‘I’m going to tell you about 20 years of my life dedicated to serving the cartel. Serving them with these hands. Torturing people. And killing.’ Welcome to Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, the most dangerous city on Earth. This is the killing ground of the unnamed assassin, El Sicario. He has executed hundreds, is an expert in torture, spent years working for the state police, and received training from the FBI. He now lives as a fugitive in the US, with a $250,000 price tag on his head.

In sober, grim and graphic detail, he offers a series of confessions. Along the way he explains why he first became involved with the cartels and how they operate; outlines the most effective way to torture your victim; and describes the corrosive experience of looking into someone’s eyes as you strangle them to death. El Sicario also offers the unvarnished truth about the Mexican narco war that saw 2,750 murders in Juarez in 2009 alone, and over 3,000 again last year. Prefaced by the award-winning journalist and translator who met with him face to face, this is a deeply chilling and important book, revealing the brutality of the drugs underworld as you’ve never seen it before.