The Last Kilo

What a ride! This hit on so many levels. Highly recommend to those that like a thriller that you can't put down. This is a one sitting book

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for this advance reader copy of the book. This story was definitely a great example of the truth being stranger (and crazier) than fiction. The author did a great job organizing and telling this true crime story that spanned several decades with many people and families involved. I thought it was really interesting and I bet it will be really good on audio just like it was on paper

This was an excellent book, the second I've read by T. J. English. A fascinating saga of the two guys who were the two linchpins for cocaine distribution in the US, beginning in the early 1980s. Run by a Cuban American group based in Miami. Compelling and intriguing. The author obtained exclusive access to one of the two guys, as well as some others in his family and cartel. So much loyalty until the Feds began closing in, and then, thinking they had nothing to lose, many became snitches. Didn't turn out well for many, as the tentacles of the cartel ran deep and wide.

Author is also and engaging and wonderful speaker.

T.J. English has written a really relatable book about the cocaine trade in the United States during the late 1970’s through the early 1990’s. The story centers around immigrant brothers from Cuban who get lured into the trade, initially as a way to help fight Cuba and Castro, and then continue as their ability to handle the smuggling proves easy and outrageously lucrative. When the money starts to really roll in, the lure of the life becomes to intoxicating to abandon. Their group, headed by Willy Falcon and called Los Mucachos are more like an extended family, working like a well-oiled corporation, even with built in retreats. The enterprise makes them all rich and their lust for the high life became too great an elixir to stop. Just think money, women, planes, games - a basic free-for-all that seemed to never end.

As the deals became bigger and their schemes became more audacious, they paid off more law enforcement and worked on brilliant strategies to hide the money, using Panama, the Caribbean, and even wall boards to stash all the cash. They created an international network and worked with other drug syndicates to increase the flow into the States. Willy Falcon was a powerful leader and played hard.

Clearly the life of crime doesn’t last forever. As family members got kidnapped and killed and law enforcement eventually figured it out, the good times came to an end. Fascinating read into a world I knew nothing about.

Very good read!!! I was truly invested in this amazing story… From start to finish chefs kiss & I will recommend this to everyone.

The Last Kilo
T.J. English

I have always been fascinated by true-crime stories, and the Last Kilo is a fine example of the genre. It traces the history of a Cuban-American named Augusto Guillermo “Willie” Falcon, and his associated known as Los Muchachos.

=== The Good Stuff ===
* Falcon is a fascinating character. He dabbles as an intelligence operative, seeking to help overthrow the Castro regime in Cuba, and manages to become a very successful cocaine smuggler. With no business training at all, he develops a very profitable organization, which if legit, was on its way to being Fourtune-500 level.
* T.J. English gives us a cross-section of Falcon’s life. We see him as a swash-buckling daredevil, risking his life to rise to the top of the drug hierarchy, as well as an executive of a large business with all its financial and organizational challenges. Wrapped around that is a family life, and a group of loyal friends called the Muchachos.
* The text moves by quickly, and while there is quite a bit of detail included, it does not get in the way of the narrative. English does a nice job of capturing the complexities of his subject, and the internal conflicts as he juggles his lifestyle against his family commitments.
* The book is complete, it that it captures the whole saga of Los Muchachos, from their humble beginnings, through the “sitting at the top of the world” phases, and ending as the authorities finally catch up to the gang.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===
* English seems to genuinely like his subject. That is always a danger for a biographer, and it is sometimes difficult to square the “nice guy” that comes across in the book with the harsh realities of dealing with cocaine drug kings like Pablo Escobar.
* I would have liked to see a bit more analysis of Falcon’s abilities. The obvious question to me, whenever I read of large criminal organizations, is could the leaders have been legitimate businessmen? Would the talents that let you build a billion-dollar cocaine business (in 1980’s dollars) have allowed you to be the next Jeff Bezos?

=== Summary ===
The book was an easy read, and contained enough material to hold my interest. The story is fascinating, and you can’t help but be amazed at the antics of Falcon and his gang. My only concern was the story seemed to avoid some of the harsher aspects of the business and paint Los Muchachos as heroic.