'Narcos' Season 4 News: Pablo Escobar's Brother Advices Netflix to Assign Hitmen After Location Scout's Murder
Things got real for "Narcos" after the body of its location scout for season 4 was found riddled in bullets in Mexico. Carlos Muñoz Portal's murder, however, could have been avoided had producers hired hitmen as his security, according to Pablo Escobar's brother.
Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria told The Hollywood Reporter that Netflix should review its security protocols because it is no longer safe to film a story on drug lords and cartels. If the streaming platform won't change their security measures, Escobar said that "Narcos" might as well shut down production, or better yet, pay off drug lords to leave them be.
"You have to eliminate all threats," Escobar said. "If you have the intellect, you don't need to use weapons," he added. "If not, you have to. In this case, Netflix should provide hitmen to their people as security."
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The body of Muñoz, a seasoned location scout who worked for films like "Sicario" and "Spectre," was found in one of Mexico's remote areas with the highest murder rate. Netflix released a statement on Sept. 16 to confirm Muñoz's unfortunate death. The streaming site, however, did not confirm if he was gunned down by those involved in the drug trade as investigations are still underway.
"Narcos" planned on putting the spotlight on the notorious Juarez cartel in Mexico. It's still unclear if things will change given what has happened.
Meanwhile, Netflix took down a "Narcos" anti-piracy video that aired in France. It had Damian Alcazar, as the drug lord Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela in season 3, threatening pirates that they will be gunned down if they take illegal copies of the series. Netflix did not comment if the scrapping of the video was related to what happened to Muñoz.
Netflix released all 10 episodes of "Narcos" season 3, featuring the Cali cartel, last Sept. 1. The show's earlier seasons about Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel, are still streaming on the platform.
