Pablo Escobar’s Brother Asks Netflix for a Sneak Peak at Season 2 of Narcos

The brother of deceased Colombian cocaine king Pablo Escobar has made a “friendly request” to Netflix for a sneak peak as season two of Narcos.

This is huge news because is means there is … a second season of Narcos.

Actually, the crime thriller based on the exploits of Escobar and the American Drug Enforcement Agency agents on his tail was previously renewed for a second season set to be ready for streaming on Sept. 2.

“I am submitting a formal, friendly request to review this material solely on an informational basis,” Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria says in a statement issued this morning by Escobar Inc., the privately owned investment holding company that registered “Successor-in-Interest rights to Pablo Escobar in all the states in the U.S. where such registration is available, including but not limited to California.”

Roberto Escobar reasons Narcos producer Netflix should grant his request because, “It is depicting me, my life, my family and my brother. I think nobody else in the world is alive to determine the validity of the materials, but me.”

That’s a curious statement given that, so far, Roberto Escobar has not been depicted on Narcos, which Netflix dropped exclusively on Aug. 28, 2015. Pablo Escobar’s older brother certainly led colorful life, though. Roberto was the lead accountant for the Medellín cartel and at one point the chief of the hitmen. He was arrested in 1993 and imprisoned, at which point he received a letter bomb that made him half-blind and half-deaf.

His brother at one time smuggled 80 percent of the cocaine Americanos shot, smoked or snorted and by the early 1990s became the wealthiest criminal of all time, with a net worth estimated at $30 billion. But that was not enough to keep from being taken out by Colombian National Police while on the run in Medellín on Dec. 2, 1993. (That was my 33rd birthday and 24 hours after Pablo Escobar’s 44th birthday. Yay, Sagittarians!)

Pablo is brilliantly portrayed in Narcos by Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, who had to put on the pounds and learn Spanish to play Escobar. Actors speak in Spanish, English and Spanglish on the show, and there has been criticism of Moura’s take on a Colombian accent.

As one might expect, Roberto Escobar’s partners with Puerto Rico-based Escobar Inc. agree that Netflix should honor the 69-year-old’s special preview request.

“Look, these guys are based in California, I think they should consider working with me and my partner to make Roberto (Escobar) a happy man,” says Escobar Inc. Chief Operating Officer Daniel D. Reitberg. “All he wants to do is review their show, and if they want to pay for such content reviewing services—that’s great!”

Not that the company has had much luck in the past with Netflix.

“We tried to contact Netflix after we had registered the rights to Pablo (Escobar), prior to Narcos being released with no response,” says Escobar Inc. CEO Olof K. Gustafsson. “I think it is important that they recognize Roberto Escobar’s wishes to review the show they are putting out, ensuring the family and viewers of an accurate portrayal of Pablo (Escobar) and Roberto (Escobar).”  

Besides co-founding Escobar Inc. after his release from prison, Roberto Escobar has written two books, My Brother – Pablo Escobar (2016/Escobar Inc.) and The Accountant’s Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel (2009/Grand Central Publishing). Reviewing the latter book in the Los Angeles Times, Tim Rutten wrote that the memoir lacked any remorse, regret or moral insight.

But The Accountant’s Story did hilariously claim the cartel spent $1,000 a week on rubber bands to hold the stacks of cash being brought in and that 10 percent of the dollar bills had to written off to “spoilage” every year because they were nibbled by rats.

Hmmm … is someone positioning to nibble at Netflix Narcos revenue?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *