Generals at the Gates

A gripping exposé of how México’s armed forces became the unexpected powerbrokers of the nation’s political, economic, and social life.

Based on in-depth research and on-the-ground reporting, Dawn Paley exposes one of the darkest secrets in Mexico. On any given day, nearly a quarter of a million soldiers, marines, and national guardsmen patrol the streets of Mexico. Tens of thousands are tasked with detaining migrants, policing communities, making arrests, and quietly managing the illegal drug trade. But their influence reaches far beyond law enforcement. Today, generals and admirals control customs houses, airports, railways, ports, even a national airline and luxury hotels — embedding the military deep within the country’s civilian and economic life.Dawn Marie Paley is a journalist from Vancouver, Canada, who’s been based in Puebla, México since 2014. In 2023 she co-founded Ojalá, a feminist forward, bilingual digital weekly.