Narcos: Mexico's Amado Carillo Fuentes Is Still Alive - Theory Explained

Played by actor Jose Maria Yazpik Narcos: Mexico, Amado Carillo Fuentes is presumed to be dead — but some speculate that Amado is still alive somewhere and faked his death. Also known as "El Señor de Los Cielos" (The Lord of the Skies), Amado became the richest of the veteran drug lords hailing from the notorious Guadalajara Cartel, also known as La Federacion, Mexico’s first narco union. While Amado was far from being the most dangerous, feared, or charismatic cartel leader, he might have been the smartest. His intelligence and reputation have led many to believe Amadao Carrillo Fuentes is still alive.

As the jefe of the Juarez Cartel in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Amado worked with other narcotraficos like his uncle Ernesto “Don Neto” Fonseca Carrillo (Joaquin Cosio), Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo (Diego Luna), Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura), and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman (Alejandro Edda), eventually amassing an estimated personal net worth of around $25 billion. It would be an understatement to say that Amado is resourceful. Combined with the circumstances of his death, which the Narcos: Mexico season 3 ending explained was due to surgical complications, his resourcefulness has led to rumors about Amado surviving, possibly to this day.

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What Happened To Amado Carrillo Fuentes At The End Of Narcos: Mexico

Amado Died Of Surgical Complications After Trying To Have His Appearance Altered

During the finale of Narcos: Mexico season 3, the narrator explains that on July 4, 1997, Amado underwent a plastic surgery procedure to alter his appearance and escape the law. This resulted in complications that led to Amado’s death on the surgical table.

However, in the very last scene of Narcos: Mexico, Amado’s girlfriend, Marta Venus Caceres (Yessica Borroto), is shown at a seaside villa, where Amado promised to see Marta after settling his business in Mexico. And there, Amado’s small toy plane is seen lying on Marta’s grand piano. Amado never gave this object to his girlfriend, and it never left his side.

This suggests that Amado Carillo Fuentes is still alive. Plenty of drug lords and persons of interest have evaded capture by faking their deaths before — or at least speculatively. Since Amado Carillo Fuentes died oddly, and considering how powerful the drug trafficker was, it's easy to imagine that he simply escaped the consequences and is hiding out somewhere. After all, there's not much that can't be accomplished with a $25 billion fortune and deep connections with the right authorities.

Related Narcos Mexico S3 Cast Guide: All New & Returning Characters Narcos: Mexico season 3 sees the drug war escalate as Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo’s empire splinters. Who are the new players in the game?

How Amado Carillo Fuentes Survived Narcos: Mexico Season 3

The Show Implies Amado Faked His Death

Many wonder if Amado Carillo Fuentes is still alive, and the theory is rooted in the facts surrounding Amado’s death. After Amado died, the DEA observed the identification procedures at the funeral home where Amado’s body was being held, leading the agency to confirm his death. Amado was also mentored by Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, who was known for organizing La Federacion’s comprehensive bribery network. This means that Amado, who was worth $25 billion, could’ve simply bribed Mexican officials and DEA agents to confirm his death, which would’ve allowed him to roam free and assume a new identity.

If this is true, and he had help from Gallardo's La Federacion, the body found in the hospital wasn’t Amado. It's entirely possible that the plastic surgery story was just used to justify the differences between Amado and his body double — many of which were pointed out by witnesses who saw Amado’s supposed corpse.

Also, there is very little paperwork regarding Amado’s death, and the potential causes range from malfunctioning equipment to the side effects of certain medications. It's certainly suspicious that the death of the most successful member of La Federacion remains attached to so many loose ends, despite the man's sheer impact on the drug trade.

Did Amada Carillo Die In Real Life?

The Real Amada Carillo Is Allegedly Dead (Though Doubts Remain)

Although there’s no proof that Amado is still alive, the fact that Amado was Mexico’s most resourceful narcotrafico has led many to speculate about the suspicious and vague circumstances of his death. Moreover, on November 7, 1997, the two doctors who performed Amado’s plastic surgery procedure were found dead inside steel drums. Their bodies were encased in concrete and showed signs of torture. On the one hand, this could’ve been the work of the Juarez Cartel, as revenge for inadvertently killing their boss, confirming Amado’s death.

On the other hand, Amado could’ve simply covered his tracks by getting rid of anyone who could point him to the authorities. In fact, in the 1999 book From Navolato I come: biography of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, journalist Jose Alfredo Andrade Bojorquez writes about how many of those who've suggested that Amado is still alive have disappeared. Later that same year, Bojorquez himself disappeared, further fueling rumors that Amado is not only alive but is also somehow responsible for these disappearances.

Related Narcos: Mexico - The Main Characters, Ranked By Power From DEA agents to narcotraffickers, Netflix's Narcos: Mexico features characters with different motivations, but who among them is more influential?

How Accurate Was Narcos: Mexico?

Despite Some Inaccuracies The Show Was Relatively Faithful To History

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Narcos: Mexico was relatively accurate compared to the true story — even when covering Amado Carillo Fuentes' death. The real-life Amado Carillo Fuentes was born on December 17th, 1956, to Walter Carillo Vega and Aurora Fuentes. Amado was part of an expansive family, as he had 11 other siblings. His uncle, Ernesto "Don Neto" Fonseca Carillo, was the leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, which is how Amado entered the drug trafficking business. He brought in as many of his brothers as he could until his sibling Cipriano Carillo Fuentes died in 1989 under strange circumstances.

The Guadalajara cartel wasn't the only gang that Amado worked for. Amado also had ties with Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel (smuggling cocaine from Columbia), the Beltran Leyva organization, El Chapo, and the Arellano Felix family. Amado did die on the surgical table, due to complications. At the time, he had garnered some heat from the government, and to avoid capture, he decided to change his appearance. That didn't work out so well for the drug lord, as he died at the Santa Mónica Hospital on July 4, 1997 — or so history claims.

Related Netflix’s Narcos Season 4 Change Was The Right Decision After The Pablo Escobar Show’s First Three Seasons Though Narcos Season 4 was planned, the project became Narcos: Mexico, which was the right decision for the series after the Pablo Escobar storyline.

Why The Narcos: Mexico Creators Ended Amado's Story In Season 3

Co-Creator Carlo Bernard Explained The Decision

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Whether Amado Carrillo Fuentes is still alive or not, there’s no doubt that he left an indelible mark on the world — and that his story had the perfect ending in Narcos: Mexico season 3. According to Narcos co-creator Carlo Bernard, though there are various possibilities in terms of Narcos' next direction, this particular part of the story was best ended in Narcos: Mexico season 3.

As Bernard said (via Collider) "We were telling a cohesive story with (Narcos) Columbia and Mexico, they were sort of siblings... so it felt like a nice place to wrap it up with season 3 in Mexico."

There Are Other Narcos: Mexico Theories Out There

Most Theories Relate To The Deaths Of Narco Leaders

...it’s likely outsiders will never know the full truth...

Many of the theories related to the people portrayed in Narcos: Mexico relate to their deaths. That is, specifically, the circumstances surrounding them.

For example, the series portrays the death of El Azul as an assassination in season three. That itself is a theory. In reality, El Azul is said to have died of a heart attack after checking into a hospital under a false name (via Proceso). There are, however, conflicting reports surrounding his death as some believe he may have faked it since his remains were cremated before authorities could confirm. Others believe it was not a heart attack at all. The series, thus, presents one theory for those interested in the lives of those portrayed here.

Other theories relate to the chain of command as portrayed in the series. Due to conflicting interviews and investigations, some believe that Don Neto was really in charge of operations, not Felix Gallardo. The idea is discussed at length in the 2020 docuseries The Last Narc.

Because of the level of secrecy surrounding some operations and the high-profile nature of others, it’s likely outsiders will never know the full truth behind the personal, professional, and criminal lives of those portrayed in Narcos: Mexico.