Think of your favorite mafia movie or narco show. Then think of its female characters. How many of them fall into the following categories? 1) long suffering wife 2) hot girlfriend 3) victim of crime. Probably a majority, right? But like any other industry, there are women out there running drug operations — even building empires — and journalist Deborah Bonello has been following their stories in Latin America for some time. In fact, she’s even written a book about them. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley talks to Deborah about the women that prompted her to write the book, from ruthless Valle cartel leader Doña Digna to El Chapo’s right-hand woman Guadalupe Fernandez Valencia. They also discuss how Deborah came to report on the narcotics business, what it’s like to piss off a cartel boss with your work — and why we can’t help but root for female Narca bosses. 

Deborah’s book, Narcas: The Secret Rise of Women in Latin America's Cartels, is available now online and in all good bookshops. 

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