Facing El Chapo (2026)

Facing El Chapo (Spanish: La captura; transl. The capture) is a 2026 Mexican crime action thriller film about the manhunt and subsequent recapture of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. The film follows Alfonso Herrera and Noé Hernández as the Federal Police officers who unexpectedly capture El Chapo, played by Héctor Kotsifakis. The film is based on real events.

Plot

On January 8, 2016, during a Mexican Navy Special Force operation to capture "Cholo" Iván Gastélum—one of the Sinaloa Cartel's key hitmen—two Federal Police officers, Arturo Carmona and Héctor Rosales stopped a red Ford Focus that had been reported stolen while patrolling the streets of Los Mochis, Sinaloa. To their surprise, they discovered that one of the passengers was none other than ‘’El Chapo Guzmán”, leader of the fearsome Sinaloa Cartel.

After much debate—as the officers barely knew or trusted each other—Carmona and Rosales sent a photo of El Chapo to Commander Valladares, their immediate superior. They decided to take the detainees to the Motel del Puerto to hide from the cartel's gunmen while awaiting instructions. Meanwhile, the traffickers attempted to bribe the officers with huge sums of money; the officers hesitated but refused to yield to El Chapo's demands, even as he issued death threats against them and their families should they fail to release him.

Commissioner Valladares, also wary of the situation, decided to forward the photo of El Chapo to the Mexican Navy, the Mexican Army, and other authorities. Upon learning their boss was at the motel, Sinaloa Cartel gunmen resolved to rescue him at any cost; meanwhile, El Chapo continued trying to bribe Carmona, and when Carmona refused, the intimidation against him and his family intensified.

Finally, Vice Admiral Ortega received the photo and the officers' location and deployed forces to the Motel del Puerto. En route, they engaged in a fierce firefight with the cartel gunmen but managed to take them down and reach the motel.

Isaura, Carmona’s wife, and their daughters had been hiding at home after receiving threats from El Chapo’s henchmen, but they were miraculously rescued by Army troops.

As an epilogue, it is reported that Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Iván "El Cholo" Gastélum were extradited to the United States to face justice, while Carmona and Rosales left the country for security reasons.

Cast

Alfonso Herrera as Arturo Carmona

Noé Hernández as Héctor Rosales

Héctor Kotsifakis as el Chapo Guzmán

Juan Pablo Cruz García as el Cholo Iván Gastelum

Paola Fernández as Isaura Carmona

Antonio Fortier as Barraza

Allan Durell as Vice Admiral Ortega

Fernando Cuautle as Lagarto

Gerardo Trejoluna as Commander Valladares

Isaac Bravo as Foco

Alejandra Vázquez de León as Joana Carmona

Regis Arroyo as Liz Carmona

Santiago Colores as Sapo

Daniela Torres as Bere

Berenice Mastretta as Chabela

Marcos Duarte as Capitán

Ingrid Úsuga as Reina

Production

The script was written by Bernardo Esquinca, who was inspired on two chronicles written by the journalist Héctor de Mauleón.

The movie was filmed primarily in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Release

Netflix released Facing El Chapo on August 21, 2026. During its first week, the film was streamed more than 18 million times, topping Netflix's non-English Top 10.

Reception

Belén Prieto of Espinof praised the suspense created by the possibility that any of the characters could betray the others. Regarding Kotsifakis's performance, she commented that the characterization of Guzmán does not seek to vindicate him, but rather to portray him as a character accustomed to being in control and forced to depend on people over whom he cannot exert authority. Srijoni Rudra of DMTalkies was positive on the development of the characters but criticized the film's visual presentation.

See also

El Chapo (TV series)

References

External links

Official website at Netflix

Facing El Chapo at IMDb

Facing El Chapo at Metacritic

Facing El Chapo at Rotten Tomatoes