Pure Narco
Published on 1. October 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
592 pages
978-1-78946-336-1 (ISBN)
Description
'I was a drug trafficker in the true sense of the word: a pure narco.'
For 25 years Luis Antonio Navia the Cuban-American smuggled hundreds of tons of white powder for the biggest cartels in Colombia and Mexico, including Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel.What made him good at his dangerous job was amassing trusted contacts, losing very few shipments of coke, and maintaining a low profile. He refused to carry a weapon.
But he was never far removed from the most brutal violence imaginable. One friend got his head cut off. Another was hit over the head, stuffed in a 55-gallon drum full of cement and dumped in a canal. Navia himself was kidnapped three times and went close to being fed alive to crocodiles. Somehow through it all he managed to survive and spent two decades fooling law-enforcement agencies until he came under the radar of Robert Harley, a tenacious US Customs special agent in Key West, Florida, who was determined to bring him to justice.
What followed was an international game of cat-and-mouse that culminated in Navia's 2000 capture in Venezuela in one of the biggest antinarcotics takedowns of all time, the 12-nation Operation Journey.
Spanning decades, continents and featuring a who's who of the drug trade, Pure Narco is a fast-paced adventure ride into the dark underworld of cocaine trafficking, written with the cooperation of a dozen law-enforcement agents from the world's top antinarcotics forces in the United States and Great Britain. Navia served his time in jail and is now free to tell his tale. His is the rare perspective of someone who has worked on both sides of that war: as a cocaine trafficker and US Government consultant. This book is a redemption story. Luis Navia, the pure narco, has gone full circle.
For 25 years Luis Antonio Navia the Cuban-American smuggled hundreds of tons of white powder for the biggest cartels in Colombia and Mexico, including Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel.What made him good at his dangerous job was amassing trusted contacts, losing very few shipments of coke, and maintaining a low profile. He refused to carry a weapon.
But he was never far removed from the most brutal violence imaginable. One friend got his head cut off. Another was hit over the head, stuffed in a 55-gallon drum full of cement and dumped in a canal. Navia himself was kidnapped three times and went close to being fed alive to crocodiles. Somehow through it all he managed to survive and spent two decades fooling law-enforcement agencies until he came under the radar of Robert Harley, a tenacious US Customs special agent in Key West, Florida, who was determined to bring him to justice.
What followed was an international game of cat-and-mouse that culminated in Navia's 2000 capture in Venezuela in one of the biggest antinarcotics takedowns of all time, the 12-nation Operation Journey.
Spanning decades, continents and featuring a who's who of the drug trade, Pure Narco is a fast-paced adventure ride into the dark underworld of cocaine trafficking, written with the cooperation of a dozen law-enforcement agents from the world's top antinarcotics forces in the United States and Great Britain. Navia served his time in jail and is now free to tell his tale. His is the rare perspective of someone who has worked on both sides of that war: as a cocaine trafficker and US Government consultant. This book is a redemption story. Luis Navia, the pure narco, has gone full circle.
Reviews / Votes
If Howard Marks was the king of the cannabis smuggle, Luis Navia is the Howard Marks of the cocaine trade * Graham Honey, HMCE Senior Investigation Officer (Ret.) * With a cast of wild, grotesque and often deadly characters, strapped into a rollercoaster they cannot or will not get off, Pure Narco is a deliriously pleasurable ride. Luis Navia was a key trafficker for the biggest Colombian and Mexican cartels, and his insight into how they flooded the USA and Europe with drugs is unparalleled. This is the best insider account ever written of the global cocaine trade and the outrageous but precarious lives of those at the top * Peter Walsh, author, Drug War: The Secret History * Pure Narco is a true story of redemption ... it offers a rare glimpse into the life of a drug smuggler from the Miami Vice era to the end of the millennium, when it all came crashing down for Luis Navia * Nigel Brooks, USCS Senior Special Agent (Ret.) * A rare insight into the drug traffickers' world and law enforcement's efforts to arrest them and seize the drugs. * Graham Titmuss, HMCE Investigation Officer (Ret.) * I first met Luis Navia in Miami in 2002. He was cooperating with authorities and had some significant information to share with the United Kingdom. I remember leaving the prison after two days of visits and thinking what an amazing character he was. The discussions with Luis changed my perspective on top-level drug trafficking and traffickers; it was a moment of enlightenment.'Much is written and appears on screen about the drugs business but so often it misses the mark. That's not the case with this insightful book: Pure Narco hits the spot and tells it as it was. Law-enforcement officers have a saying that all top traffickers end up dead or in prison. Very few survive to tell the tale. Typical of the man, Luis is a survivor and tells his own tale in great depth and clarity. This is how it was. But Luis also needed a sympathetic ear to get the best out of his unique story and Jesse Fink has done that by writing the very best account of a remarkable life in cocaine trafficking.
'Contrary to what we read in news reports and see on TV, trafficking is a highly complex business. It's not just based on violence, corruption, greed and all the other stereotypes. Every big cocaine shipment happens because of the fixer, the broker, the emissary. Luis Navia was all of these. The reality is the biggest deals or shipments happen because of key individuals with the people and business skills to make things happen. Luis is one of those people. He brought people together, he solved problems, he found a way to get things done.
'What makes Luis's story so unique was his ability to transcend the politics between rival groups (cartels). His strength of personality, charm and business brain made him a valued business associate on so many major shipments. Typically, Luis made and lost a fortune: which is so often the case at the top level of international cocaine trafficking. Pure Narco explains how that's possible and why the business is both richly rewarding while being a precarious and perilous existence. It also explains how the big deals were conceived, planned and delivered. The mechanics of the deals are set out here, as Luis explains the key stages required for a successful shipment and deal. No other book on drug trafficking provides this level of detail.
'I knew back in the 1990s that the work we were doing was groundbreaking, and that it was an era that would be looked back upon by historians. Pure Narco is a great book and an important part of social history. I loved every page. Having this account from Luis Navia will be part of his legacy. If you have an interest in and want to understand how international drug trafficking really works, you must read Pure Narco * Barry Clarke, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Investigation Officer (Retired) *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
444 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78946-336-1 (9781789463361)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Jesse Fink
Jesse Fink was born in London in 1973. He is the author of five books, including the international bestsellers Bon: The Last Highway and The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC. His new book is Pure Narco, the life story of former cocaine trafficker Luis Navia.
Luis Navia
Luis Navia, born in Havana in 1955, worked for nearly 25 years as a cocaine trafficker for the deadliest Colombian and Mexican cartels until he was arrested in the multinational sting Operation Journey in 2000. He was released in 2005 and today runs his own consulting business for private clients and liaises with the US Government in matters related to antinarcotics law enforcement.
Jesse Fink was born in London in 1973. He is the author of five books, including the international bestsellers Bon: The Last Highway and The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC. His new book is Pure Narco, the life story of former cocaine trafficker Luis Navia.
Luis Navia
Luis Navia, born in Havana in 1955, worked for nearly 25 years as a cocaine trafficker for the deadliest Colombian and Mexican cartels until he was arrested in the multinational sting Operation Journey in 2000. He was released in 2005 and today runs his own consulting business for private clients and liaises with the US Government in matters related to antinarcotics law enforcement.