Narcos Mexico: True story behind Mexican drug lord Félix Gallardo
Diego Luna is set to play Felix Gallardo in Narcos season four (Picture: AP/Netflix) Netflixs Narco..
Netflixs Narcos is swapping Colombia for Mexico for its upcoming fourth season, starring Diego Luna and Michael Pena.
While the show has become synonymous with Javier Penas hunt for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, the next season is swapping time periods and location to chart the rise of Guadalajara Cartel leader Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo.
So who is Gallardo and why is he worthy follow-up subject to Escobar? Heres the true story behind Narcos fourth season.
Who is Felix Gallardo?
Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo (also referred to as alias El Padrino The Godfather) is a Mexican drug lord who formed the Guadalajara Cartel with Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo in the 1980s.
The group initially focused on shipping Mexican heroin and marijuana to the United States, before forming a connection with Pablo Escobar and the cocaine mafias in Colombia.
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Their influence led him to control almost all drug trafficking in Mexico, forming routes between the Mexico-United States border which are still used today.
What caused Gallardos downfall?
Gallardos downfall was sparked in 1985 following the death of US DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena, who was pursued by Mexican drug cartels after his undercover work led to the destruction of marijuana plantations which affected the Guadalajara Cartel.
Following his death, Gallardo and his fellow leaders were immediately suspected of involvement – with Fonseca and Quintero both quickly apprehended by authorities.
Gallardo meanwhile remained on the run until he was arrested in Mexico on April 8, 1989. He was charged by the authorities of Mexico and the United States with kidnapping and murder of Enrique Camarena, racketeering, drug smuggling and violent crimes.
His arrest caused the Guadalajara Cartel to be disbanded and divided between other cartels who maintained control over certain routes – with the rivalries formed since being the basis of whats today deemed the Mexican Drug War.
Gallardo maintained some control while in prison and managed operations from inside, until his rule ended when he was transferred to a maximum-security facility in Mexico.
Is Gallardo still alive today?
Gallardo, aged 72, is serving a 37-year sentence in a federal penitentiary in Morelos.
More: Netflix
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His former partners have also served prison sentences, with Caro Quintero being released in 2013 after an appeal on jurisdiction grounds which overturned his conviction. A warrant has since been issued for his re-arrest but hes still at large.
Fonseca Carillo meanwhile was transferred from prison to house arrest in July 2016 because of his declining health, with around nine years left on his 40 year sentence.
Narcos season four is set to be released later this year on Netflix.
MORE: First look at Netflixs Narcos: Mexico with Michael Pena and Diego Luna returning
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