''The Power of the Dog'' is a 2005 crime/thriller novel by American writer

Don Winslow Don Winslow (born October 31, 1953) is an American retired author best known for his award-winning and internationally bestselling crime novels, including '' Savages'', ''The Force'' and the Cartel Trilogy. Early life Winslow was born on Oct ...

, based on the

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...

's involvement with the

War on Drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

. The book was published after six years of writing and research by the author.

Plot summary

Winslow's novel describes three decades of the United States'

war on drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

by following several main characters: The DEA agent Art Keller; Adán Barrera, who controls large parts of the drug trade from Mexico to the United States of America; the prostitute Nora Hayden; and Sean Callan, a gangster from the streets of New York. Agent Keller becomes obsessed with the Barrera family after they torture and kill a DEA agent in Mexico. Trying to avenge his colleague, Keller discovers massive involvement of the US and the Mexican governments in drug trade operations. The CIA prevents him from taking revenge on the drug cartels to combat left-wing activists in Latin America. Winslow's novel exposes the brutality of the war of drugs with graphic scenes of torture and massacres. It also navigates through the inner workings of the drug trade and how different organizations collaborate to achieve their respective goals, from the Mexican drug cartels to the Vatican.

Characters

* Arthur "Art" "Arturo" Keller: DEA agent, participant in the Operation Condor, obsessed with hunting down the Barreras, and other people responsible for killing his friend. Husband to Althea. Father of two children. * Adán Barrera: Nephew of Don Miguel Angel Barrera, brother of Raúl. Drug trafficker. Nicknamed Lord of the Skies. Based on

Benjamín Arellano Félix Benjamín Arellano Félix (born 12 March 1952) is a Mexican former drug lord who alongside his brothers founded and led the Tijuana Cartel or "Arellano-Félix Organization” until his arrest in March 2002. Biography Benjamín Arellano Féli ...

, although

Amado Carrillo Fuentes Amado Carrillo Fuentes (; December 17, 1956 – July 7, 1997) was a Mexican drug lord who seized control of the Juárez Cartel after assassinating his boss Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. Amado Carrillo became known as "''El Señor de Los Cielos''" ( ...

is "The Lord of the Skies." Barrera is also partly based on Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. * Nora Hayden: Prostitute. Friend of Juan Parada. In love with Sean. Professional lover of Adán and Jimmy Piccone. * Sean Callan: Irish mobster and hitman for the Italian mafia. * Don Miguel Angel "Tío" Barrera: El Patrón, head of the drug trafficking organization. Uncle of Adán and Raúl. Based on

Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (born January 8, 1946), commonly referred to by his aliases ''El Jefe de Jefes'' ("The Boss of Bosses") and ''El Padrino'' ("The Godfather"), is a convicted Mexican drug lord Kingpin. He was one of the founders of th ...

. * Juan Ocampo Parada: Cardinal, priest of the Barrera family. Nora's friend. Based on Cardinal

Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

. * Güero Méndez: Drug trafficker, first an ally, then an enemy of the Barrera family. Husband of Pilar and father of her children. Based on Héctor "Güero" Palma Salazar. * Sal Scachi: Former Colonel of the United States Army, now member of the Cimino crime family. * Jimmy Picone: Member of the Cimino crime family, acquaintance of Sean Callan and Sal Scachi. * Fabián "El Tiburon" Martinez: Main hitman of Raúl Barrera. Based on David Barron Corona. * Raúl Barrera: Younger brother of Adán, co-leader of the Barrera cartel. Based on

Ramón Arellano Félix Ramón Eduardo Arellano Félix (August 31, 1964 – February 10, 2002) was a Mexican drug lord who alongside his brothers founded and led the Tijuana Cartel (a.k.a. the Arellano-Félix Organization). He was the leader of the enforcement wing ...

. * Gloria Barrera: Daughter of Adán and Lucia. * O-Bop: Friend of Sean Callan, Irish mobster. * Ramos: Friend of Arthur, member of the Mexican Police. * Ernie Hidalgo: Friend of Art Keller, member of the DEA. Based on Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. * Cimino crime family: Based on the

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...

Allusions to actual history, geography and current science

''The Power of the Dog'' starts in 1975 and follows the

and various aspects of

Operation Condor Operation Condor ( es, link=no, Operación Cóndor, also known as ''Plan Cóndor''; pt, Operação Condor) was a United States–backed campaign of political repression and state terror involving intelligence operations and assassination of o ...

, with the

CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking A number of writers have alleged that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in the Nicaraguan Contras' cocaine trafficking operations during the 1980s Nicaraguan civil war. These claims have led to investigations b ...

being central to the book's plot. It also includes the

1985 Mexico City earthquake The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area a ...

and its far-reaching consequences for Mexico, and portrays the Mexican presidential candidate

Luis Donaldo Colosio Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta (; 10 February 1950 – 23 March 1994) was a Mexican politician, economist, and Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) presidential candidate, who was assassinated at a campaign rally in Tijuana during the Mexic ...

's murder in

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

on March 23, 1994. Aspects and some of the resolutions of the

Cristero War The Cristero War ( es, Guerra Cristera), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or es, La Cristiada, label=none, italics=no , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 1 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementa ...

are also mentioned.

Film adaptation

In 2015,

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

paid $6 million for the film rights to both ''The Power of the Dog'' and its sequel, ''The Cartel'', with

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

producing.

Sequel

In 2015, the first sequel ''The Cartel'', was published. It follows Keller from 2004 to 2014 as he continues to track down Barrera after he escapes from prison. In 2019, the final book in the three-part series, ''The Border,'' was published. It follows Keller as head of the DEA.

References

External links

Don Winslow's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Power Of The Dog, The 2005 American novels American thriller novels Novels about organized crime Alfred A. Knopf books Novels set in Mexico Novels by Don Winslow Works about Mexican drug cartels