Facing El Chapo, originally titled La Captura, is a tense Mexican crime thriller inspired by the real events surrounding the capture of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Directed by Chava Cartas, the film stars Alfonso Herrera as Carmona and Noé Hernández as Rosales, two police officers whose ordinary night patrol suddenly places them face-to-face with one of the world’s most feared criminals. Héctor Kotsifakis portrays El Chapo, while Juan Pablo Cruz García appears as Cholo Iván. The 91-minute Spanish-language film was released on Netflix on 21 August 2026.
The story is set in Mexico in 2016 and follows Carmona and Rosales as they conduct what initially appears to be a routine night patrol. Their lives change dramatically when they stop a stolen vehicle and discover that one of the people they have encountered is Joaquín Guzmán, the powerful leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. The two officers unexpectedly find themselves responsible for one of the world’s most wanted criminals, placing them in an extremely dangerous situation.
Rather than concentrating primarily on El Chapo himself, Facing El Chapo places the two ordinary officers at the centre of the story. They are confronted with an extraordinary moral dilemma: hand Guzmán over to the authorities and potentially put themselves and their families in danger, or accept an enormous financial offer and allow him to escape. This decision provides the film with much of its psychological tension and makes the story more than a conventional cartel action movie.
Alfonso Herrera and Noé Hernández are particularly effective together. Herrera gives Carmona a believable sense of fear and determination, portraying a police officer who understands that doing the right thing could carry devastating consequences. Hernández complements him well as Rosales, and the chemistry between the two actors helps sustain the film during its quieter moments.
The film succeeds by creating suspense without depending entirely on large-scale shootouts and exaggerated action sequences. Much of the tension comes from uncertainty. Carmona and Rosales cannot easily determine who they can trust, while El Chapo’s wealth and influence create the frightening possibility that corruption could reach the very people who are supposed to help them. This creates an atmosphere in which almost every decision carries potentially deadly consequences.
Facing El Chapo is an engaging crime thriller that approaches a famous chapter in Mexico’s criminal history from an interesting perspective. Instead of focusing exclusively on the notorious cartel leader, it examines the fear, temptation and moral pressure experienced by two ordinary police officers suddenly placed in an extraordinary situation.
RATINGS:
IMDb: 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 80%
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