Don Winslow’s The Power of the Dog is a monumental 560-page saga that plunges readers into the dark and complex world of the drug trade, beginning in the late 1970s and spanning through May 2004. This critically acclaimed novel offers a unflinching look at the “Mexican Trampoline,” the intricate network of cocaine trafficking from Medellin to Mexico and into the United States. The narrative is further complicated by the disturbing collusion between the Mafia, Mexican drug lords, and a U.S. government complicit through willful ignorance. Despite its considerable length and weighty subject matter, The Power of the Dog moves with relentless pacing, delivering one gut-wrenching revelation after another. Following the success of his Shamus Award-winning novel, California Fire and Life, Winslow once again proves his mastery of the crime genre, delivering what is arguably the most compelling and disturbing fictional account of the Western Hemisphere’s drug trade in years. This book will leave you stunned by its revelations and sickened by the moral compromises at the heart of American policy.
The novel’s power stems not only from its incisive dissection of governmental deception but also from its richly drawn cast of characters. At the center is DEA Special Agent Art Keller, a man introduced and concluded in Winslow’s tale. A former CIA operative, Keller is a man caught between worlds, half-Mexican and having grown up in San Diego’s Barrio Logan. His privileged upbringing, with a wealthy white businessman father and a young Mexican mother, provides a complex foundation for his motivations.
Keller’s personal stake in the so-called War on Drugs is rooted in his childhood experiences witnessing the devastating impact of heroin on his community. He sees his work as a crusade to “get drugs off the streets.” This mission is further burdened by his past as a CIA operative in Vietnam, where he participated in the systematic assassination of Viet Cong leadership. The weight of these actions haunts him, as he grapples with the moral implications of his government-sanctioned killings: “I just have to live with the fact, Art thinks, that I wrote men’s names down on paper and, in the act of doing so, signed their death warrants. After that, it’s a matter of finding a way to live decently in an indecent world.”
After leaving the CIA, Keller joins the DEA and is assigned to Mexico, with the primary objective of halting the flow of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana into the United States. However, he quickly learns that individual initiative is not a priority for his superiors. His boss, Tim Taylor, emphasizes teamwork and discourages direct contact with drug suppliers, stating, “Look, these people are not our pals or our drinking buddies. They’re our targets…” Despite this, Keller’s path intersects with Miguel Ángel Barrera, known as “Tío,” a powerful figure in the Sinaloa State Police. Tío Barrera aids Keller in a critical operation: the destruction of poppy fields belonging to the aging drug lord Don Pedro Ávila, known as “El Patrón.”
Tío Barrera, however, harbors his own ambitions. He uses Keller’s dedication as a means to gain power, seizing Ávila’s position as El Patrón. “Operation Condor could not have gone any better,” Barrera muses. “With the Sinaloan fields burned, the ground poisoned, the gomeros scattered and Ávila in the dirt, the Americans believe they have destroyed the source of all evil, and will go back to sleep as far as Mexico is concerned. Their complacency will give me the time and freedom to create an organization that, by the time the Americans wake up, they will be powerless to touch.” With the complicity of a corrupt Mexican administration and a backroom deal with American intelligence services, Tío Barrera rises to become the most feared and wealthy man in Mexico.
Barrera’s brutal consolidation of power eliminates all rivals. To maintain his empire, he relies on his nephews, Adán and Raúl. Adán is the business-minded brother, more adept with numbers than the violence required to sustain their criminal enterprise. Raúl, on the other hand, is charismatic and flamboyant, recruiting desperate youths from the streets to serve as couriers and enforcers. Keller finds himself frustrated by his inability to touch the untouchable Tío Barrera, or his formidable nephews, Adán and Raúl. Relegated to disrupting drug deliveries, Keller’s strained relationship with his wife, Althie, eventually forces her and their children to flee Mexico for their own safety.
The operational structure of Winslow’s narrative is a complex triangle. Drugs move north into the United States, money flows south to Mexico, and a third component involves illicit arms. The Barrera Federation allegedly supplies weapons to covert Central American forces aligned with U.S. intelligence, effectively keeping Washington at bay. These guns are provided by the U.S. Mafia, which in turn receives them as payment for drugs. Among the Mafia’s dangerous operatives is Sean Callan, an Irish hitman introduced in 1977. Raised amidst a legacy of Irish violence, Callan is a cold-blooded killer, his weapon of choice a .22 caliber pistol, which he favors for its ability to cause maximum internal damage without immediate fatality. “Pop pop. Always two shots, right together, because the second shot automatically corrects the first. Not that it needs to in this instance; both shots go dead center.”
Callan’s ruthless efficiency and intelligence allow him to survive numerous attempts on his life, eventually leading him to align with the mob. Winslow portrays the Mafia members as cunning and ferocious, with characters like “Big Peaches,” “Little Peaches,” “Johnny Boy,” and “Big Paulie” bearing striking resemblances to real-life “made men.” Sean Callan finds himself carrying out contract assassinations for both the Barreras and the U.S. government, a path that eventually leads him to a fateful encounter in a San Diego motel.
To counterbalance the novel’s intense male energy, Winslow introduces Nora Hayden, a captivating femme fatale. At fourteen, Nora discovers the power of her own allure, realizing her looks can secure her favors from wealthy and influential older men. “It’s not a penis,” she confides in a friend, “It’s a leash.” After her parents’ divorce and with her father a persistent marijuana user, Nora is scouted by Haley Saxon, a San Diego madam, to establish a prostitution enterprise. Saxon recognizes Nora’s potential: “Kiddo, with your face and body, you could be an earner.” Nora is far from a stereotypical prostitute; she is a shrewd businesswoman who learns to invest her earnings wisely. Her path intersects with the novel’s other threads when Saxon supplies women to both the mob and the Barreras, leading to intimate relationships with Sean Callan and Adán Barrera. The explicit sex scenes are graphic and intense, yet Nora’s connection with Mexican Bishop Juan Parada offers a more platonic, albeit symbolically charged, relationship. Her fervent devotion to the bishop is, however, a crucial element that Keller seeks to exploit in his efforts to dismantle the Barrera dynasty.
Winslow’s meticulous research is evident throughout The Power of the Dog, from the intricate plotting to the historical underpinnings. The novel references the Iran-Contra scandal, illustrating the existence of a “shadow government” within the Reagan White House. The connection between the Contras, Mexican drug trafficking, and the Mafia, as detailed by Winslow, is both plausible and terrifying. The CIA is represented by John Hobbs, a pale, almost ghostly figure who mirrors the Barreras’ ruthless pragmatism.
Despite the pervasive cynicism and violence, The Power of the Dog is not entirely devoid of hope. Even the beleaguered Art Keller clings to a belief in something better, perhaps in an eternal realm. As he tends to his garden, he reflects, “And maybe that’s the best we can do in this world… tend to the garden and maintain the hope of a God.” Keller’s enduring faith serves as a stark contrast to the moral compromises depicted, and Winslow leaves the reader to ponder whether such caution will ever be heeded by those in power. Ultimately, The Power of the Dog is a maelstrom of a novel – a complex, fictionalized account of political and historical events, populated by killers and lovers, driven by passion, betrayal, and the enduring quest for redemption. Such a powerful and heart-wrenching narrative is rare, and when encountered, it has the potential to break hearts and expand minds.
Internal Links:
- Don Winslow’s The Power of the Dog Series – Learn more about Don Winslow’s acclaimed series.
- The Dog from Toy Story – Explore popular canine characters in animation.
- Was Dog Day Afternoon a True Story – Discover the real-life inspiration behind cinematic dramas.
- Dog Oral Melanoma Success Stories – Find information on treating canine health issues.
- Slinky Dog Toy Story 3 – Revisit beloved characters from the Toy Story franchise.
