The first episode of Meet The Drug Lords: Inside the Real Narcos aired on Thursday 2nd August.
The three-part series is presented by ex-Special Forces Soldier, Jason Fox.
Fox says in Episode one that he wants to understand the mindset of the Narcos. Which is exactly why the travels to Mexico, meeting up with the Sinaloa cartel, who ’employ’ around 100,000 people.
Here are seven reasons why Meet the Drug Lords: Inside the Real Narcos makes Netflix Narcos look tame… like, really tame!
Agents Murphy and Peña
1. Narcos Are More Powerful Than The State
In the Netflix Narcos series, it usually turns out that the government or the police have the upper hand.
However, in real life, the Sinaloa Narcos are more powerful than the state. Episode one sees Jason driving through Culiacán.
Jason said: It feels normal but this is a state in the grip of the Narcos.”
Even when Drug Lords have been captured or killed, the culture still continues. The infamous drug lord, El Chapo, built the Sinaloan cartel. And, although he was captured two years ago, his empire continues without him.
2. Drug Lords Aren’t That Easy To Contact
In the Pablo Escobar Netflix series, the higher-ups in government often find a way to contact him.
As Jason found out, it’s not quite so easy in real life!
In The Real Narcos, we see Jason having to go through cartel security at a petrol station before driving to a designated location and then crossing a river.
Fox described it as an “edgy initial meet”. The cartel had never done this before on Sinaloa territory.
Fox then met with the general commander in control of several hundred soldiers in the area.
3. Children Are Trained As Hitmen
Fox meets ‘Wolfboy’ in a Texan prison.
Please excuse his tattoos.
‘Wolfboy’ says he was 13 when killed someone for the first time after being invited to Mexico.
He then explains that training involved using rival cartel members as target practice for new recruits. He painted a vivid scene.
4. Cartel Members Are Trained In Torture
Wolfboy also told Fox that as part of being on the payroll of a drug cartel you have to torture people.
He spoke of torture houses where 50 or 60 people are lined up and ushered into a house where they have to fight for their lives to get out.
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Wolfboy explained the ‘simple’ torture methods he used to use… cutting fingers off, removing teeth and cooking people alive.
5. Dismembered Bodies
In the first episode of the series, Fox goes to Acapulco, which has the second highest murder rate in the world.
Forensics officer Hector explains that the violence isn’t just shooting, however, but rival gang members cutting people up.
Fox witnesses a crime scene where there is a dismembered body in the street. Now we know the Netflix Narcos series was pretty gruesome, but it’s nothing on this.
6. Car Cleaners On Streets
Pablo Escobar had many informants in his time.
But, teenagers posing as car cleaners on the street is just plain creepy!
7. Drug Lords Are Respected As Gods
In the first episode, Jason heads to a graveyard.
There are many extravagant tombs holding the bodies of drug lords.
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In Netflix Narcos, when Pablo was killed, we didn’t imagine he’d end up in a tomb with security windows and a balcony.
But it looks like many others have done.
WATCH MEET THE DRUG LORDS: THE REAL NARCOS ON CHANNEL 4 ON THURSDAY 9TH AUGUST, 9 PM.