Javier in Operation ProMo with Luis Fernando LaTorre, a high-ranking money launderer for the Cali cartel.
One-time Officer of the Year. Undercover in a savage Colombian cartel. Caught in the current between good and evil.
A true story
Every gun pressed against his back was real. Every threat was real. As was every moment of doubt, every compromised line, every consequence.
Javier and Beth Guzman lived this. And thirty-five years later, they are still here to tell it because the truth, however brutal, deserves to be told.
One true story that will stay with you long after the last page.
What folks are saying about RIPTIDE
-
Raw and unflinching, Javier Guzman takes us into the maddening world of vice. We experience the thrill of large busts and the heart-pounding anxiety of his undercover work—as well as the frustrations and complicated psychological toll it takes. A crack can cause something to shatter in an instant, and Riptide lays it bare. Guzman’s memoir is story of ownership and atonement, family and faith that will challenge our assumptions long after the final page.
Lou Ferrante, author of the Borgata trilogy
They came from opposite worlds.
-
MEET JAVIER
Born in Puerto Rico. Raised in humble circumstances in the South Bronx. Spanish-speaking. Street-smart. Self-made. A cop shaped by success and survival.
-
MEET BETH
Born to a successful attorney. Raised in an upscale Tampa neighborhood. Prep schools. Summers at the Tampa Yacht Club. A prosecutor shaped by rules, order, and law.
Worlds collided when they met on a case.
Read our Story