Carlos Muñoz Portal traveled to one of Mexico’s most violent regions to scout locations for the fourth season of ‘Narcos,’ a Netflix show that chronicles the history of drug cartels. His body was found along with his car in central Mexico near the border of Hidalgo State.
That area has one of the highest murder rates in the country.
“We are aware of the passing of Carlos Muñoz Portal, a well-respected location scout, and send our condolences to his family,” Netflix said in a statement, Variety reported. “The facts surrounding his death are still unknown as authorities continue to investigate.”
Muñoz had a number of box office hits to his name, including “Sicario,” “Spectre,” “Fast & Furious” and Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto.” He worked for Redrum, a Mexico-city based production company.
A friend of Muñoz told the newpaper that Muñoz left for the area on Monday with a camera to take photos for production.
“Maybe they thought he was collecting information and they started tracking him in a car,” the friend said.
The death was also reported by several Mexican journalists on social media.
Local media said that investigators on the case have little to work with.
“We have no witnesses,” Claudio Barrera, spokesman for the attorney general of the State of Mexico told La Vanguardia.
The fourth season of “Narcos” is reportedly looking into the origins of Mexico’s Juarez cartel. Meanwhile, season three looked into the Colombia’s Cali cartel, according to Variety.
Muñoz has been working in the film industry for over a decade. His first job scouting locations was for the 2003 film “Man on Fire,” which was shot with Denzel Washington in Mexico’s capital.
Some professionals fear that Netflix may pull the production from Mexico as a result of the death, El Pais reported.
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