Bones: Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream, Hardcover

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The dramatic true story of two brothers living parallel lives on either side of the U. S.-Mexico border--and how their lives converged in a major criminal conspiracy Jose and Miguel Trevino were bonded by blood and a shared vision of a better life. But they chose different paths that would end at the same violent crossroads--with considerable help from the FBI and an enigmatic, all American snitch. Jose was a devoted family man who cut no corners in his pursuit of the American dream. Born in Nuevo Laredo, a Mexican border town and crucial smuggling route, Jose was one of thirteen children raised by a hardworking ranch hand. He grew up loving the sprawling countryside and its tough, fast quarter horses, but in search of opportunity he crossed the border into Texas to look for work as a bricklayer. He kept his nose clean. He stayed out of trouble. Back in Mexico, Jose's younger brother Miguel was leading a different life. While Jose struggled to make ends meet, Miguel ascended to the top ranks of Los Zetas, a notoriously bloody drug cartel--his crimes had become the stuff of legend and myth on both sides of the border. He was said to have burned rivals alive, murdered Mexican and American law enforcement officers, and launched grenades at a U. S. consulate. Jose, married, with kids, and now a U. S. citizen, gave every indication of rejecting his brother's criminal lifestyle. Then one day he showed up at a quarter horse auction and bid close to a million dollars for a horse--the largest amount ever paid for a quarter-horse at an auction. The humble bricklayer quickly became a major player in the quarter-horse racing scene that thrived in the American Southwest and Mexico. That caught the attention of an eager young FBI agent named Scott Lawson. He enlisted Tyler Graham, an American rancher who would eventually breed Jose's champion horse--nicknamed Bones--to help the FBI infiltrate what was revealing itself to be a major money-laundering operation, with the ultimate goal