21 Times Netflix’s “Narcos” Got It Wrong
Netflix’s television drama “Narcos” did a lot of things right. For one, it was spoken almost fully in Spanish, which is a big step forward in terms of inclusivity (don’t you just hate it when characters speak in broken English with a supposed Latino accent?). Its producers, led by Brazilian José Padilha, did extensive archival research to be able to tell the story of an important period in Colombian history as accurate as possible.
But, and this is a big but, television dramas tend to change a few crucial facts in order to be more compelling. We also need to remember that the United State’s involvement in the drug war has been sometimes controversial, to say the least. Screenwriters sometimes need to be careful not to be overtly political or controversial.
READ: 21 Wow Facts About Pablo Escobar
Despite all the research, here are some things that “Narcos” didn’t get just quite right.
If you are going to deal with a country’s history, don’t take so many liberties…
The producers warn us right away: dramatization kills accuracy. This is fine if you are telling the story of, I don’t know, the ancient Roman Empire perhaps? But misleading audiences on basic facts about Colombia’s history is downright patronizing. Thousands of people were killed in this conflict. Show some respect, hombre!
Also, don’t take it easy on proven mass murderers.
Credit: Narcos / Netflix.
The text you see in the picture refers to Pinochet! In its first episode, “Narcos” tells the story of how Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet stopped his country from being the epicenter of the drug trade. However, basically giving him a pass is simply wrong.
The misrepresentation of Colombia’s wonderful people.
In one of the voiceover lines of the show, agent Murphy solemnly preaches: “God created Colombia and made it so beautiful, he had to fill it with bad people.” Come again? Not cool, not cool at all.
READ: 13 Hollywood Movies That Misrepresented Latin America (and why it matters)
How Colombian women are represented on the show is not at all accurate.
Granted, the narco world is pretty much male-dominated, but that doesn’t mean that women can’t have important roles, especially in the matriarchal Latin American social structures. In “Narcos,” however, women lack agency. Wives, sex workers, guerrilla fighters, news reporters…. most of them are used as narrative accessories by the scriptwriters.
Many scenes make a spectacle out of human tragedy.
Yes, we know Colombia experienced unseen amounts of violence during the golden age of the cartels, but the Netflix show often seems to enjoy this violence a bit too much. We are okay with some gore in horror movies, but the people who died in the conflict have families and seeing their loved one’s deaths shot in such a spectacular fashion can bring back traumatic memories.
…For example, that infamous motorcycle scene.
Credit: Narcos / Netflix.
In episode 1 of season 3, Pacho Herrera and his group of thugs tie up a man’s legs and arms to four Harley motorcycles and then dismember him by accelerating. According to the real Jorge Salcedo, a former Cali cartel member, the truth is slightly different but less spectacular: they used two Land Cruisers.
The extent of Pablo Escobar’s power was very much exaggerated.
Credit: Narcos / Netflix.
Sometimes Hollywood producers take A LOT of liberties when portraying other countries’ politics. In “Narcos,” the Colombian government is shown as completely powerless against the cartels, when in fact that wasn’t entirely true. Exaggeration goes a long way.
READ: Real Life Narcos vs. TV Characters
The portrayal of the M19 was false.
This Marxist guerilla group is portrayed as a bunch of Marxist hippies living in the jungle who are naive and unprepared. Truth is they were the seed of Colombia’s guerrilla movements and its operations were much more sophisticated than the show leads us to believe.
Pablo Escobar’s accent…also fake.
Credit: Narcos / Netflix
The most obvious has also been the most criticized. Brazilian actor Wagner Moura did a great job imitating Escobar’s physical appearance, but even though he tried hard, he just didn’t get the Colombian accent quite right — even if he delivered some memorable phrases like… “Plata o plomo.”
…And so was his wife Tata’s…
Mexican actress Paulina Gaitán plays the boss’ partner in life. She is Mexican and this is clear from the start: even though she tries hard to impersonate a Colombian woman, her accent betrays her.
…And Gacha’s!
Credit: Narcos / Netflix
We all love proud Latino actor Luis Guzman, but the Puerto Rican just doesn’t get it quite right. His character Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha is supposed to be a proud Colombian but he honestly sounds like someone from Queens or San Juan! If you are not Colombian you probably didn’t notice, but these things matter for the sake of authenticity.
How Escobar got the Bolivariana sword was not accurate.
According to Escobar’s son, the capo did not take Simon Bolivar’s sword by force when one of the M19 leaders was captured but was given to him as a thank you gift by the guerrilla.
Pablo Escobar was rooting for the wrong team.
Credit: Narcos / Netflix.
According to Pablo’s son Sebastian, the drug lord didn’t root for the Atletico Nacional, but for the Deportivo Independiente Medellin. We Latinos take soccer seriously.
The escape to Germany shouldn’t have gone down this way.
According to Escobar’s son Sebastian, who released a list of 28 factual errors before season 3 was released, Escobar’s mother didn’t travel with Tata and the kids to Germany, where they sought asylum. In fact, Sebastian argues that Escobar’s own mother betrayed him.
Escobar’s relationship with his parents
Credit: Narcos / Netflix
According to Sebastian, Pablo Escobar never disrespected his parents or had a tense, confrontational relationship with them as the show leads us to believe particularly concerning the father.
Spoiler: The wedding bomb was made up.
According to Sebastian, Escobar never planted a bomb at the wedding of one of the Cali gentlemen’s daughters. Even though Escobar killed hundreds of people, according to his son he abided by the code of honor that dictates that family members should not be targeted.
Javier Peña did not take down the Cali Cartel.
Perhaps Pedro Pascal was too charming for the producers to let go because the real DEA agent was not part of the ground operations that took down the Cali godfathers.
Pacho Herrera was not openly gay
One of the most surprising scenes in season 3 came courtesy of one of the Cali gentlemen: Pacho Herrera. In it, he dances with his male partner at a bar. Fact is Herrera never came out openly according to some sources. You can praise the scene for its inclusivity, but not for being accurate.
The narco culture is not as glamorous as they made it seem.
Let’s not forget that narcos has caused pain and loss of life all throughout Latin America. Narco telenovelas like “El señor de los cielos” have portrayed drug dealers as fancy, beautiful and cultured. We would think that a show like “Narcos” would escape this, but that is not the case, especially with the portrayal of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, “El señor de los cielos” himself, who is played by Jose Maria Yazpik.
The “White Savior complex” was not needed here.
Hollywood tends to use white characters that “save” developing countries from themselves. CIA and DEA agents in “Narcos” are portrayed as incorruptible individuals who often use devious means to justify their noble ends. This strikes us as very, very naive.
Escobar’s hippos are alive and well. 
One of the most outrageous stories to come out of the Colombian drug wars is the fact that Escobar owned dozens of wild and exotic animals. The story goes that some of them were abandoned after the capo was captured. Most died, but the hippos survived and are now living wildly in Colombia. Seeing a bit of that beyond the zebras on the opening credits would have been nice.
