Narcos

Thank you for being here with us, with the groom and the bride.

Come and dance with us, everyone. Let's begin.

As they say, here we have the most beautiful women in Laredo.

- Congratulations, Danny. - Thank you for coming.

Congratulations.

The last time I saw Danny, he was riding a big wheel down the sidewalk.

It means a lot to your tía that you're here.

- Don Chucho. - Luis, how are you?

How are you, sir?

- Javi. - Hey, Luis.

We heard about what you did in Colombia. We sure are proud of you.

- Thanks, Luis. Have a good night. - You, too.

Hola, Paco.

Everyone in Laredo is at this thing.

Hey!

- Be right back, Pops. - Mm-hmm.

- Here you go, sweetheart. You got that? - Yummy!

Hey, Lorraine.

Javi. Heard you were back.

I mean, the whole town's talking about it.

I had some time off.

Decided to spend it here?

Actually, I'm...

trying to quit.

Doing the Nicorette thing.

Look at you. A whole new man.

Listen, Lorraine...

I just wanted to say I've thought about things...

and I'm real sorry about all of it.

You waited ten years to tell me you're sorry?

I know what I did.

I was, um...

It was wrong.

I forgave you a long time ago, Javi.

The truth is, I'm grateful.

I ended up where I'm supposed to be.

Maybe we both did.

If you hadn't come into my life and disappeared from it,

none of that would have ever happened.

Can you imagine if we were actually married?

- Here you go, baby. - Thank you.

- Hey, Jav. - Randy.

- How are you? - Good.

Yeah, I just... I just wanted to say hi.

Yeah.

You hungry?

Oh, you are getting so big.

I know you didn't like it tonight, all the attention, but...

folks want to pay their respects.

You're a hero to them.

I'm not a hero.

Will you tell me something?

What happened to you over there?

- Dad, I don't know. It got ugly. - But you want to go back?

When you were a kid, a little guy,

all you wanted to do was get out of here,

out into the world.

But you didn't like what you found.

A lot of people don't.

But don't try to change it.

More likely, it'll change you.

It was right here, wasn't it?

The last time we had this conversation.

You didn't listen to me then, either.

Nope.

So, Cali.

Cali.

Sir, here you are.

Thank you.

I'm not a hero.

There were some in the hunt for Escobar.

A lot, actually.

But it's tough to see them through all the blood.

To kill a monster, sometimes you have to get in bed with other monsters.

If that surprises you, pick up a history book.

It's what we do.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, until he becomes my enemy again.

When that happens, God help them.

The day Pablo went down, the Cali cartel became Public Enemy Number One.

And the fact that they helped us bring him down didn't mean shit.

Many observers fear Colombia's other large cartel, the Cali cartel,

will now simply step up its own drug production.

And that's exactly what happened.

While the world was focused on Escobar,

Cali's operations had grown exponentially,

differing from their rival in every possible way.

Where Pablo sought the love and protection of the masses of Medellín,

these guys rubbed shoulders with Colombia's elite

and called themselves "the Gentlemen of Cali."

And whereas Escobar craved the spotlight, these guys stayed in the shadows,

perfecting the game,

building complex smuggling and distribution networks through Mexico,

Europe, and the Far East, without leaving so much as a fingerprint.

Even the people working for them didn't know it was Cali coke they were moving.

It was fucking Cocaine, Incorporated.

And they ran it like a Fortune 500 company.

So, without further ado,

meet the management team of the Cali cartel:

Pacho Herrera, head of distribution and security.

Hello.

He led a team of young psychopaths who would do anything he asked.

Yes. What's up?

Chepe Santacruz-Londoño.

Let's see.

Grew up with the Rodríguez brothers.

He was in charge of U.S. operations

and responsible for Cali's crown jewel: New York City.

He actually lived there, under an assumed name, of course.

Cartel's number two was operations chief: Miguel Rodríguez.

Palmira's police superintendent.

Didn't we just take care of him?

- I'm talking about the new one, Arango. - How much?

- Should I put $20,000? - No.

Put 17.

- Seventeen? - Yes.

Miguel watched over all the money coming in,

and what bribes they were paying out.

And last but not least, cartel CEO, the man with the plan: Gilberto Rodríguez.

They called him the Chess Player, because he was always one move ahead.

They were the pinnacle of trafficking evolution. Apex drug dealers.

And being number two allowed them to quietly grow

into the biggest cocaine cartel in history.

Except now, that was over.

Now that the guy that occupied our attention was gone,

they were number one with a fucking bullet.

And there was no chess move that would get them out of it.

But I was looking forward to seeing them try.

Anderson! Move all that over to the left.

The tables are too close together.

Are you planning on saying anything tonight?

No.

I'll speak for the both of us.

- Did you talk to the North Valley people? - Yes.

And?

They said what they thought I wanted to hear.

But tonight, after the announcement, we'll know the truth.

You're more superstitious than Aunt Luz.

Hey, boss.

Is everything ready?

Yes, sir.

It took all night, but... it's ready, sir.

You can handle it, you're young.

We're meeting Córdova.

He wants to go over the game plan.

Big night tonight, right?

Lots of company.

Gentlemen. Let's start with the obvious.

Tonight is fucking important.

The Rodríguez brothers never...

gather members of their organization in one place.

That simply never happens. But tonight, they're going to do it.

So we have to be sharp.

- Eyes in the back of the head, understood? - Yes, sir.

- Jorge. - Stay focused.

Stay on the radio. Communicate.

Tonight is his last operation.

He's leaving us to become a fancy businessman.

Let's leave a good impression.

Maybe he'll hire us one day.

Let's go.

What do you think Gilberto is going to announce tonight?

I think it's a move into the Asian market.

I have no idea.

After Friday, it's not my problem.

Are you really leaving?

I promised Paola.

I promise things to my wife every day, brother.

Relax, you'll find someone else to make you look good.

I hope so, buddy.

Because right now, I'm surrounded by a bunch of assholes.

Congratulations on the promotion, sir.

Tell me what you do again.

I'm the deputy country attaché. I'll also be your driver.

I drive myself.

You know, you're kind of a big deal around here. Since Escobar.

- Katie. - Good morning.

Sir, can I ask?

What was Escobar like?

Never met him.

Just because we'd been focused on Escobar the past few years

didn't mean we were completely ignoring the Cali godfathers.

I want updates from Duffy and Lopez on where we're at with Cornerstone.

- ASAP. - Yes, sir.

Those are our intelligence summaries on the Cali cartel.

I don't want summaries. Where's everything else?

We had agents on them the whole time.

Good agents.

And recently, we had gotten lucky.

You got some kind of medical condition?

Oh. No, I got one.

The latest break in the case against Cali

came from a joint Customs-DEA operation called Cornerstone.

And it put a lot of mid-level Cali guys behind bars in the States.

And while they weren't eager to help us,

you could always count on some poor relative in Colombia...

...who would do whatever it takes to get their brother or son back home.

Who am I speaking with?

And if that sounds harsh, that's because it is.

This is Andres, his brother.

The DEA doesn't fuck around.