During a large safety operation in Mexico, the military killed dreaded drug lord Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, generally often known as ‘El Mencho’, sparking off a wave of violence. El Mencho was the chief of the highly effective Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
As safety forces took down one in every of Mexico’s most feared drug lords, we have a look at the definitive movies and internet sequence that seize the gritty, brutal actuality of the cartel underworld.
Narcos: Mexico (Netflix)
This is extensively thought-about the gold normal. While the unique Narcos targeted on Colombia, this companion sequence explores the origins of the fashionable Mexican drug conflict. The story chronicles the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel within the Eighties below Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (performed by Diego Luna) and his battle with DEA agent Kiki Camarena.
Also learn: Trump says US to launch land operations against drug cartels, warns Mexico
It gave an in depth have a look at how unbiased traffickers had been unified right into a single empire.
El Chapo (Netflix)
If you desire a targeted have a look at the world’s most well-known drug lord, that is it. The story tracks the lifetime of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, from his low-level beginnings within the Guadalajara Cartel within the Eighties to his rise to energy as the pinnacle of the Sinaloa Cartel and his eventual seize. It’s extra “gritty” and fewer “glossy” than Narcos, focussing closely on the political corruption that allowed him to thrive.
Griselda (Netflix)
Released in early 2024, this miniseries stars Sofía Vergara in a transformative function. Though she was Colombian, Griselda Blanco was a pivotal determine within the Miami drug wars that instantly concerned Mexican distribution networks. It’s a fast-paced, 6-episode dive into the “Godmother of Cocaine”.
Cinema
Meanwhile, cinema has produced a few of the most visceral and creative representations of the Mexican drug conflict.
Sicario (2015)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, that is arguably essentially the most intense movie ever made concerning the border conflict. It is a gripping thriller about an FBI agent drawn into the escalating drug conflict alongside the US-Mexico border.
An idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) is recruited by a authorities job pressure to help within the conflict in opposition to a robust Mexican cartel, solely to understand their strategies are simply as brutal because the criminals they hunt. It focuses on the “Sonora Cartel” and incorporates a haunting efficiency by Benicio del Toro as an enigmatic hitman.
Traffic (2000)
This Oscar-winning multi-narrative epic by Steven Soderbergh explores the drug commerce from each angle. It weaves collectively 4 distinct tales: a Mexican policeman caught in an online of corruption, a US drug czar whose daughter is an addict, and a DEA sting operation.
Benicio del Toro’s efficiency because the weary Mexican cop received him an Oscar and is extensively thought-about some of the genuine portrayals of the period.
El Infierno (2010)
If you desire a Mexican perspective that mixes darkish humor with excessive violence, it is a cult basic. A person deported from the US returns to his impoverished Mexican city and finds that becoming a member of the native cartel is his solely possibility for survival.
Savages (2012)
Directed by Oliver Stone, it is a high-octane, stylised Hollywood take. Two marijuana growers in California face off in opposition to a Mexican cartel (the Baja Cartel) led by a ruthless matriarch (Salma Hayek) after they refuse to grow to be companions.
Documentaries
Sometimes the reality is extra cinematic than fiction. These two are “must-watches” for understanding the true figures:
Cartel Land (2015)
An unimaginable, harmful have a look at vigilante teams on either side of the border preventing the Knights Templar Cartel.
Narco Cultura (2013)
Explores the “celebrity” standing of drug lords and the way their lives are glorified via music (narcocorridos) in each Mexico and the US. It is a biting satire of the “Narcowar” and the way it has consumed small-town Mexico.
