Netflix is yet to renew the popular Narcos: Mexico for a third season. However, it will likely get the green light and the ending of Season 2 suggests that Amado Carrillo Fuentes will be a major character as a member of the Juarez cartel.
Known as “The Lord of the Skies,” Amado Carrillo filled jumbo jets with tons of cocaine and built an empire that made him a very wealthy drug lord. He lived a fast life that the wealth afforded him.
While Carrillo is not as notorious as other drug lords such as “El Chapo” Guzman and Pablo Escobar, he was once considered by the DEA to be the most powerful drug lord in Mexico, according to the Washington Post. He is estimated to have made over $20 billion in his career.
Mexican actor José María Yazpik portrays Carrillo in Narcos: Mexico.
Amado Carrillo’s vast wealth and influence in Mexico
The drug lord owned many businesses which he used to launder money and purchase jumbo jets, in which he transported tons of cocaine from Colombia to the Mexico and U.S border.
His fleet of jets made him a fortune due to the high profit-margin and leverage over his associates in Mexico and Colombia.
He also owned several properties including the infamous mansion dubbed The Palace of a Thousand and One Nights (view here) due to its Islamic-inspired architecture.
Carrillo also owned a mansion only three blocks away from then-Morelos governor Jorge Carrillo Olea’s official residence.
Conspiracy theories about Amado’s bizarre death
In 1997, Carrillo was admitted to a private hospital under the fake name Antonio Flores Montes. In a desperate attempt to evade capture, Amado Carrillo underwent eight hours of plastic surgery to drastically alter his appearance. He reportedly died during the operation; however, his official cause of death is unknown.
This led to many conspiracy theories that the drug lord faked his death and continues to run his drug empire. Other conspiracies suggest that Carrillo was strangled in a hospital bed or betrayed by his security detail.
However, the Mexican authorities invited the DEA to view the body and Mexico’s attorney general at the time said that a DNA test confirmed the body was that of Amado Carrillo Fuentes but could not determine his cause of death. Mexican and U.S drug enforcement agencies wiretapped Mexican and Colombian cartel members discussing Carrillo’s death.
A video of Carrillo’s alleged dead body, which you can watch above, shows some of the extensive attempts to conceal his appearance.
Narcos: Mexico Season 1 and Season 2 are streaming now on Netflix.