Two Chicago Latinas write explosive book with detailed insight on how their husbands help bring down Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman – the notorious head of the Sinaloa Cartel
By Elia Esparza
Cartel Wives: A True Story of Deadly Decisions Mia Flores and Olivia Flores Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Book Group
If you think this could never happen to you, think again.
“Cartel Wives: A True Story of Deadly Decisions” is written by sister-in-laws, Mia Flores and Olivia Flores, two Chicago natives, who were brought up in nurturing and loving middle class families. They would grow up to meet, fall in love and marry two of the most cute and popular boys from their neighborhood—twin brothers, Peter and Margarito “Junior” Jr. Flores. At the time, the ladies had little understanding of their business dealings.
The life that transpired is the stuff of Hollywood. Even Shakespeare couldn’t have thought up of this scenario—Mia and Olivia, the daughters of police officers with the Chicago Police Department, married two of the most successful illegal drug distributors in the U.S.. Yep, their dads are cops and were raised to know right from wrong. But love is mighty a powerful seducer. And, getting showered with lavish gifts is intoxicating enough to dull one’s good senses.
Both of the ladies lived fairly close to each other—one raised in West Lawn and the other in the southwest side of Pilsen. They had both been warned by their fathers to stay away from the Flores brothers. The ladies didn’t know each other growing up because Olivia is five years older. They met once they started to date their future husbands.
Peter and Margarito “Junior” Jr. Flores.
Mia and Olivia have written a tell-all cautionary tale of the deadly decisions made when they fell in love with criminals. As it turned out, their husbands were two of the most powerful illegal drug traffickers in the states– and the U.S. arm of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s drug empire. The twins answered only to El Chapo. During these times, Mia and Olivia lived unbelievable lives of wealth… and because their husbands were equally in love with them, they were provided with everything money could buy– homes, jewelry, travel, designer clothes and shoes… kind of like a twisted Cinderella fairy tale. Then came the gift of children and suddenly, money nor all of the trappings it had afforded them, mattered. Working with El Chapo meant that one day, one or both of the brothers might not be returning home alive.
One day, the husbands made the decision of turning themselves into the DEA and FBI and through their cooperation and elaborate schemes, helped capture El Chapo, who at the time was the most wanted man in the world.
After the capture of notorious kingpin and release of the husband’s participation as informants became public, the media coverage was relentless and the ladies were upset that their husbands were not being portrayed honestly. Mia and Olivia decided to write a book to counter the lies and rumors. However, the wives did not sugar coat anything. The book is raw, gritty and from beginning to end, it is hard to stop reading.
“Cartel Wives” book critics either are unforgiving about the two “narcissistic” women who marry two of the biggest drug distributors in the world, while another critic recommends it, “…if you’re interested in or curious about the inner workings of a drug cartel—my mind was blown!”
Jennifer Lopez and Gina Rodriguez
Let’s see who nabs the American English-language film or TV rights. “Cartel Wives” is both a love story and an action-packed narco soap opera. And, given how the good and bad are woven into the cruelty of being part of an infamous cartel family, it makes for an addicting, juicy story which when all the layers are peeled back, is founded on love. We can see it already—perhaps a pairing of thespians Jennifer Lopez with Gina Rodriguez! And, get this, the story also includes Olivia’s venture into hip-hop and rap music during a period when she tried to launch a record label, while married to ex-husband Kevin Garcia, who was involved with the rap scene, at one point meeting and hanging with the likes of Kanye West and R. Kelly. It is important to note that Garcia was murdered by opposing gang members, leaving Olivia a young widow– all before she fell in love with Junior Flores. Olivia forfeited a promising record deal with Universal Records.
I personally found it utterly fascinating, revelatory and disturbing because up until now, I had only known the “Hollywood” or “ Televisa” version of illegal drug traffickers. And, like so many of us, we knew of the Kate Del Castillo and Sean Penn’s mountain escapade with El Chapo, but what wasn’t known was all that was going on behind the DEA and FBI under cover operations. And, what a story it is.
Latin Heat secured an interview with the authors and instantly realized they could be our sisters, BFF’s, soccer moms or maybe even the head of the PTA.
The ladies talked with Latin Heat recently.
LATIN HEAT: Ladies, why write this story now when things are still so dangerous for you and your children?
OLIVIA FLORES: We wanted to set the record straight and tell our true life story. We did not like how the media was portraying our husbands. When our children are old enough, we want to be able to share our truth good and bad, and the choices we made alongside the decision to change our lives. We do not want their father’s legacy to be told in the eyes of the media.
LH: You fell in love with Peter and Junior, respectively – you must have known about their drug involvement.
OF: We fell in love with them, even if we didn’t understand what they were exactly doing in the business, or the extent of it. All we mainly saw were the qualities they exhibited to us – qualities that were like how our fathers treated our mothers.
MIA FLORES: They treated us with great love and respect.
OF: They never, ever were abusive or violent. They were not your stereotypical drug traffickers. They are not womanizers, abusive, or violent men. The love and respect that unites us was and continues to be stronger than ever.
LH: The story tells of how deep your husbands were embedded with El Chapo’s cartel, making unimaginable amounts of money, and then they gave it all up, turned themselves in and became part of a major DEA and FBI operation that helped capture Guzman. Did your husbands try to dissuade you from writing your book?
OF: It was a decision that Mia and I contemplated for a long time. It wasn’t easy, we were very fearful that El Chapo and the Sinaloa Cartel were still trying to hunt us down to kill us. We felt the bigger story needed to be told. In our book we wanted to focus on what Mia and I went through as women. We fell in love with bad boys and chose to look past their wrongs. But in the process, we collectively decided to change our lives.
MF: It was our way of also wanting to do the right thing.
OF: Our husbands made the decision to turn themselves in, they were courageous because they knew they would go straight to prison and fully exposed themselves to be killed by sicarios [hitmen]. But that’s what they did in order to save their wives and children. They did that for us.
LH: When they turned themselves in and started cooperating with the Feds, were they still working with El Chapo?
OF: Yes. In fact they were the only Americans to ever work directly with El Chapo. It was terrifying knowing they were still going to Chapo’s mountain hideout. Both Mia and I were pregnant, living in Guadalajara and we never knew when or if they’d be returning alive. They were working for the feds by then. We’d have secret conversations. It was very scary especially since we were pregnant but we were determined and had every intention to bring El Chapo to justice.
LH: You’re being protected by the DEA and FBI—
OF: We’re under Federal protection and that means they keep us safe, and if we are compromised, [they] move us. It’s happened a few times. For now, we are confident the government has a watchful eye on us. But we do not take it for granted that Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is one of the most powerful criminals of our time and he’s still alive. We’ll always have to be watching out for ourselves.
LH: For the rest of your lives. How has living in hiding affected your children?
OF: Our kids go to great schools. They’re too young to comprehend why their daddy’s are in jail and have to live with only their moms when most of the other kids in our community live with both mom and dad.
LH: How old are they?
OF: All elementary school age. We count the years by our children’s birthday by how long their fathers are in prison.
LH: Was the birth of your kids the motivating factor in your husbands turning themselves in?
OF: It’s ironic because when our husbands were seven years old, they were already helping their own dad, who was a drug trafficker. Peter and Junior were born into it. And, none of us—not Mia, our husbands, or me wanted this for our children. For now, my children don’t even know their father’s real name because I am afraid they might Google him.
MF: We wanted our kids to have a normal future.
OF: And, as they get older, we’ll have a lot more explaining to do about the decisions we made, but it will be the truth. For now, no cable or internet. We live in a protective bubble to shield our children.
LH: Your father’s’ work for the Chicago Police Department – police officers—how hard was it to tell them the truth?
OF: It was extremely hard. But at the end of the day, I was addicted to this rich lifestyle. My family had no idea that my husband was working for Chapo Guzman. It was only when we escaped back to Chicago that we had to explain to our families. We told, our [police officer] fathers, what was happening and, it was extremely heartbreaking. It was really traumatic. There is no doubt we returned as different women. We’re not naïve, we were numb to the lifestyle. We couldn’t wrap our heads around the way we were living.
There is no stronger seduction… temptation than that of dirty money.”
MF: The book is very transparent. We needed to tell the truth, whether it be good or bad.
LH: Writing it must have been cathartic.
OF: Yes. It was difficult going back and reliving those moments. It’s like we were reliving a nightmare. We wanted to be 100% transparent, even if that meant being vulnerable and exposing our most embarrassing thought and experiences. But that’s okay because we are different women today, we’ve grown… evolved.
LH: Any regrets? What would you do different if given a second chance at a normal and happy future with your husbands?
U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo.
OF: We’re not like a lot of the other cartel wives or girlfriends. Unlike what you might see in Goodfellas, Peter and Junior never, ever mistreated us. They showered us with love and so much respect. They’re great fathers and they weren’t womanizers, no extramarital affairs. I know a little more about this than Mia, since I had been married before. I’ve always been drawn to the same type of guy. But Junior was different. He was caring, polite, and selfless. I felt obligated to change him because I saw the good in him and I knew this lifestyle only ends two ways. Either getting life in prison, like my first husband or being murdered like my second. Mia and I will continue to wait for Junior and Peter because we know they are worth it. Knowing that our husbands sacrificed themselves so we could give our children what Mia and I were blessed to have growing up is worth it because life is about love, family, and simplicity.
LH: Ladies, there are so many other questions we’d like to ask, but no matter what, nothing captures the core of your astonishing, revelatory, and redemptive memoir. Thank you for talking with us.
There are many women (young and old) who will relate to “Cartel Wives,” and the authors, aspire to reach many more in hopes of dissuading them from the lure of easy money. They hope young and vulnerable women will absorb the book as a cautionary tale of the lifelong price to pay – if they’re lucky enough to survive it.
U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo warned the twin brothers in 2015 at their sentencing in Chicago, “For the rest of your life, every time you start a car, you will be wondering, ‘will this car start or explode?’
Mia and Olivia, write an explosive book with detailed insight on how they—average middle class Latinas, raised by nurturing and law abiding parents—fell in love with twin brothers who showered them with love, respect and plenty of gifts. Once married, the brothers provided a luxurious lifestyle, afforded by all that illicit drug deals could afford. It was an irresistible and deadly temptation they could not resist. In time, the couples’ love of family outweighed their rich existence—after all, money can’t save you against a drug-king like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who at a whim, ordered killings as easy as a refill for a bowl of menudo.
Living in fear is a curse. You can’t sleep and you jump out of bed at even the smallest noise.” – Olivia Flores
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