While the anticipation for the release of the next season of Narcos on Netflix builds up, let’s take a closer look at the latest trailer and line it up with what we know about Pablo Escobar. Since Season 1 was pretty dead on in the accuracy department, it’s safe to say that Season 2 will do Escobar’s story the same justice. The first season covered over a decade of Escobar’s life in only ten episodes. So, where does that leave us now?
Pablo Escobar’s Escape from Prison
The last season ended with a bang (and not just of the gunshot variety). After living the luxurious life in his own private prison, Escobar escapes after the government confronts him about his continued operation of his drug business. Pablo and several other inmates were able to escape. This is all true – right down to the scene of them holding the government official, who attempted to negotiate with Escobar, hostage. Escobar disappeared into the mountain behind La Catedral and was not found for another year and a half.
The DEA
In the show, Steve Murphy and Javier Peña are two DEA agents who track Escobar throughout his entire drug career. In the trailer, we can see that they are still the two people helping lead the initiative to catch Escobar. This is both true and false- Murphy and Peña were both actively involved in the investigation, but Murphy didn’t even arrive in Columbia until a few days before Escobar’s surrender in 1991. Season 2, however, will more accurately reveal Murphy’s role in the manhunt.
Cali Cartel
The Cali Cartel did not have a strong presence in the first season, but we will see a lot of them in Season 2. The two people you need to know are Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, the founders of the Cali Cartel, aka Pablo Escobar’s biggest rival. You could say they had at least a few reasons for wanting Escobar dead. The cartel made several assassination attempts on Escobar before and during his time at La Catedral, although the show doesn’t reveal their active role until the second season.
Los Pepes
Los Pepes, whose name means “People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar”, was a group of people who banded together to take down anyone involved in Escobar’s business. The trailer briefly features them as one of the groups that takes down Escobar – this is all true. They murdered and threatened co-conspirators and scared Escobar more than the government itself. It was also rumored that the Search Bloc occasionally collaborated with Los Pepes.
Search Bloc
The Search Bloc is another group tasked with tracking down Escobar in Season 2. This group did exist, with the sole intention of apprehending Escobar, except there are a few discrepancies between the show and real life. The Search Bloc has an active role in Season 1, but the group was never officially called the Search Bloc until after Escobar’s escape from La Catedral. Also, the leader of the Search Bloc in Narcos, Horacio Carrillo, is not a real person- although he was loosely based on Colonel Hugo Martinez.
There is one thing we know for sure about this next season- Pablo Escobar is going down. Check out the latest trailer to see what you can expect in the next ten episodes!
