[[United States]]
[[Mexico]]
[[Venezuela]]
[[Ecuador]]"},"cinematography":{"wt":""},"camera":{"wt":""},"runtime":{"wt":"45 minutes"},"channel":{"wt":""},"first_aired":{"wt":"{{start date|2008|6|4}}"},"last_aired":{"wt":"{{end date|2010|5|21}}"},"related":{"wt":""}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBw">
El cartel | |
---|---|
El cartel de los sapos | |
Genre | Action, drama, Narconovela |
Based on | El cartel by Andrés Lopez |
Written by | Juan Camilo Ferrand |
Directed by | Luis Alberto Restrepo |
Starring | Manolo Cardona Karen Martínez Diego Cadavid Robinson Díaz |
Country of origin | Colombia |
Original language | Spanish |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 107 |
Production | |
Production locations | Colombia United States Mexico Venezuela Ecuador |
Running time | 45 minutes |
Original release | |
Release | June 4, 2008 – May 21, 2010 |
El cartel de los sapos (English title: The Cartel of Snitches) or El cartel is a Colombian television series that first aired on June 4, 2008 on the Colombian network Caracol TV. El cartel stars Manolo Cardona, Karen Martínez, Diego Cadavid, and Robinson Díaz and is based on the 2008 novel by the same name by Andrés López López, alias Florecita ("Little Flower"), a former drug dealer who, while in prison, wrote the fictionalized account of his experiences in the Cali Cartel and of what happened within the Norte del Valle Cartel. In the TV series, which Lopez also wrote, the characters and locations from the book were changed. [1] [2]
Two friends enter the illegal drugs business, thinking it is the fastest way to become rich. The illegal drug trafficking world seems attractive to all these middle-class people, who overlook the associated dangers and legal problems.
This choice begins a turbulent and troubled lifestyle that will change their fates forever. Martín, alias "Fresita", gets a job in a drugs lab sponsored by the big boss Óscar Cadena (Fernando Solorzano). Martín learns the business quickly and starts to send illegal drugs to the United States, while his boss makes an alliance with the Villegas Brothers, from the West Cartel, to take down the biggest drug dealer ever: Pablo Escobar.
With Escobar down, a new cartel is up: The Pacific Cartel in Colombia, led by Óscar Cadena, so Óscar (the teacher) and Martín (the student) make a pact of friendship and business.
Martín becomes a rich man and he falls for Sofía (Karen Martinez), a beautiful woman, but he wins her heart by lying to her. But Sofía discovers the origin of Martín's wealth, and he has to choose: Sofía or the business.
Óscar helps the police finish the West Cartel. The snitches (sapos) make war between these criminal machines to the point of breaking.
Oscar has been killed and decided to make Martin as the owner of the cartel. Martín refuses to take part in this war and decides to go to Miami with Sofía and his children, unaware that Miami is no longer a safe place. He continues his illegal activities, meanwhile watching enemies kill his old friends.
As increasing numbers of his business partners and brothers die or get caught, Martin is forced to run to Mexico, looking for protection. He realizes too late that, in this business, you can never win. So he becomes a sapo and tells his tale to the DEA.
In the second season, Pepe, after being captured by the FBI, and now released to be a snitch, tells the rest of the story, which leads to the arrests and deaths of several drug traffickers.
Caracol decided to change the characters' real names, their aliases, and some locations from the book, although the filmmakers maintained some physical resemblance between the real-life characters and their portrayers. The following tables detail the names of the characters, their portrayers, and the real life people they represent in the series. The first table also highlights the first season characters who also appear in the second season. [3] [4] [5]
Character Name – Aka | Actor | Real name – Alias |
---|---|---|
Martín González – El fresita | Manolo Cardona | Andrés López López – el Florecita (The Flower) |
Sofía (Martín's wife) | Karen Martínez | María del Socorro Patiño |
Milton Jiménez – El cabo | Róbinson Diaz | Wílber Alirio Varela – Jabón |
Pepe Cadena | Diego Cadavid | Fernando Henao Montoya - El Grillo |
Oscar Cadena | Fernando Solórzano | José Orlando Henao Montoya- el Hombre del Overol |
Álvaro José Pérez – Guadaña | Julian Arango | Luis Alfonso Ocampo Fómeque – Tocayo |
Amparo Cadena (esposa de Julio) | Sandra Reyes | Lorena Henao Montoya |
John Mario Martínez – Pirulito | Juan Pablo Raba (1.ª season) Camilo Saenz (second season) | Juan Carlos Ramírez Abadía – Chupeta |
Julio Trujillo | Fernando Arévalo | Iván Urdinola Grajales – el Enano (The Dwarf) |
Conrado Cadena – El mocho | Álvaro Rodríguez | Arcángel Henao – el Mocho |
Alfonso Rendón – Anestesia | Andrés Parra | Carlos Zapata – el Médico |
Humberto Paredes – Humber | Juan Ángel | Efraín Hernández – Don Efra |
Samuel Morales | Luis Alfredo Velasco | Miguel Solano – Miguelito |
Mario Lopera – Don Mario | Santiago Moure | Diego Montoya – Don Diego |
Gonzalo Tovar – Buñuelo | Juan Carlos Arango | Hernando Gómez Bustamante – Rasguño |
Apolinar S. Santilla – el Negro Santilla | Elkin Córdoba | Jorge E. Aspirilla – El negro Aspirilla |
Eliana Saldarriaga (esposa de Pepe) | Juliana Galvis | Cristina Santana |
Juanita Marín | Nataly Umaña | Natalia Paris Gaviria |
Juliana Morales o Estupiñán | Natalia Betancurt | Rosario Molano o Santibañez |
Agente Sam Mathews | John Gertz | Agente Romedio Viola (DEA) |
El Ovejo | Harold Córdoba | Óscar Varela García – Capachivo |
Fermín Urrego – el Tigre | Waldo Urrego | Victor Patiño Fómeque – la Fiera |
Cdte Ramiro Gutiérrez | Alberto Palacio | Colonel Danilo González Gil |
David Paz | Armando Gutiérrez | Baruch Vega – el Fotógrafo |
Hugo de la Cruz | Pedro Mogollón | Hélmer Herrera – Pacho Herrera |
Gral. Javier Ibarra (Policía Nacional) | Germán Quintero | Gral. Rosso José Serrano |
Leonardo Villegas | Victor Cifuentes | Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela |
Enmanuel Villegas | Hermes Camelo | Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela |
Ignacio Nacho Sotomayor | Néstor Alfonso Rojas | José Santacruz Londoño |
Novio de Hugo de la Cruz | Andrés Toro | Novio de Hélmer Herrera |
Tulio de la Cruz – Doble Rueda | Alberto Barrero | José Manuel Herrera – el Inválido |
Pedro Tejada – Revolver | Jimmy Vásquez | Julio Correa – Julio Fierro |
Susana de Cadena (esposa de Conrado) | Carolina Cuervo | — |
Francisco José Trujillo (hermano de Julio) | Mauricio Vélez | — |
Silvio Méndez (chofer y amante de Amparo) | Giovanny Álvarez | — |
Caremico | Christian Tappan | Orlando Sánchez Cristancho – Trompa de Marrano |
Kevin – Kevin Izquierdo | Juan Calderón | Richard Martínez |
Guillermo Polo – Guillo | Dorian Keller | — |
Ita (abuela de Martín) | Consuelo Luzardo | — |
Perla (hermana de Martín) | Carolina Lizarazo | — |
Esposa de Samuel Morales | Tania Falquez | — |
Rene Zamudio (amigo de Samuel) | Federico Rivera | José 'Chepe' Puello |
Giselle (esposa de Anestesia) | Angeline Moncayo | — |
El Contador | Mauricio Navas | – el Secre. |
Omar Godoy – Navaja | Rodolfo Silva | Juan Carlos Ortiz – Cuchilla |
Adolfo Aguilar (jefe de Las AUC) – El Halcón | Mauricio Mejía | Carlos Castaño |
Belinda (amiga de Juanita) | Linda Lucia Callejas | — |
Soledad (esposa de Óscar) | Majida Issa | — |
Myriam de Saldarriaga (madre de Eliana) | Rita Bendeck | — |
Gargajo | Rafael Uribe Ochoa | Rafael Ángel Uribe Serna |
Señuelo (Trabajador de Eliana) | John Alex Toro | — |
Cristián | Julio Ocampo | - |
Jhonatan de la Cruz | Roberto Marín | |
Israel de la cruz | Héctor García | |
William Torres | Nelson Tallaferro | — |
Gral. Jorge Contreras/Capitán Harvey Racines | Julio Correal (1.ª season) Tommy Vásquez (second season) | Jaime Hernán Pineda 'Pedro Pineda' or 'Pispis' |
Agente Katherine (DEA) | Paulina Gálvez | — |
Steven Douglas | Brandon Fokken | |
Becky Clarkson | Vivian Ruiz | |
Alias "Lagartija" | Johnny Acero |
Character – Alias | Actor | Real name – Alias |
---|---|---|
Andrea Negrete – La Mera Mera o la Reina | Patricia Manterola | Sandra Ávila Beltrán – la Reina del Pacífico |
Victoria "Vicky" Puerta | Carolina Guerra | Yovanna Guzmán |
– Antenas | John Alex Toro | Ramón Oliveros 'Parabólica' |
John – el Gordo John | Luis Eduardo Arango | William Tamayo Hernández – Mazinger |
Mayor Luis Madero – el Caza Narcos (Unidad Antinarcóticos) | Alejandro Martínez | Mayor Elkin Leonardo Molina Aldana |
Rodolfo Villate 'Rockie' | Juan Sebastián Aragón | — |
Holger Prado 'el Puma' | Víctor Mallarino | Juan Diego Espinoza – el Tigre |
Diego Casas – Caliche | Carlos Mario Echavarría | Luis Fernando Lopera – Casadiego |
– El primo | Luis Fernando Montoya | Carlos Alberto Renteria – Beto |
Aracely - Tía de Johanna | Marcela Agudelo | — |
Johanna Lesmes | Angélica Blandón | — |
El mariachi de "El piloto" | Gustavo Ángel | — |
María Luisa Higuera (amante de "Caliche") | Margarita Muñoz | — |
Lina María Acevedo (amor de "Don Mario") | Andrea Noceti | Paula Andrea Betancourt |
Blanca (Esposa de Racines) | Paola Dulce | — |
Larissa Márquez de Casas (esposa de "Caliche") | Paula Barreto | Gloria Patricia Gomez Osorio |
Zully Carmona | Diana Hoyos | Nancy Cadavid |
Olga (esposa de "Pirulito") | Patricia Castañeda | Yessica Paola Rojas Morales |
Agente Katherine (DEA) | Paulina Gálvez | — |
Agente Peter McAllister (DEA) | Anthony Guzmán | Agente Terry Cole (DEA) |
Agente Lilian Young (DEA) | Michelle Manterola | — |
Oliver Carmona o García (esposo de Zully) | Ramiro Sandoval | Albeiro Monsalve |
Patricia Carmona (hermana de Zully) | Sandra Guzmán | Libia Cadavid |
XL | Ramón Medina | José Luis Ledezma – el JL |
Wilson Gamboa – Paredón | Joltzman Núñez | Carlos Arturo Patiño – Patemuro |
Pedro – el Manteco | Ulíses González | Weimar Pérez – Grasoso |
Teniente Calero | Julián Álvarez | — |
Juan B. Guillén – el Piloto | Esteban Franco | Amado Carrillo Fuentes – el Señor de los Cielos |
– el Golfo | Guillermo Quintanilla | Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo – el Padrino |
Sebastián Bonera | Carlos Humberto Camacho | — |
Farid Duarte | Ismael Barrios | — |
Jaime Vélez – el Pajarraco | Bernardo García | Carlos Robayo – Guacamayo |
Weimar Castro – Caremotor | Carlos Sánchez | Wenceslao Caicedo – el Señor de la Motosierra |
– Mogollo | Giovanni Galindo | Gilmer H. Quintero – el Cabezón |
Milton de Jesús Jiménez – Jimenito | Juan Hugo Cárdenas | Wilber Felipe Varela Camacho – Varelita |
Luisinho | Bárbaro Marín | Fernandinho Beira-Mar |
Lucía (esposa de Buñuelo) | Mónica Franco | — |
Abogado Eddy Doménico (defensor de Bonera) | Gilberto Reyes | — |
– la India (esposa del Rockie) | Yesenia Valencia | — |
Joyce (esposa de Luisinho) | Viña Machado | Jacqueline Alcântara Morais |
Antonio Villegas | Jhonny Rivera | Sigifredo Rodriguez Orejuela |
Alias "El Pariente" | Carlos Mario Jiménez - Macaco | Manuel Gómez Gutiérrez |
Doctor Rayo | Carlos Serrato | Doctor Wilfrido Barrios Chávez |
Agente Navarro | D'Michael Haas | — |
Agente DEA | Ilja Rosendahl | — |
Julián Levy | Guy Davidyan | — |
General Gervasio Morales | Rafael Lahera | General Hugo Armando Carvajal |
Gildardo Jiménez | Jarol Fonseca | — |
Bodyguard of "El Golfo" | Carlos Arrechea | — |
The book upon which the TV series is based also inspired the film El Cartel de los Sapos (2011). Lopez has also written several additional books based on his and his associates' experiences in the drug trade. [6] [2]
A prequel series; The Snitch Cartel: Origins was released by Caracol Televisión in 2021.
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed "the king of cocaine", Escobar is considered the wealthiest criminal in history, having amassed an estimated net worth of US$30 billion by the time of his death—equivalent to $70 billion as of 2022—while his drug cartel monopolized the cocaine trade into the United States in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Gilberto José Rodríguez Orejuela was a Colombian drug lord and one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel. Orejuela formed the cartel with his brother, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, José Santacruz Londoño, and Hélmer Herrera. The cartel emerged to prominence in the early 1990s, and was estimated to control about 80% of the American and 90% of the European cocaine markets in the mid-1990s. Rodríguez Orejuela was captured after a 1995 police campaign by Colombian authorities and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He obtained early release in 2002, and was re-arrested in 2003, after which he was extradited to the United States. There, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, where he died in 2022.
The Norte del Valle Cartel, or North Valley Cartel, was a drug cartel that operated principally in the north of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia, most notably the coastal city of Buenaventura. It rose to prominence during the 1990s, after the Cali and Medellín Cartels fragmented, and it was known as one of the most powerful organizations in the illegal drug trade. The drug cartel was led by the brothers Luis Enrique and Javier Antonio Calle Serna, alias "Los Comba", until its takedown in 2008 by the authorities of Colombia and Venezuela, with cooperation of the United States DEA.
José Santacruz Londoño was a Colombian drug lord. Along with Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela, and Hélmer Herrera Buitrago, Londoño was a leader of the Cali Cartel.
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Orejuela is a convicted Colombian drug lord, formerly one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel, based in the city of Cali. He is the younger brother of Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela. He married Miss Colombia 1974, Martha Lucía Echeverry.
Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez is a Colombian former drug trafficker who was one of the founding members of the Medellín Cartel in the late 1970s. The cartel's key members were Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder, José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, Gustavo Gaviria, Jorge Ochoa, and his brothers Juan David and Fabio.
Wilber Alirio Varela Fajardo, also known as Jabón ("Soap"), was a Colombian drug trafficker. He was the leader of the Norte del Valle Cartel. A Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act indictment was filed in the District Court of the District of Columbia by the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division against the leaders of the Norte del Valle Cartel, including Varela. According to the indictment, the Norte del Valle Cartel exported approximately 500 metric tons of cocaine worth over $10 billion from Colombia to the United States, often through Mexico, between 1990 and 2004. The indictment was unsealed in May 2004. A provisional arrest warrant was issued and was sent to the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá.
The North Coast Cartel was a drug cartel operating in northern Colombia between in 1980 and 2010, mostly controlling the area of the Colombian Caribbean coast illegal drug trade flow from other regions of Colombia and neighboring countries and local production. Its operations center was the city of Barranquilla. Other name was the Barranquilla Cartel.
The depiction of Colombia in popular culture, especially the portrayal of Colombian people in film and fiction, has been asserted by Colombian organizations and government to be largely negative and has raised concerns that it reinforces, or even engenders, societal prejudice and discrimination due to association with narco-trafficking, terrorism, illegal immigration and other criminal elements, poverty and welfare. The Colombian government-funded Colombia is Passion advertisement campaign as an attempt to improve Colombia's image abroad, with mixed results hoping for more positive views on Colombia.
The Clan del Golfo, also known as Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and formerly called Los Urabeños and Clan Úsuga, is a prominent Colombian neo-paramilitary group and currently the country's largest drug cartel.
Escobar: El Patrón del Mal is a 2012 Colombian biographical TV series produced and broadcast on Caracol TV, based on a true story about the life of Pablo Escobar – the notorious druglord.
The Snitch Cartel is a 2011 Colombian crime film directed by Carlos Moreno. The film was selected as the Colombian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards but did not make the final shortlist.
Drug barons of Colombia refer to some of the most notable drug lords which operate in illegal drug trafficking in Colombia. Several of them, notably Pablo Escobar, were long considered among the world's most dangerous and most wanted men by U.S. intelligence. "Ruthless and immensely powerful", several political leaders, such as President Virgilio Barco Vargas, became convinced that the drug lords were becoming so powerful that they could oust the formal government and run the country.
Andrés Parra Medina is a Colombian film and television actor. He is best known for portraying the drug lord Pablo Escobar in the Canal Caracol TV series Pablo Escobar, el patrón del mal.
Jaime Ramírez Gómez was an official of the National Police of Colombia, who led a fight against the illegal drug trade in Colombia from the 1970s onwards.
The Snitch Cartel: Origins is a Colombian crime drama television series developed for Caracol Televisión by Asier Aguilar. It is based on the book El Cartel de los Sapos by Andrés López López, and focuses specifically on the lives of the Villegas brothers, better known as Los Caballeros de Cali. The series is set in two eras, starring first Juan Pablo Urrego, and Sebastián Osorio playing the Villegas brothers in their youth, and later being replaced by Gustavo Angarita Jr., and Carlos Manuel Vega in his adulthood.
José Orlando Henao Montoya, also known by the nicknames 'Don H' and El Hombre del Overol, was a Colombian drug lord who was one of the leaders of the notorious Norte del Valle Cartel along with his brothers and associates like Iván Urdinola Grajales. During his career he was considered an extremely cunning criminal and in the words of his former associates the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers "More bloodthirsty than Pablo Escobar".
Iván Urdinola Grajales, also known by the nickname 'El enano', was a Colombian drug lord who was one of the leaders of the notorious Norte del Valle Cartel. Co-perpetrator of the Trujillo massacre, which occurred between 1988 and 1992.
Andrés López López also known by the nickname 'Florecita', is a former Colombian drug trafficker who was one of the leaders of the notorious Norte del Valle Cartel, and Colombian writer.
Danilo Alfonso González Gil was a former Lieutenant Colonel of the Colombian National Police. He became director of intelligence for GAULA, thus a key player in the rescue of the kidnapped brother of former President César Gaviria.