Carlos Munoz Portal, 37, a Mexican national working as a location scout for the hit Netflix series "Narcos," was found shot to death in his bullet-riddled car. There was an apparent chase through the back roads of Central Mexico and he had his camera with him, according to a friend.
A successful and well-respected location producer, some of his film credits include "Sicario," "Spectre," "Fast & Furious," and "Apocalypto." Munoz was doing pre-production scouting for the fourth season of "Narcos" at the time of his death. It is common for location producers to be independent contractors, not necessarily employees of the film studio production company.
The terms of his contract with Netflix are not known.
'Narcos' storyline is accurate.
Considering the series is based on actual events, and real people depicted by the actors are under witness protection, continuing working on the film project in Mexico may be dangerous. Events could erupt at any time into violence against production staff, cast or crew, as evidenced this week with the murder of Munoz.
In Season 3 of "Narcos," the Columbian Cali Cartel turned a successful heroin smuggling operation into an international cocaine empire. The President of Columbia, Juan Manuel Santos, supported and funded "Narcos" while Netflix scheduled shooting its season about Pablo Escobar's crime spree. The revolution has tamed the area since the 1990's, and the country is now reported to be safe for tourism once more.
El Chapo and the Cartel de Juarez are said to be portrayed in Season 4, which focuses on the Mexican cartel, and the continuation of the cocaine trail into the U.S. Munoz was scouting for filming locations accurate to the crime scenes, but Mexico proved fatal. Rumors are that producers are looking at Afghanistan as an alternate location.
Mexico's murder rate one of the highest in the world.
The City of San Bartolo Actopan, where Munoz was found, is part of the municipality of Temascalapa, near the border of Hildago. The area is known for its drug-related slayings and is plagued with organized crime and drug war homicides, with local police repeatedly turning a blind eye.
98 percent of the murders committed in Mexico last year remain unsolved. Only Syria had a higher murder rate in 2016.
Netflix confirmed Munoz's passing, reporting that an investigation into his death is ongoing. There are no witnesses or suspects at this time. It looks like Munoz was in the wrong place at the wrong time, albeit for good reasons.
