For 'Narcos' and 'Sicario' fans: Behind Netflix's high-stakes true-crime thriller 'Facing El Chapo'

An upcoming Mexican crime-action thriller on Netflix should probably fill the void left by "Narcos" and the "Sicario" films. Set to arrive worldwide on Netflix on August 21, 2026, "Facing El Chapo" (aka "La Captura") is a 91-minute film inspired by a remarkable true story involving Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, one of the world’s most notorious drug cartel leaders. It is directed by Chava Cartas and written by Bernardo Esquinca and Héctor de Mauleón.

The story follows two police officers, Arturo Carmona and Héctor Rosales, whose ordinary shift suddenly becomes a fight for survival. During a routine traffic stop involving a stolen vehicle, the officers unexpectedly discover that their prisoner is Guzmán. What should have been a normal arrest quickly turns into a dangerous race against time.

With El Chapo in their custody, Carmona and Rosales must get through the final hours of their shift and deliver him safely to a secure cell. The problem is that cartel members are searching for their leader, and the officers cannot be sure whom to trust. As threats increase, a simple police operation becomes a tense battle for survival.

Alfonso Herrera plays Officer Arturo Carmona, a dedicated family man working in a difficult and corrupt environment. Noé Hernández plays his partner, Officer Héctor Rosales. Héctor Kotsifakis portrays Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, while Paola Fernández and Antonio Fortier appear as Isaura and Barraza.

The film is based on two journalistic chronicles written by Mexican author and investigative journalist Héctor de Mauleón. Published by El Universal in 2016, the accounts describe the extraordinary events surrounding Guzmán’s final recapture.

The first chronicle, 'Cómo atrapamos al Chapo' ('How We Caught El Chapo'), tells how Guzmán escaped through a complicated sewage system during a raid by Mexican Marines. He emerged from a manhole, stole a vehicle and was eventually stopped by Federal Police officers during what appeared to be an ordinary traffic stop.

The second chronicle, 'Veinte minutos a solas con El Chapo' ('Twenty Minutes Alone with El Chapo'), focuses on what happened immediately after the arrest. The officers had to guard Guzmán inside a roadside motel while waiting for military support. During those tense minutes, they faced attempts at bribery and threats from cartel members moving toward them.

By turning these events into a fast-paced thriller, "Facing El Chapo" aims to show the fear, uncertainty and pressure surrounding one of the most dramatic arrests in modern Mexican history. The film combines crime, action and the uneasy partnership of two officers trapped in an extraordinary situation.