Chatham House is an esteemed think tank where I engage in discussions on international issues, particularly on Venezuela. Today’s meeting covers U.S. policies and Trump’s view on Venezuelan narcotrafficking, which many believe lacks foundation. The session explores regional influences, Cuba’s potential role, and the broader implications for U.S.-Latin America relations.
This is just another one of the many books I’ve read on the security services / spies / intelligence agencies in general. I guess I have a morbid fascination. Non-fiction throws up some pretty weird stuff – Life itself is a lot stranger than fiction. This tale from a turncoat…
View More Review: Defending The Realm – MI5 and The Shayler Affair – by Mark Hollingsworth and Nick Fielding
There is irony in this tale as Bill Browder was following in his grandfather’s footsteps in some ways but was also radically poles apart. Browder’s grandfather had stood for Presidential election in the USA on a Communist ticket. Bill Browder was drawn to business possibilities behind the Iron Curtain and…
View More Review: Red Notice – How I Became Putin’s No.1 Enemy – by Bill Browder
Frank Kane and his girlfriend, Sam, after their business was failing in the U.K. made the fateful decision to become cocaine drug couriers in Venezuela. Whilst attempting to fly out from the airport on Caribbean Island, Isla de Margarita, the airport authorities stopped and searched them and discovered the smuggled…
View More Review: In The Shadow of Papillon – Seven Years of Hell in Venezuela’s Prison System – by Frank Kane with John Tilsley
I read this book really quickly- it was enticing and a good tale. Gypsy Jane is something of a crazy phenomenon who rocked the London underworld with some pretty brutal firsthand tales. It didn’t take much for the Gran to pay a visit to any dissidents and she’d be brandishing…
View More Review: Gypsy Jane – by Jane Lee with David JarvisThis autobiographical account of Brit drug smuggler, Pieter Tritton, is a flowing, page-turning journey that documents his twelve years locked up in Ecuador’s notorious, corrupt and highly dangerous prison system. Tritton is already in trouble back in the UK where he is being sought by police for large scale international…
View More Review: El Infierno – Drugs, Gangs, Riots and Murder – My Time Inside Ecuador’s Toughest Prisons – by Pieter TrittonCharlie Richardson was an important figure in the London Underworld during the 1960s. The Krays often overshadow The Richardsons in terms of their notoriety as London gangsters but, as is clear from the revelations in this book, The Richardson family were certainly equally as important in the capital’s underworld. Whereas…
View More Review: The Last Gangster – My Final Confession – by Charlie Richardson
Dr. Joey Whitfield, a Research Fellow at Cardiff University, explores prison writing and the effects of the ‘War on Drugs’ in Latin America. His forthcoming book analyzes the blurred lines between political and criminal prisoners and discusses the impact of cultural productions like films and narco-novelas on societal perceptions of drug-related violence and policy.
View More The Cultural Politics of the ‘War on Drugs’ in Latin America: Prohibition and Beyond? – By Dr Joey Whitfield, Cardiff University, 22.11.17This is a true account of life in Hotel Kerobokan, Bali’s notorious prison. The story is told through a series of interviews with current prisoners and former prisoners who have been released. The inmates are a myriad of internationals and local Indonesians. Most of the Westerners inside are there for…
View More Review: Hotel K – The Shocking Inside Story of Bali’s Most Notorious Jail – by Kathryn Bonella
Nothing beats a bit of Johnny Cash when you’re locked in a box, be it a padded cell or otherwise. Johnny had his own fight and his moody lyrics sure hit the spot when times are hard. More from Johnny Cash here http://www.last.fm/music/Johnny+Cash
View More Folsom Prison Blues