Weekend Buff: Narcos - Mexico

What Trump and Homan are up against

The streaming series Narcos, detailing the DEA’s pursuit of Colombia’s Medellin cartel and Pablo Escobar, proved so successful that Netflix subsequently launched a follow-on: Narcos Mexico (2018). The three seasons of the latter iteration are, if anything, better than the original, and are made all the more riveting by how close they hew to history. This is the show to educate yourself on what America’s law enforcement faces come January 20th.

Sure, it’s dramatized — but really, not all that much. The rise of the Mexican cartels, the middlemen in the cocaine trade from Colombia, was a violent, high-stakes game that remains relevant today because it’s these same cartels moving fentanyl and other synthetics today. As Tom Homan, our soon-to-be Border Czar has stated, the cartels have “killed more Americans than every terrorist organization in the world combined.”

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The series shows the intrigue, backstabbing, and evolving sophistication of the cartels as they move from a scattered group of ragtag weed crews into a united — and then fractured — smugglers’ “federation.” Ultimately, it is Sinaloa that emerges dominant, thanks in large part to the infamous “El Chapo” Guzman (who we meet here as a young man barely off the farm). In the real world today, it is the Sinaloan cartel that remains dominant among the cartels, as led by Chapo’s sons.

(Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, in DEA custody)

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The settings are key. The show feels real and was filmed on-location in most instances; a location scout was in fact murdered during filming. The fact that all this happened, and continues to happen, makes the series all the more immersive. The actors, too, do a good job, with many looking considerably less-than glamorous (including the scruffy lead).

There is a mistaken conception that cartel leaders are little more than glorified thugs, shooting each other over any beef. Yeah, sometimes. But what emerges here is that the cleverest, the most wily, rise to the top, and they are far from stupid. In today’s world, add Chinese groups trafficking synthetic precursors to the mix, and you have a formidable alliance. Alas, this was a challenge that the outgoing administration was simply not up to.

The series also gives a good feel for life in the early DEA, and shows how that agency evolved into a law enforcement powerhouse. In my own experience, the DEA agents were best at recruiting and running informants at the federal level, and they were often the federal agency to which cops could best relate. You’ll see some of that here.

Narcos Mexico runs three seasons, each of which is pretty self-contained. It is, to those who are interested not only in crime history but in the challenge the nation faces now, required viewing.

In fact, you may hate us for recommending it; Narcos Mexico is the epitome of binge television (especially for readers of this substack). It’s as addictive as the substance that inspired it.

The show is streaming now on Netflix. This one’s a winner. Check it out and let us know if you agree.

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