Depicting Kiki
Afew weeks ago, the virtual media world went nuts after the premiere of the series “Narcos: Mexico” on Netflix. Right after the first episode was available people began commenting on social media regarding the unveiling (for some) of the violent world of drug smuggling and the corrupt environment that gave birth to one of the most powerful criminal organizations on the planet — the Guadalajara Cartel.
Led by a smart, ambitious drug lord, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, the group consolidated many separate gangs that operated in specific territories in order to gain control, obtain a unified leadership while increasing its influence and power.
The cartel, according to the series plot, dominated everything in its path to send millions of dollars in Jalisco-grown marijuana to the United States, which was then under President Ronald Reagan.
Meanwhile, a small but brave group of DEA agents then assigned to Mexico’s second-largest city were able to surveil the criminal gang members, including Rafael Caro Quintero and others related to the cartel.
One of those agents was Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. The former Calexico firefighter and police officer reluctantly transfers to Guadalajara from Fresno after being pass over for a promotion. Little by little, the Mexicali-born DEA officer gets involved in a spiraling fight against the crime organization.
Kiki begins his investigation by going undercover as a farm worker in the marijuana fields.
He then moves to wiretapping phone lines to unveil the moves and steps taken by the cartel.
Often frustrated with being in a foreign country, having his hands tied by decisions made in Washington and dealing with the complacency of many, Agent Camarena’s perseverance and tenacity and intelligence proved right in terms of his investigation’s results.
Even after threats against his family and comrades, Camarena decided to move forward with the effort to dismantle the cartel, first by focusing in Félix Gallardo and his accomplices and then by seizing shipments in the United States.
According to the plot, the DEA agents in Guadalajara were constantly on their own as the support to continue tackling the criminal band was nonexistent.
Eventually, with the backing of the U.S. Embassy and Washington itself, the federal officers were able to launch Operation Padrino, which was focused on Felix Gallardo and his organization. The agents tracked cartel members, their loved ones, their tastes and more.
However the steps taken to combat the Guadalajara organization put the American officers on the cartel’s radar. Gallardo was able to strike back against the DEA in the city by taking Camarena’s life.
However, instead of discouraging the effort against the cartel, Camarena’s murder triggered the U.S. government’s resolve.
In fact, what the cartel did was make drug-smuggling a top priority while making Camarena a hero.
This is basically the narrative set forth in the series’ first season. A second season is in the works.
Meanwhile, millions of Netflix subscribers around the world are now aware of how a hero with strong local ties in Calexico and Mexicali sacrificed himself in the war against drugs.