<p>This article explores the rarely told story of the mother of a drug dealer and gang leader. Through the relational biography of Virginia and her son, we will grasp the importance of family networks and their role in exercising violence, giving rise to contexts of what we call “lethal reciprocity” in the neighborhood. Virginia´s story reveals the sinuosity of the exercise of power in her community through her filial bond with her son. Amid chronic vulnerability, her maternal position in the neighborhood allows her to obtain certain advantages by knowing how to manage her son’s capacity for violence, the basis for some of her son’s decisions and actions. At the same time, her position as a mother of this figure simultaneously places her in a position of vulnerability, of permanent risk in front of her son´s enemies, and victimization of her persona and loved ones. This tension, a dialectic between privilege and vulnerability, runs through her whole life experience.</p>