“I Am A Drug Lord”: A Glimpse Into International Security

After an arduous goodbye from my parents and a weekend in the wonderful city of Rome, I decided to browse the local airport bookstore to distract my mind. Originally planning on going to my gate earlier, something caught my eye. An orange and black book cover lured me into the bookstore, and it read: “I Am A Drug Lord.” What enthralled me the most by this book, however, was the author: Anonymous. This book is not supposed to be scrutinized grammatically or dissected with technical, stylistic and storytelling devices. “I Am A Drug Lord” is a manifestation of the drug business and how it started, and most importantly, what happens to relationships at the micro and macro level in the initial stage of drug trade.

This book starts with an intricate demographic analysis of the setting, the island of Ibiza. The author details the difficulties his parents encountered being from outside Spain but still having volunteered to fight the subsequent dictator Francisco Franco. After years of injuries, exclusion and scrutiny in Ibiza, the author presents his relationship with his uncle, who lived in the United Kingdom, and eventually took the protagonist to study in a prestigious boarding school in the country. After suffering racism and bullying, Anonymous returned to his homeland, Ibiza, to find his mother sick and  his parents divorced. Shortly after, the uncle also capsized on his way back to Ibiza, killing him. Anonymous, confronting feelings of grief and anger, did not expect to be involved in a drug trafficking cartel, but the leader of the cartel argued that his uncle had an outstanding debt, and Anonymous was in charge of covering it.

“I Am A Drug Lord” is not to be regarded as an informative book, or even an autobiography; due to the need to preserve the identity of certain individuals, especially with key characteristics and names, this book is too altered to be considered informative. However, the book shows unprecedented details about cartel involvement, and what flashy Netflix shows such as Narcos and Griselda (which are still amazing and worth the watch) cannot disclose due to television regulations. Evidently, Anonymous pairs the dynamic nature of being in a drug cartel to his love life and sentiments, but this adds to the reader being able to think how a previous drug lord thought, and feel like a drug lord felt. Nonetheless, a common misinterpretation of this book and other means of art inspired by drug cartels is that too much luxury is showcased, possibly convincing people to be involved in cartels. In “I Am A Drug Lord,” Anonymous definitely shared the luxuries his uncle obtained suddenly after a few months of implied drug trade. However, Anonymous also anecdotes how in each of his uncle’s luxuries, such as his race car and boat, either him or his uncle found themselves in danger. 

The general critique that people ingress in the drug trade business solely out of pure desire is refuted upon reading this book. Although the author describes his regret for continuing his business and committing certain actions during his time as a drug lord, he also takes time to recount his story and the part that contingency and path dependency played on his future. As his uncle left him the alleged debt, Anonymous was not aware of his participation in the drug trade due to his young age. The book also describes situations that would put his father and ill mother in danger upon threats if a certain package was not delivered or if a certain meeting was not conducted. In essence, Anonymous does not wish to blame his drug trade on himself or say that he is entirely blameless; he wishes to broaden the concept of what it is to get involved in a drug trade and emphasize the implications of this business. 

“I Am A Drug Lord,” with its easy digestibility and informativeness despite the necessary anonymity, can be considered a precise glimpse into international security. Besides giving specific intel on how a drug cartel functions intersected with the niche demographic of the island of Ibiza, the book also shows the complications of international relations after the drug market became one of the key movers of the economy — but describing what Anonymous talked about international relations would spoil the book too much. This book is necessary for demystifying the drug cartel business and tracing the economic and social impacts back to Ibiza and Francoist Spain, through a young boy’s perspective.