I’m Carmen Amato, a CIA veteran turning real-life danger and deception into crime fiction. Welcome!
Find books and more at carmenamato.net/links.
Ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu referred to “disintegration warfare.” In the simplest terms, it’s a sustained campaign to erode your enemy by any means possible.
In the next Detective Emilia Cruz novel, DRAGON CARTEL, China’s campaign against the United States starts in Mexico.
Chinese influx
The initial concept for DRAGON CARTEL was sparked by reports that the number of Chinese nationals arriving at the US-Mexico border went up 8500% between March 2021 and March 2024.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, 24,300 Chinese nationals arrived “without authorization” at the U.S.-Mexico border in FY2023, and 38,200 arrived in FY 2024. The numbers of Chinese at the US-Canada border doubled to 12,400 during the same time period.
Lost in the clutter
Although an increase of 8500% is eye-popping, the overall number of Chinese migrants is still a drop in the bucket compared to the estimated 6.3 million Border Patrol encounters with migrants of all nationalities at the US-Mexico border in the same time frame.
Was it possible that Beijing, knowing how overtaxed US border officials were, purposely funneled Chinese spies into the migrant flow?
In mid-2023 reports about Chinese men of military age with military haircuts crossing Panama’s Darien Gap en route to the US southern border raised concerns.
Some speculated that these migrants were part of a Chinese espionage operation with “deep insertions” similar to how Russia inserted operatives before invading Ukraine.
Yet it doesn’t appear that anyone acted on those concerns.
Disintegration requires information
Chinese national Qilin Wu entered the US in 2023, crossing over the US-Mexico border. He was caught, given a hearing date in 2027, and released into the US.
Fast forward to January of this year when he was charged with photographing two U.S. Air Force bases, including snaps of classified B-2 Spirit stealth bombers at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
Qilin Wu is just one of the Chinese nationals—whose immigration status varies—caught sneaking around US military bases and trying to take pictures. Sometimes they are less sneaky, “accidentally” speeding through checkpoints to get onto a military facility.
Washington has tracked about 100 recent incidents involving Chinese nationals gate-crashing American military installations, including a launch site in Key West, Fort Wainwright in Alaska, and a missile range in Missouri.
When caught, they offer scripted language and stock excuses. They have a reservation at a hotel on the base. Google directed them this way. They are lost tourists.
Very innocent mistakes.
Less innocent are the two Chinese nationals charged with spying on the US Navy this past January, one of whom is connected to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).
Add Mexico and stir
For the sake of fiction, let’s combine these ingredients:
A giant increase in unauthorized Chinese migration over the US-Mexico border, and
Chinese nationals attempting to access and photograph restricted US military facilities.
Now add another ingredient.
Chinese fentanyl.
This is the recipe for DRAGON CARTEL.
Release date coming soon!
#excerpt
Emilia’s new boss in DRAGON CARTEL is a starchy martinet very focused on getting ahead and currying favor with the chief of police. Emilia isn’t often useful to his agenda, but today is an exception.
~
“Cruz! Excellent timing.” Captain Cardona was exiting the squadroom just as Emilia was walking in. “I’m told you have excellent English skills. You were in Washington fairly recently, too.”
Emilia fell into step with him. “Yes, I speak English.”
“Good, good.” Walking very fast, Cardona turned the corner leading to the viewing corridor outside the interview rooms. He thrust a sheaf of stapled papers at her. “Familiarize yourself with this.”
“Yes, jefe,” Emilia said, full of curiosity.
The top sheet was a routine patrol activity report from yesterday. A patrol team cruising through the rough El Roble neighborhood witnessed a physical altercation between two men in front of a small apartment house. The officers intervened.
One of the men involved was a local junkie known to live in the alley behind the building. They didn’t detain him.
The other man spoke no Spanish and “acted in a belligerent manner.” They charged him with assault and brought him back to the station where he produced a card with the phone number of the Chinese consulate on it.
Items in his possession included a roll of 3000 US dollars in small denominations, 5000 pesos, two passports, two cell phones, a pager, a small electronic device that could be a jammer or beacon of some kind, and a plastic bag containing six SIM cards.
“Oye,” Emilia murmured.
“A good day to be a police detective,” Cardona said archly.
#noticed
READ -Leo Silva penned this haunting essay on the anniversary of the death of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. “For those of us who served, his kidnapping and murder were not abstract events or distant history; they shaped careers, altered institutions, and left an enduring mark on our sense of duty.”
LISTEN - I was a return guest on From Fact to Fiction podcast with fellow thriller author Linda Whitaker, talking about THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY.
BUY - WEAPONS FREE is the latest military espionage thriller from the writing team of Bruns and Olson. It’s a Tom Clancy-esque maritime tale with a relentless pace!
GO - The Leadership Literary Lab, is hosting a springtime luxury retreat for aspiring authors in Banff, Canada, an hour outside of Calgary, complete with spa and fine dining.
That’s all for this edition of Mystery Ahead. Thank you for spending this time with me.
Until next time, Carmen
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MY BACKSTORY— I learned a few things about danger, deception and resilience during a 30-year career with the CIA focusing on counterdrug and technical collection. Now a mystery author, those lessons play out on the page, especially in the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series set in Acapulco. Starting with Cliff Diver, the series is a back-to-back winner of the Poison Cup Award for Outstanding Series from CrimeMasters of America. I’ve also written historical and political thrillers, essays about the craft of crime fiction, and live with a very large white dog named Bear.
I really liked the READ, LISTEN, BUY, GO article. It feels like a challenge!
Fascinating info... and scary!