Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos

Every year, migrants make the perilous journey through Central America and Mexico to reach the United States in search of a better life. Award-winning journalist and author of "The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail," Óscar Martínez speaks about the realities along the migrant trail in the age of narcotraficantes. Every year, migrants make the perilous journey through Central America and Mexico to reach the United States in search of a better life. Award-winning journalist and author of "The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail," Óscar Martínez speaks about the realities migrants face as they make their way north in the age of ruthless organized crime. In his 2014 Bay Area reading hosted by CultureStrike, Martínez details the brutal impact that narcotraficantes have had on those attempting to transit Mexico’s less regulated territories. “As a journalist, I worked in Iraq during the war, I’ve worked throughout Central America all my life - which has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. I’ve never seen the level of barbarity I witnessed throughout Mexico on those migrant trails.” He ends by noting that his book is not looking to inspire human empathy, but respect and rage which he feels are two more powerful emotions.