Snakes In Eden — B.R. Emrick

To gain a squeezing stranglehold over drug sales in the Americas, an ancient South American cult alters people's minds to generate the slimy Killer Snakes of the Caribbean. Extroverted and troublesome Zachary Taylor, with help from his CIA pals and introverted Interpol investigator Theodore Tinker, uncovers a powerful cult of demon worshippers responsible for a series of gruesome hate-message murders. The mystics' black magic, rooted in an obscure African religion over 4000 years in the making, is unbeatable, until a mysterious and salty old man shows up at the damnedest places and times.