Netflix’s Gangs of Galicia begins with a tragedy. The lead protagonist, Ana Gonzalez Soriano, soon finds out that her father, Jorge, had been shot dead in broad daylight. The tragedy unearths some shocking revelations about Jorge’s past life. He used to work as a drug trafficker and had snitched on his partners, the reason for which wasn’t revealed until the end of season 1. So, here’s a spoiler warning for those who haven’t finished the series yet: to explain Jorge’s real-life connection, I’ll have to discuss the ending of the show, along with the person who ordered his murder.
The character of Jorge (whose real name was Jose Silva in the show) is loosely inspired by the Caneos clan’s leader, Manuel Baulo. During the 1980s and 1990s, numerous clans or mafia gangs operated at the heart of the Galician region and used to smuggle illegal goods through the sea. Due to its geographical location, the region was perfect for the import and export of goods with impunity. The fishing community soon developed ties with the Colombian cartels and started smuggling drugs from Portugal. Later, the drugs were exported to other European countries via land. During those times, Baulo worked as a transportation chief for a drug lord named Manuel Charlín Gama, whose clan was believed to be one of the most affluent and most dangerous mafia families in the region.
The extensive import and export of tobacco and other harmful drugs forced the authorities to take strict action against the Galician Mafia. That was the reason why, in 1990, Spanish Supreme Court Judge Baltasar Garzon Real initiated Operation Nécora and Pitón, thereby declaring war against the drug lords operating in the region. In 1994, Garzon came across a member of the clan who was none other than Baulo. He wanted to help the authorities and decided to testify against his boss, Charlín. But as soon as Charlín got wind of the betrayal, he hired some Colombians to kill Baulo at his house in Cambados. Yes, it’s the same location where our main man, Ana’s father, Silva or Jorge, used to live. We’ll come back to that later. So, the hired guns shot Baulo while his wife was left in a wheelchair. Later, the police tried to arrest Charlín on murder charges but couldn’t gather incriminating evidence against him. Thankfully, Baulo’s pre-recorded testimony came in handy, which Garzon used in the court of law to put Charlín behind bars for 15-20 years.
A similar thing happened in Netflix’s series, where Jose Padin’s right-hand man, Jose Silva, found out that his boss was having an affair with his wife, Berta Figaredo. Just like his real-life counterpart, Silva used to look after Padin’s transportation and coordinated with the Colombians for the safe import of the cocaine. But while Silva was away at sea, Padin would sneak into his henchman’s house and spend time with his wife. The police tip even went on to suggest that Silva’s daughter wasn’t his child, and her biological father was Padin. As soon as the revelations hit Silva, he lost his cool and decided to destroy Padin’s empire. He shook hands with the Galician authorities and helped them gather incriminating evidence against the drug lord.
But, you see, Netflix’s series has fictionalized the entire narrative. In real life, the police most likely had evidence against Baulo, and therefore, in order to catch the bigger fish, they promised Baulo immunity in exchange for information against Charlín. There is hardly any evidence to suggest that Charlín had any kind of affair with Baulo’s wife. Also, the real-life Baulo died in 1994, while his fictional counterpart survived till 2024 (basically the timeline of the show). Therefore, it can be suggested that the entire story centered around Silva becoming a state witness and fleeing from Cambados to live a peaceful life in Fuerteventura is entirely fictional. Additionally, the characters of Ana and her mother, Teresa Sorian, were created for dramatic purposes. Silva’s death gave Ana a motive to come to Cambados so that she could find her father’s killer and unravel the mystery around it. Furthermore, Silva’s former family, Berta and Laura, too, are entirely fictional, even though his real-life counterpart had a wife whose whereabouts are unknown. She most likely died of old age or some other cause.
However, in the end, the Netflix show once again created parallels with real-life events as Ana found out that Padin had sent some Colombians to Fuerteventura to murder her father. As mentioned earlier, Charlín, too, had sent Colombian hitmen to kill the snitch who had betrayed him and his family. The first season of Gangs of Galicia ended without giving Ana the justice she deserved for her father. She wanted Padin to rot in prison for the rest of his life, and maybe in the second season, we will see Ana gathering evidence to get Padin arrested once again and sentenced to life. She might also use the same evidence to turn the tide in Daniel’s favor so that he doesn’t have to pay for his father’s sin and can live a life free of crime and away from Galicia.
