Interested in seeing how Mexico's drug lords live? Check your stereotypes at the gate and take this virtual tour through some of their cribs. Note that they've been abandoned because these dudes are locked up. Still, some have held up nicely over the years.
The exteriors of these homes range from extravagant to somewhat modest, but you'll find some loud shit inside. One of the most obvious rules of selling drugs is that you don't want to do too much that signals, "Hey, I sell all of the drugs," as that will definitely shorten your longevity in a game that usually ends in arrest or death anyway.
Of course you'll find some over-the-top home decor, like the couches in the basement lounge of José Jorge Balderas Garza (last photo), but you'll also find evidence of family life. The home of Zhenli Ye Gon, busted for importing meth ingredients, included many a photo of his family, while Eduardo Arellano Félix had his 11-year-old daughter with him in the bullet-riddled home above.
Plenty of hustlers want their children to follow in their footsteps, and with the economy leaving few options, the allure of the game is that much stronger. As long as they know the inevitable outcome, we won't judge.
[via The New York Times]
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