Los Gringo Hunters arrives on Netflix with drama, action, and a different take on cross-border crime.

Inspired by true events and offering an unusual take on the Mexican police force, Los Gringo Hunters bursts onto the screen as a fictional series that combines drama, action, and investigation. This Wednesday, July 9, this production premieres on Netflix . Based on extensive research, it revives the operations of the Baja California International Liaison Unit , which specializes in locating and deporting American criminals who flee to Mexico to evade justice.

Consisting of 12 episodes , the series is based on the report published by Kevin Sieff in The Washington Post , which served as a trigger to imagine a world of persecution, tension and ethical dilemmas on the border between Tijuana and California . Directed by Adrián Grünberg, Alonso Álvarez, Natalia Beristáin and Jimena Montemayor , the production is anchored in a Mexico that is rarely represented from such a plural and complex perspective.

The cast includes Harold Torres as Nico, Mayra Hermosillo as Gloria , and a supporting cast that includes Héctor Kotsifakis, Andrew Leland Rogers, Manuel Masalva, Dagoberto Gama, Regina Nava, and Paulina Dávila. To build their characters, each performer had to immerse themselves in rigorous preparation that went beyond physical training.

"In my case, I've had some exposure to tactical intelligence through other projects I've done. I'm also a fairly broad consumer of the police and detective genre; they're some of the characters I like the most. Obviously, with all of that, you create the character you have in your head based on what you see in the scripts. We got into it based on research that was based on what was done on real gringo hunters, and from there we had to undergo a series of training sessions to be able to portray these police officers," Harold Torres explained in an interview with EL INFORMADOR.

For her part, Mayra Hermosillo found in her character an opportunity to explore new emotions. "I feel like it's a combination of the script readings; from there, something begins to develop inside you, a feeling. Gloria invited me to break away from what I've seen and experienced in other characters who are also police officers. I wanted to explore a little more vulnerability in her."

Producers Rafael Ley and Stacy Perskie opted to create a narrative that, without falling into clichés, would allow for a different view of the Mexican police force. This intention is also reflected in the writing of characters who, according to the actors, were designed to incorporate part of their own identities.

"These characters are written a bit so that we could blend our own identities, to create a group that is Mexico, a very diverse Mexico, very represented, very Tijuananian," said Andrew Leland Rogers. Along the same lines, Héctor Kotsifakis, who plays Crisanto Navarro, commented: "In Tijuana, many cultures coexist. It's a place of tremendous diversity in every sense, where very unique things happen. That's clearly shown in the series. In my case, the match with the character was interesting; I have Greek ancestry and my mother is Mexican, but my character has dual nationality, he's also a gringo."

Beyond the professional profiles, the series allowed some actors to recognize themselves in the details of their characters. Regina Nava shared, "Yes, I found things that I think I have in me, like that I'm very meticulous and I pay attention to details, and I saw that a lot in Camila. I tried to put a lot of that into the character. The most important thing, or the one I like to remind myself the most, is to let myself be who I am, with my likes and dislikes. As for being a female police officer, I'm not someone who sets limits for myself just because I'm a woman, and I don't believe in that at any point. This character doesn't believe that either."

In a context where the image of the Mexican police officer is often stigmatized, Los Gringo Hunters offers a vision that seeks to break with clichés and open new conversations. For Harold Torres, "it greatly changes the place in which Mexicans are most often portrayed. Here we are not the bad guys, quite the opposite. They give us the opportunity to portray Mexican police officers in a way that is rarely portrayed. We can think of it as representative of the common person in Mexico, and that is an important step forward."

Mayra Hermosillo complemented that idea by pointing out, "We've become so pigeonholed, culturally speaking, that police officers are always corrupt, bad, and con artists. This also opens up the possibility that this can coexist with other types of police officers. I feel like everyone is capable of betrayal, loyalty, and lying. This isn't just about Mexico or the United States. We're talking about people."

The production was filmed in Tijuana, and both the technical and artistic crews focused on capturing the essence of the border city with respect and depth. Harold Torres described his experience there. "It smells of grilled tacos, of beer at the baseball stadium, of culture, of resistance, of the music of Tijuana's Muertho. Culturally, I find it a fascinating and incredibly powerful place. We tried to portray that, to give it the context of a multicultural, complex place, with all its people. We showed the border but also the most luxurious areas. We didn't focus on just one."

Mayra Hermosillo emphasized that there was a genuine connection with the Tijuana community. "Everything was done with great respect. All the departments of this production connected with their culture, and we hope they feel represented. I hope that when they see it, they say that Tijuana is worthily represented."

Although the project doesn't aim to issue an explicit political stance on the Mexico-United States relationship, it does offer a reflection on exchange and cooperation. "Watching the series, you can see that communication between two countries, between two politicians, can also be achieved through dialogue. What's happening in the United States isn't dialogue; it's an imposition of power. What the series speaks to is the possibility of reunion, of union between two nations based on mutual aid. The gringo hunters are sending people seeking refuge in the United States back to their countries, but the migrants are being accused of being criminals and sent back without asking their countries if they see this as good or bad. This series is based on a true story, and its production also required that very communication between production houses in the United States and Mexico," explained Harold Torres.

The narrative of Los Gringo Hunters was carefully constructed to balance the drama of fiction with respect for the real-life experiences that inspired the story. "The writers were in contact with this international liaison unit and learned more about the experiences, the life experiences, the execution of the missions, and captured this in the scripts. It was fueled by fiction, by us, by communication with the directors. The scripts were transformed, respecting the structures, but taking heart and soul as the departments joined. I feel the foundation of this story is brutal," said Mayra Hermosillo.

Harold Torres concluded: "We personally had no contact with the members of this special unit. We were close, but it didn't materialize because they were on a mission. However, we did have a close relationship in the sense that everything is based on an investigation into them, and they tried to understand the internal dynamics of these characters to convey them in the fictional story that is Los Gringo Hunters."

MF