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George T. Díaz
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Border Contraband: A History of Smuggling across the Rio Grande (Inter-America Series) Kindle Edition

by George T. Díaz (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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Present-day smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border is a professional, often violent, criminal activity. However, it is only the latest chapter in a history of illicit business dealings that stretches back to 1848, when attempts by Mexico and the United States to tax commerce across the Rio Grande upset local trade and caused popular resentment. Rather than acquiesce to what they regarded as arbitrary trade regulations, borderlanders continued to cross goods and accepted many forms of smuggling as just.

In Border Contraband, George T. Díaz provides the first history of the common, yet little studied, practice of smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border. In Part I, he examines the period between 1848 and 1910, when the United States' and Mexico's trade concerns focused on tariff collection and on borderlanders' attempts to avoid paying tariffs by smuggling. Part II begins with the onset of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, when national customs and other security forces on the border shifted their emphasis to the interdiction of prohibited items (particularly guns and drugs) that threatened the state. Díaz's pioneering research explains how greater restrictions have transformed smuggling from a low-level mundane activity, widely accepted and still routinely practiced, into a highly profitable professional criminal enterprise.

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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    University of Texas Press
  5. Publication date
    February 28, 2015
  6. File size
    5582 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Here's the book I've been waiting for: a well-researched history of the clandestine side of U.S.-Mexico trade relations. Today's heated debates about an out-of-control border too often suffer from historical amnesia. Díaz has given us a much-needed historical corrective and reality check, reminding us that the border has never actually been under control."
--Peter Andreas, author of Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America


"Far from Washington, DC, and Mexico City, borderlanders smuggled licit and illicit products. While bureaucrats attempted to control the smugglers, they were celebrated in popular culture, and some rose to be pillars of their communities. In a well-researched, accessible, and engaging study, George Díaz documents the ebb and flow of an array of commodities and the lives of those who subverted federal laws, whether for profit or survival, on both sides of the border."
--Elaine Carey, St. John's University, author of Women Drug Traffickers: Mules, Bosses, and Organized Crime

Review

"Here’s the book I've been waiting for: a well-researched history of the clandestine side of U.S.-Mexico trade relations. Today’s heated debates about an out-of-control border too often suffer from historical amnesia. Díaz has given us a much-needed historical corrective and reality check, reminding us that the border has never actually been under control." ― Peter Andreas, author of Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America Published On: 2015-02-28

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00T8192VA
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Texas Press; Reprint edition (February 28, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 28, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5582 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

About the author

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George T. Díaz

George T. Díaz

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George T. Díaz is an associate professor of history at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His book, Border Contraband: A History of Smuggling across the Rio Grande, examines illicit trade by everyday people and those who profit off drugs and guns. His research is informed by investigations in Mexican and U.S. archives, as well as a lifetime of living on the border.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Robin M. Grier
5.0 out of 5 stars A tremendous contribution to our understanding of the border
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2021
Verified Purchase
I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is incredibly researched and well-written and fun to read. I'm using it in my US-Mexico border economy class but I've recommended it to everyone I can because it is such a wonderful read.
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John McConnell
5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2021
Verified Purchase
Highly recommend. Informative and well written. This book really changed my perception and bettered my understanding of life historically on the Rio Grande border.
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Diana D. Garcia
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book to read.
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2017
Verified Purchase
Good history and details of the area of around the Texas border.
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Heath Hampton
5.0 out of 5 stars BEAUTIFULLY RESEARCHED-great selection of corridos also
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
This book was an incredibly useful work for framing some of the problems of Tejano v Mexicano o Chicano identity within Texas. Thanks a lot.
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Albert Rush
5.0 out of 5 stars Smuggling on the Rio Grande
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2015
In writing this history of smuggling along the US-Mexico border, Dr. George T. Diaz has made an important contribution to the written history of the borderlands. Well done!
4 people found this helpful
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