This weekend, award winning investigative journalist Melissa del Bosque will read from her book Bloodlines at the Crowley Theater in Marfa at 6 PM.
She has written about the U.S.-Mexico border since 1998 for various media outlets, including The Texas Observer, the Guardian, and Time.
In Bloodlines: The True Story of a Drug Cartel, the FBI, and the Battle for a Horse-Racing Dynasty, Melissa del Bosque tracks FBI agents Scott Lawson and Alma Perez as they work to take down one of Mexico's most powerful cartels, the Zetas.
"It's a money laundering case through quarter racing," del Bosque says. Behind the scheme is Miguel and Omar Treviño, who were leaders of the Zetas.
We learn in Bloodlines the two brothers convince their older brother Jose, an American citizen, to "becoming the face for their money laundering scheme in the U.S," says del Bosque.
What soon unravels is the story of how the three brothers, through a series of straw companies, funneled drug money into the U.S.
Quarter horse racing is popular in the American Southwest and Mexico. The brothers were fans of the sport, but quickly realized its potential as a money laundering scheme.
"It's a prestige thing," del Bosque says. "And there's high-dollar races, few questions asked and it's an easy business to launder money through because most of the horses are sold with minimal paperwork and just a handshake."
In the rest of this interview del Bosque talks about the difficulties the two FBI agents came across in the case, the misrepresentation of the border and the upcoming presidential election in Mexico.
Melissa del Bosque speaks Saturday, May 26 at 6:00 PM at the Crowley Theater in Marfa. The event is sponsored by Marfa Book Co.
