<figure id="attachment_467759" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-467759" style="width: 3024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cb4c891c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/6b586a7254b9ee00a4b4a9cb5b080dec-rotated.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-467759" class="wp-caption-text">Maruyama Gonzales (left) and Roberto Escobar, who was an executive of the Medecins Sinaloa Cartel, a Colombian criminal organization.</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Contact with the brother of a legendary drug lord</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Whenever I go abroad to cover a story, I am always prepared to get caught in a firefight,&#8221; said Gonzalez. That&#8217;s why I&#8217;m never intimidated by danger.</span></p>
<p> Maruyama Gonzales, 48, is a well-known journalist on &#8220;Crazy Journey&#8221; (TBS). His new book, &#8220;Narcotrafico&#8221; (Kodansha), has been receiving a great response, with the book going into overprint immediately after its release. In the book, Maruyama reveals the backstage of the drug business through interviews with drug cartels and methamphetamine factories in countries such as Colombia and Mexico.</p>
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<p> Pablo Escobar, 44, is an indispensable figure in the history of the drug business. Pablo was the founder of the Medecine Cartel, a Colombian criminal organization that monopolized the drug trade in the U.S. in the 1980s and early 1990s, amassing vast fortunes until he was shot and killed in a shootout with the Colombian National Police in 1993, He was called the &#8220;drug lord&#8221; for his vast wealth until 1993, when he was shot dead in a shootout with Colombian police.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> There is no doubt that Pablo Escobar was responsible for the global distribution of cocaine. Before him, the distribution of cocaine in Colombia was on a small scale. Pablo, with his unique resourcefulness, created a system that allowed for the mass transportation of cocaine to the United States, Europe, and other countries.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Pablo&#8217;s innovation was to compensate for the risks involved in transportation. Traditionally, if an accident occurred or was detected during transportation and the goods did not arrive, it was the buyer&#8217;s loss. But Pablo compensated them with refunds and additional shipments of drugs. Thanks to Pablo&#8217;s efforts, the &#8220;Medecine Cartel&#8221; grew to control 80% of the world&#8217;s cocaine market.</span></p>
<p> In Narcotrafico, we read an interview with the legendary drug lord&#8217;s right-hand man. It is Roberto Escobar, Pablo&#8217;s brother.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Roberto is a former member of the Medellín Cartel and has been involved in the expansion of the drug business with Pablo,&#8221; said Escobar. Roberto is very cautious and does not take interviews very well. The questions were pre-declared and strictly limited, and he often said &#8216;I don&#8217;t know&#8217; or &#8216;I can&#8217;t answer. I felt that I had lost to him in terms of the interview process.</span></p>
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<p> Mr. Maruyama also believes that in recent years, drug cartels have &#8220;tended to become more violent.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the past, there was an unspoken rule among cartels that they could attack their opponents, but never their family members. However, such gentleman&#8217;s agreements no longer exist in today&#8217;s cartels. I feel that they have come to prioritize immediate profits rather than managing their organizations from a long-term perspective.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> In fact, &#8220;Narcotrafico&#8221; features a dangerous episode that occurred in the course of the interview.</p>
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 Courtesy of Mr. Maruyama

 Maruyama Gonzales' new book, "Narcotrafico" (Kodansha, Ltd.), has been receiving a great deal of attention. Through interviews with drug cartels and methamphetamine factories in countries such as Colombia and Mexico, Gonzalez reveals the full extent of the drug business.

Contact with the “right-hand man” of a legendary drug lord..! Maruyama Gonzales’ Dangerous side of the world’s drug business

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