If we don’t get $1billion, we will close their little show: Pablo Escobar’s brother gives chilling threat to Netflix

On July 1, 2016, Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria, 71, brother of Pablo Escobar and former ‘chief of the hitmen’ for the Medellin Cartel, issued a letter to streaming giant Netflix. In the letter, he demanded $1 billion from Netflix for the unauthorised use of content. “If we don’t receive it,” he threatened, “we will close their little show.”

Just last week, a seasoned location scout for the hit show Narcos was found dead in Mexico. He’d been shot. He was working solo in a location notorious for having a high murder rate. Netflix issued the following statement: “We are aware of the passing of Carlos Munoz Portal, a well-respected scout, and send our condolences to his family. The facts surrounding his death are still unknown as authorities continue to investigate.”

In this June 27, 2017 photo, a family from the United States visits the shrine of Jesus Malverde, the so-called narco-saint revered by many of Mexico's drug traffickers, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico. In Sinaloa people are shot dead in the street every day and the cemetery is filled with ornate, two-story mausoleums for drug kings that are larger than many homes for the living. ( AP )

Roberto Escobar, who was arrested in 1993, was released 10 years later. He was the head accountant for the Cartel during the heyday in the ‘80s.

In an interview to the Hollywood Reporter, he suggested Netflix hire professional hitmen to provide security for their crew in Colombia.

“I don’t want Netflix or any other film production company to film any movies in Medellin or Colombia that relates to me or my brother Pablo without authorization from Escobar Inc. It is very dangerous. Especially without our blessing. This is my country,” he said.

Pablo was killed off at the end of the show’s second season, and when Roberto was asked about the show’s depiction of his brother, he said, “I don’t discuss my brother’s death. Some people say he is dead. That is all I know. To me he is still alive and my brother.”

About his legal battle with Netflix, Escobar had another chilling suggestion: “Their mothers should have left them in the womb. That is what we tell people like this if they come to Colombia,” he said.

Narcos recently concluded its third season. You can read our review here.

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