Narcos Mexico: Season 2 continues where the first season left off with repercussions for the murder and torture of DEA legend Kiki Camarena.
In episode 2: Alea Iacta Est, Sergio Verdin, a commander in the Mexican Federal Judicial Police, is kidnapped by DEA agents and tortured for information about Camarena’s death.
He gives up Ruben Zuno Arce after being shot by an assistant to the DEA. Verdin reveals that Arce hosted the killing of Kiki in his Lope de Vega residence, which he reportedly sold to Rafael Caro Quintero.
In Narcos: Mexico Season 2 Episode 3, Ruben Zuno Arce is described as a playboy millionaire with a penchant for call girls and cocaine. However, he was reportedly heavily involved in the drug trade.
As with most of the central characters in the Narcos franchise, Zuno Arce is real, and here is what we know about the Mexican businessman.
How did the DEA really get Ruben Arce?
In Episode 3, the DEA agents attempt to draw Zuno Arce out of his heavily guarded compound by convincing him that he is under surveillance when he attempts to get hold of Félix Gallardo.
The plan works as he leaves the compound. Arce makes it easy for the DEA by getting on a plane that the undercover agents arranged to capture the millionaire. He is flown to Texas and is arrested by law enforcement agents as he exited the plane.
This empire is about to blow. Narcos: Mexico Season 2 now streaming worldwide. pic.twitter.com/tHN2wmlDSg
— Narcos (@NarcosNetflix) February 13, 2020
According to the Orlando Sentinal, Arce was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, in real life. However, he was on a commercial flight from Mexico and was taken into custody in a supermarket.
It is unclear whether he was lured to the United States or was unaware that he was under surveillance.
Zuno Arce was married to former Mexican President Luis Echeverria Alvarez’s sister
As described in Narcos: Mexico, Arce was a well-connected businessman and the brother-in-law of former Mexican President Luis Echeverria Alvarez.
Due to his political connections, he was an important witness for the legal repercussions for the torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena.
What happened to Zuno in real life?
Zuno was a suspected drug dealer and was accused by prosecutors of using his political connections to transport cocaine and marijuana to the United States.
According to the New York Times, witnesses testified that Zuno partied with Caro Quintero, and prosecutors accused Zuno of attending meetings planning Camarena’s kidnapping and portrayed the businessman as a connect for drug traffickers and corrupt Mexican government officials.
He was eventually sentenced to two life terms and died in federal prison at age 82.