Edda plays El Chapo in the hit Netflix show Narcos: Mexico.
To give you a brief rundown of Narcos: Mexico, the show was originally set to be the much-anticipated fourth season of Narcos, but ended up as its own spin-off, airing in November of last year. It charts the emergence and repercussions of the Guadalajara Cartel in 1980s Mexico, through the story of undercover DEA agent Kiki Camerena. Fair warning: there are some truly tragic events throughout the series.
In the show, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel for 25 years, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is played by Alejandro Edda. The name “El Chapo” was given to Guzman because of his height: only 5ft 5 in. El Chapo is considered to be one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world.
Arrested in 2014, Guzman had by that time transported an estimated 500 tonnes of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico to the United States. A busy guy.
January 28th marked the beginning of the 11th week of Guzman’s trial, which sees him face charges of multiple counts of drug trafficking, murder conspiracy, and money laundering. The trial is taking place at the Brooklyn Federal Court.
The courtroom had an unlikely visitor on the 28th: Alejandro Edda came to watch the day’s trial. Taking a seat in the second row, it’s rumored that Edda gave Guzman a brief nod, to which Guzman responded with a huge grin.
I suppose the pull for Edda must have been that he would actually get to see the villain he portrays in the flesh, though it must be surreal and slightly terrifying to look at the man who actually carried out the atrocities you’re acting out on the screen.
Who knows what the outcome of the trial will be, but as he was such a kingpin in the cartel world, no doubt it will be big news, whatever happens.
For more in the bizarre world of drug cartels, check out how much profit Pablo Escobar made from each kilo of cocaine he sold, it’s insane.
