I have to say that The Gringo Hunters was that kind of series where it took a lot of effort to sit through the whole thing. It tests your patience, primarily because it is stuffed with subplots that don’t serve any purpose. Yes, we understood that The Gringo Hunters got cases on an everyday basis, but there was no need to introduce a new case in every episode, once that fact was established. Moreover, what it did was that it diverted my attention from the main plot, which revolved around the murder of the commander of the International Liaison Unit, Temo. That said, The Gringo Hunters is inspired by true events, and yes, such an organization does exist in real life. Obviously the narrative has been fictionalized and a few creative liberties have been taken, but as the makers stated, many real-life cases served as inspiration for the narrative.
The International Liaison Unit of the Baja California State, the special team that operated on Mexican soil in Tijuana, was formed in the year 2002. Since then it had very quietly deported many US citizens who had illegally entered Mexico, either to evade law enforcement agencies or for any other reason. One of the specialties of the Gringo Hunters was that they conducted their operation in a very secretive manner. Nobody actually knew that such an organization existed. They did so because they knew that they needed to keep a low profile so that the criminals wouldn’t see them coming. But that changed after the Washington Post published an article on them, lauding the organization for what it has been able to achieve. Kevin Sieff, a journalist, spent some time with the organization when the Gringo Hunters were after a fugitive named Damian Salinas, who was accused of killing a man and then crossing borders to hide in Mexico. The modus operandi of the organization seemed quite unique and effective, and moreover, it was surprising that nobody knew about the organization outside of Mexico, even though they were doing such good work. I believe what would have been even more surprising, especially for the people of the United States, was that an organization was founded with the sole purpose to catch US citizens who entered Mexico illegally, when generally it was the other way round. I mean their existence was a result of the changing border-patrol dynamics between the two nations, and I believe that the series wanted to lay some emphasis on it. We have heard about how frequently Mexican citizens try to enter the US through illegal channels, but the ground reality is a bit different. Also, another fascinating thing was how the Gringo Hunters deported the criminals.
We saw in the series how Nico and his team handed over criminals on an everyday basis to their US counterpart, Anne. Ideally there are hundreds of formalities that need to be completed before deporting a person, but the Gringo Hunters found a loophole in the legal system and used it to their advantage. Basically, they proved that the accused was in violation of the immigration rules, which expedited the entire process, and then the US law enforcement agencies handled the matter from there on. It is true that the liaison unit worked quite closely with the US Marshals and various intelligence agencies like the FBI. We saw that Nico and his team had a rather good rapport with Anne, and many times they took the help of the US Marshals in catching criminals like Father Murray operating on their soil.
Though I was literally tired of watching a new case every episode, it is true that the organization does make a lot of arrests and handles a new case almost on an everyday basis. According to statistics, the organization makes around 13 arrests per month, which is a really big number. From sex offenders to drug smugglers and even billionaires accused of fraudulent activities, they are caught by the hunters and deported back to the United States of America. We saw in the series that Joaquin Meyer Rodrigues was trying to redevelop an area known as the “Nueva Tijuana.” It is an actual district in Tijuana known for its vibrant and lively atmosphere, and a place where traditional culture blends with modern influences. I don’t think that the character of Joaquin was based on a real-life person, but I believe that his character might have been inspired by true events that must have happened at some point in time. An officer being murdered on duty and a high-ranking official colluding with criminals are things that we all have seen happening around us. So there could be many references the makers could have drawn from to create that entire dynamic that existed between Temo, the team leader who got murdered in broad daylight, and Ortega, who eventually got elected as the Secretary of Security. The entire subplot involving Father Murray reminded me of a recent case where a Roman Catholic priest named Fernando Gonzalez Ortega was caught by the authorities near the US-Mexico border. The 52-year-old man was accused of abusing a minor and trafficking them. He operated out of Texas, where he also served as the pastor of the Saint Luke Church. Also, who can forget the Epstein scandal, where the infamous American financier, Jeffrey Edward Epstein, trafficked minors and recruited them for the so-called elites of society. Father Murray, too, trafficked minors, and the worst thing was that he played with people’s trust and used his influence in the worst possible manner.
I believe that The Gringo Hunters missed the spot because it tried to include everything in the story, and that somewhere made them lose their grip over the main plot. I say so because it is quite intriguing what the International Liaison Unit does, how they operate, why they do so and how over the years it has given them some really good results. Also the entire plot involving Temo’s death, Ortega’s conspiracy and Father Murray’s involvement was somewhere lost amidst the hundreds of sub plots that the series had. I mean the way their modus operandi would have made an impression on the Washington Post journalists, it should have had that impact on the audience too. The story inspired by true events was worthy of being told but a flawed execution made it just another title on Netflix that wouldn’t pique somebody’s interest.
