Today’s one of them.

Edit: Sad to say, late last night we added one more. So we’ve passed San Jo now.

press

Reporting about my reporting

For  press coverage of Blood in the Fields, go here.

Reporting on traumatic events

• When Crime is Just the Beginning of the Story
• Bringing What’s Buried in Folders to Life
• Strategies for Reporters Coping with Stress
Coverage of Julia Reynolds’ work at the 2009 Aftermath Conference at Harvard in Nieman Reports.

How we report on youth violence, a guide
From Chicago is the World

Gang prevention strategies

Project Ceasefire
Sandip Roy interviews Julia Reynolds, Prof. Victor Rios of UC Santa Barbara and Stockton Peacekeepers Jose Gomez and Ralph Womack on San Francisco’s KALW 91.7 fm show  “Your Call,” about Project Ceasefire and other strategies to deal with gang and youth violence. Oct. 14, 2009

Operation Knockout II
California Watch reports on Julia Reynolds’ coverage in the Monterey County Herald of Operation Knockout, the April 2010 take-down of Nuestra Familia associates in Salinas, and revives an earlier interview with one of the gang’s entrepreneurs.
by Michael Montgomery, California Watch, Apr 28, 2010

Operation Knockout Meets Ceasefire
In a television interview and panel with fellow Bay Area reporters, Reynolds discusses the April 22, 2010 Nuestra Familia takedown in Salinas. Hosted by Belva Davis, KQED-tv, “This Week in Northern California” Apr 23, 2010

Operation Knockout I
Radio interview with Julia Reynolds on the day of the Knockout raids in Salinas and how Ceasefire might help with the aftermath.
by Cy Musiker, KQED-fm, Apr 22, 2010

Nuestra Familia: Our Family
Radio interview with reporters Julia Reynolds and George Sánchez about the surprising origins of the NF and California’s gang wars
by Ben Adler, KAZU-fm, Apr 28, 2006

Documentary Goes Inside Nuestra Familia
by Brenda Moore, Monterey County Herald, Dec 2, 2005

Documentary Examines Salinas Gang Problem
Reporters follow current, former gang members
KSBW-TV, Nov. 11, 2005

Exposé: America’s Investigative Reports
This clip from the documentary was featured on PBS’s Web site.


Guns

Outed by Public TV Web Site, Fleeing Arms Dealer is Nabbed
Current Newspaper
June 24, 2002


The NAFTA Gang episode

In late 1999, our tiny bilingual magazine el Andar was threatened with a $10 million defamation lawsuit by one of Mexico’s most powerful families, the Hanks — over an article by yours truly, titled “The NAFTA Gang.” We refused to retract our reporting and with the support of first amendment groups and press coverage here and abroad, the family backed down within a year.

Drug War on Trial
by Mark Schapiro, The Nation, Sept 6, 2001

U.S. Based Hispanic Magazine Stands Ground Against Powerful Mexican Family
By Mary Jo McConahay, Pacific News Service, Oct. 22, 1999

stories

Print and online coverage of justice, youth violence, gangs, guns, and the FBI

crowd1
Crowd at Salinas crime scene | photo © Janjaap Dekker

JUSTICE: THE SYSTEM, THE CONCEPT, THE REALITY

From overcrowded prisons to life without parole for juveniles and problematic witness protection — our justice system offers plenty to write about.

The guns of Pacific Grove: Unraveling a police commander’s arms dealings | The Monterey Herald

The silent empire: the state’s largest for-profit jail health care provider | The Monterey Herald (funny how they change headlines on the web for search engine optimization)

Experts slam Monterey County Jail conditions | The Monterey Herald
(yes, they re-named our newspaper)

Series on prison mental health | The Monterey County Herald

Reasonable Doubt in a Cold Case | The Monterey County Herald

The Long Journey: Johnny Angel Martinez’ search for redemption | The Monterey County Herald


Down for Life series
| The Monterey County Herald  Day 1 Day 2Day 3
>>PDFs
Day 1 Day 2Day 3
Down for Life series | KAZU-fm  Part 1 Part 2Part 3

Multimedia: A Long Night’s Wait at Salinas Valley State Prison

Witness Protection Not a Guarantee | The Monterey County Herald
Murder Victims’ Families Find Solace | The Monterey County Herald

GANGS

Since 2002, I’ve reported on the Nuestra Familia and the law enforcement efforts to bring it down.

The NF is one of the nation’s most violent and sophisticated gangs, a drug-dealing mafia that for more than three decades has exerted powerful control over the West’s agricultural towns. In the Salinas Valley, second, third and now fourth generations of children are literally being born into this gang and raised to be criminals. My work chronicles the gang’s power and a community’s struggle to defeat it.

Nuestra Familia, Our Family | The PBS documentary
Our award-winning film about a father, a son, a gang and the FBI.

OPERATION VALLEY STAR STORIES

The FBI’s largest case against Nuestra Familia, with trials still underway.

The Operation Valley Star Archive — all stories

WOMEN, GIRLS AND GANGS

Girlfriends, wives and sisters are an integral — and often expendable — part of gang organizations.

Women Caught up in Gang Life | Monterey County Herald

Prison Gang Tied to Soledad Killings | Monterey County Herald

GANG VIOLENCE – SOLUTIONS

When people ask me how to end gangs, I usually say something useless like “end poverty first.” But there may be more immediate hope for stopping some of the killings. The Boston Ceasefire violence reduction strategy is gaining support and believers. I’m one of them.

Ceasefire: A series on the innovative program to stop gang shootings | Monterey County Herald

Reasons for Hope: Three journalists who report on the drug trade’s violence in the United States and Mexico compare notes during a peaceful pause | Nieman Reports Fall 2011

I also continuously cover solutions to gang and youth violence, as well as prison and reentry issues as my regular beat at The Monterey County Herald.

GUNS

In the world of gunrunning, money drives the engine. What starts with an illegal but booming worldwide arms trade ends with misery around the globe – including teen deaths in Northern California.

South Florida’s Elusive Arms Baron | Frontline/WORLD
The Guns of Opa-Locka | The Nation
Youths, Gangs and Guns | KQED-TV and Oakland Tribune

I also contributed reporting to these investigative projects:
Gun Land | NOW with Bill Moyers
Gun Runners | Frontline/WORLD

Critics: Terrorists Manipulate Loopholes in U.S. Gun Laws | NPR’s All Things Considered [ram audio]

EN ESPAÑOL

Gángster en un campo de lechugas  (Gangster in a Lettuce Field) | El Puercoespîn, Argentina May 2010

La guerra civil en California (The Civil War in California) | La Jornada, México, 3-part series, Dec. 2003–Jan. 2004

AND MORE…


High-flying Investor Goes Into Free Fall
| San Francisco Chronicle

Daniel Ellsberg: Whistleblowers wanted here | The Monterey County Herald

I also contributed reporting to these investigative projects:
Locked Down | American Radio Works
Gangs Thrive In Maximum Security | 60 Minutes