THE MOB MUSEUM LAUNCHES NEW FIRST-FLOOR EXHIBITION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Photos of the Rise of the Cartels: International Drug Trafficking in the Americas” Exhibition at The Mob Museum. (Photos Courtesy of The Mob Museum)

THE MOB MUSEUM LAUNCHES NEW FIRST-FLOOR EXHIBITION – “RISE OF THE CARTELS: INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKING IN THE AMERICAS” 

Click Here for Downloadable High-Res Images 

LAS VEGAS (June 2020) – The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, announces a new temporary exhibition titled “Rise of the Cartels: International Drug Trafficking in the Americas.” The exhibition is located on The Mob Museum’s first-floor. 

The exhibition explores the history of international drug trafficking in North and South America, providing insights about infamous drug lords such as Pablo Escobar as well as an architectural model of the Mexican prison and tunnels tracing the escape route for drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. It also examines fact versus fiction in the popular Netflix television series “Narcos” and “Narcos: Mexico.”

The exhibition features artifacts on loan from four different retired Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) special agents who battled the cartels in Colombia and Mexico from the 1970s through the 1990s. Select artifacts on display were provided by two former agents, Steve Murphy and Javier Pena, who helped take down Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar and whose work inspired the “Narcos” series. These artifacts include original documents, photos, badges, awards, clothing, a firearm and other objects directly tied to the agents’ battles with drug cartels. Additionally, a video montage will feature original photographs from Murphy and Pena’s personal collection.

Other artifacts were provided by former special agents James “Jaime” Kuykendall and Pedro “Pete” Hernandez, who were stationed in Guadalajara, Mexico, in the 1980s and worked closely with special agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was kidnapped, tortured and killed by Mexican cartel members in 1985. Kuykendall is a major character in “Narcos: Mexico.”

The exhibition also will feature artifacts from the Museum’s collection, including a rare original copy of a commemorative leather-bound book of political cartoons that Escobar published not long before his death. 

To plan a visit and purchase tickets in advance or for information about the Museum’s current health and safety protocols, visit https://themobmuseum.org/plan-your-visit/purchase-tickets/tickets/.

ABOUT THE MOB MUSEUM
The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides a world-class journey through true stories—from the birth of the Mob to today’s headlines. The Mob Museum offers a provocative, contemporary look at these topics through hundreds of artifacts and immersive storylines. Numerous interactive exhibits include a Crime Lab, Firearm Training Simulator and Organized Crime Today exhibit, as well as The Underground, a Prohibition history exhibition featuring a speakeasy and distillery sponsored by Zappos. This year, the Museum released an engaging new mobile app providing the ultimate guide to the Museum for visitors, in-depth education for those seeking more about the history of the Mob and law enforcement, and an innovative, interactive lookalike feature called Doppelgangster which matches user’s facial features with Mob-related images.  The Mob Museum has accumulated numerous accolades, including being named one of TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 U.S. Museums,” one of Las Vegas Weekly’s “Twenty Greatest Attractions in Las Vegas History,” one of National Geographic’s “Top 10 Things to Do in Las Vegas,” USA Today’s “Best Museum in Nevada” and one of its “12 Can’t Miss U.S. Museum Exhibits,” “A Must for Travelers” by The New York Times and one of “20 Places Every American Should See” by FOX News and Budget Travel magazine. The Museum is a two-time winner of the Mayor’s Urban Design Award for Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Museum is open daily; visit the website for admission rates and operating hours. For more information, call (702) 229-2734 or visit themobmuseum.org.

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