Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga) is a poor woman from a Sinaloa, Mexico barrio who discovers a talent for running the Mendoza cartel in The Queen of the South. The Netflix character is loosely based on a real-life Chanel-suited narco legend, inspiring SPYSCAPE to chase down intel about the gangsters and the gutsy agents (not all of them willing!) determined to bring down the cartels.
The reluctant narco
Much like Ozark’s Marty Byrde, Keith Bulfin had a talent for finance before his life became a waking nightmare. Keith got mixed up in a casino and found himself on the wrong side of the DEA and the law. As a reluctant undercover recruit, Keith was tasked with infiltrating the brutal world of the cartels. If he was successful, he’d get a chance to return to his old life. If not, living wouldn't be an issue.
For years, cocaine shipments flowed through Mexico’s airports under the watch of traffickers wearing police badges and federal agents carrying gold-plated handguns. Mexico's top cop García Luna was in charge of the War on Drugs, the human face of the crackdown. The CIA even rewarded him for his support in 2012. A decade later, García Luna was in prison for pocketing millions in bribes, but was it all a setup?
When US State Department psychiatrist Kenneth Dekleva was stationed in Mexico, he worked with the DEA agents who hunt down deadly drug cartels - the Americans who team up with local law enforcement to conduct life-and-death operations. US operatives routinely risk kidnapping and murder so the trauma is palpable but the posting was just one of many huge challenges the doctor faced.
The demise of Pablo Escobar in Medellín, Colombia was a triumph for DEA agents who not only helped bring him down but also inspired the Netflix series Narcos. Steve Murphy and Javier Peña were two of the daring men who found themselves on the trail of the notorious drug lord - a couple of gringos with a price on their heads.
Get a FREE copy of a hot new thriller, spy story, or crime novel every Monday with a special Story Mondays ticket to SPYSCAPE HQ. Next Monday it's Tremors in the Blood - a thrilling account of the creation of the so-called lie detector, exploring shocking murders and dramatic trials to uncover the true nature of the polygraph. This tense true crime story is perfect for fans of American Predator and The Invention of Murder. Don't miss your FREE copy when you experience SPYSCAPE HQ next Monday.
The War on Drugs is an international battle with an enemy often hiding in the shadows. Undercover officer Neil Woods spent 14 years trying to change that, shining a light in Britain’s dark alleys. He was disguised as an addict, risking his life to infiltrate gangs including the notorious Burger Bar Boys. The experience led Neil to question the entire approach and led to a remarkable new life fighting drug abuse.
If you’re feeling nostalgic for Breaking Bad’s Hank and Walt, these gritty series and movies will satisfy your craving from the crime thrillers Sicario and Traffic to La Reina del Sur. And if you haven’t yet streamed Narco Wars, get ready to meet the real-life criminals who inspired the genre from Meth kingpin Nazario Moreno González to the Rodriguez brothers’ Cali Cartel.
