Drug Dealing
The most recurrent motif in the book is drug dealing, and the story revolves around cartels and their impact on Colombian society. This story begins with an article about a drug kingpin and then it leads Antonio back to wars between drug dealers and their horrendous impact on society. Juan Gabriel has demonstrated how drugs deteriorated Colombian society and shattered the lives of individuals. Antonio witnessed the murder of a friend who was a part of the drug cartels long ago, but he was murdered mercilessly. Antonio nearly escaped death because of his acquaintance with Ricardo. This incident haunted Antonio for years and the trauma of witnessing the murder of a friend shattered his life and his relations.
Black Box
The black box symbolizes the backup plan. When planes crash, they are decoded to get the required information. They keep a record of the pilot’s conversation. This symbol is employed by the narrator when Antonio yearns to have a black box in his life. After Ricardo’s murder, he wishes to have a black box in order to get to know about Ricardo's secrets and the motives behind his ruthless killing by the drug cartels. Antonio says, “I'd fallen out of the sky, too, but there was no possible testimony of my fall, there was no black box that anybody could consult, nor was there any black box of Ricardo Laverde's fall, human lives don't have these technological luxuries to fall back on.”
Cartels
The drug cartels symbolize lawlessness in Colombian society. Ricardo was killed at a time when he had repented of his wrong ways. After serving 20 years of his prison term, he came out and decided to change his ways. He wanted to serve society, but the drug barons did not give him the opportunity to do so. He was brutally murdered in a bar and his friend was also attacked, although he was innocent. The drug cartels used to kill people in the streets without any fear of law or legal authorities. They were not punished by the police in Colombia at the time of drug trafficking. They possessed unrestrained power and freedom.
