Pablo Escobar’s Brother Demands $1 Billion From Netflix, Calls To Cancel ‘Narcos’ If Not Paid

Pablo Escobar’s brother, Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria called for Netflix to tighten its security following the death of Carlos Munoz Portal, who was the Narcos‘ location manager. The executives from Escobar Inc. are even asking the streaming network to cancel the show.

The dangers of dealing with drug cartels were made real after the shocking death of Narcos’ location manager last week. Carlos Munoz Portal was gunned down in the violent region of Hidalgo, Mexico on Monday, THR writes. The veteran location manager was found dead in a vehicle with multiple gunshots. He was reportedly scouting alone for Narcos season 4 at the time of his murder. The 37-year-old veteran location manager has also worked in big Hollywood films like Fast & Furious, Apocalypto, Man on Fire, Sicario, and its sequel, Soldado, Rolling Stone adds.

A friend of Portal’s said that the location manager ventured towards the border state of Hidalgo to take photographs. A stranger taking pictures will likely raise the suspicions of locals, and that might have prompted his murder. A police spokesperson said that it isn’t clear if Portal was in Hidalgo or if he tried to flee toward Hidalgo.

Netflix made a bold and risky move when it decided to narrate the story of the Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria, more popularly known as Roberto Escobar, previously called out the streaming network for using the family’s name without authorization. In 2016, he sent a letter to Netflix demanding $1 billion for unauthorized use of content, according to THR.

Carlos Munoz was found dead in a vehicle in a rural area outside Mexico City https://t.co/g0rpuwa780

— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) September 19, 2017

He was arrested in 1993 and imprisoned for a decade. After he was released, he wrote several books, including The Accountant’s Story, which narrated his own life as Pablo’s bookkeeper and supervisor. During the deadly Medellin cartel, Roberto also headed Pablo’s hitmen. In 2014, Roberto founded Escobar Inc., which holds the rights to the name and story of his late brother, Pablo Escobar.

Speaking to LA Weekly last year, the CEO of Escobar Inc. previously warned Netflix about the dangers of making a show about the number one drug lord in the world. He also pointed out Roberto Escobar’s position before in the Medellin cartel. Speaking now about Portal’s death, Olof K. Gustafsson made it sound deliberate.

“People don’t die for no reason.”

Clever. Discrete. Deadly. #Narcos pic.twitter.com/R87O62KRAz

— Narcos (@NarcosNetflix) September 5, 2017

Meanwhile, Roberto spoke to THR about the recent death of the location manager for Narcos. He was up-front in saying that he doesn’t want Netflix or any other production company to film any movies about Pablo Escobar without authorization from Escobar Inc. Roberto also added that they are currently in discussion with the Netflix through their attorneys. It’s been more than a year since Roberto has sought $1 billion from the streaming network.

“If we don’t receive it, we will close their little show.”

Roberto Escobar also advised Netflix to hire professional hitmen as security for their people. Netflix has yet to respond to these statements.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]