With the sinsemilla plantation established, the money has been flowing and with money comes conflict. The DFS big shots want to act as if they established the whole project and that they own it all. Felix puts one of them in his place, or at least starts to do so.
The cast is a very strong one, with some of the best Latin actors from North, Central and South America. The same can't be said of the American cast members. So far the American characters have been DEA and State dept. Personnel, which makes them a group of arrogant and unlikable characters. One big fail in the casting is Michael Pena. Pena is a good actor, as long as his role is comedic or that of a weakling, or both.
Pena can't play a strong character. In every role he plays, he brings his signature look of a spoiled child, on the verge of whining about something. As Enrique Camarena, his character should be a ruthless man, arrogant, of course, but with a violent temper and a complete lack of fear. Pena can't pull that off. Being pouty and whining doesn't make a DEA agent dangerous enough to get the attention of violent, pitiless men like the Mexican government bigshots, and the Plaza bosses.
Unless the intention of the show creators is to show DEA agents in Mexico as arrogant, clueless meddlers, then the people crafting the story have failed somewhat. All of that aside, Narcos: Mexico is an engrossing story with a good cast and excellent production values.
At first, I didn't think I would be able to buy Diego Luna in the role of El Padrino, but he does a fine job of creating a character which is obviously fictitious but still a fitting part of the partially fictionalized story. Luna manages to bring a different facet of his real self into view. He's an actor who could be hampered by his youthful appearance, but he makes it work in favor of the character he's playing.
Tenoch Huerta turns in a journeyman's performance as Rafa Cara Quintero. Joachin Cosio is a perfectly believable Don Neto, the respected survivor among Sinaloan trafficantes who takes his place as Felix's second in command.
To me, the two best and most able members of the cast are. Jose Maria Yazpik as Amado "Lord of the Skies" Carrillo Fuentes at a point in history when he was still just a pilot; and Gerardo Taracena as Pablo Acosta,the Plaza boss of Juarez who sees himself as a bandido rather than a trafficante. The two characters are credibly written and very well portrayed by the actors in the roles.
I enjoy Narcos: Mexico even more than I enjoyed Narcos. Both are good series. Narcos: Mexico is my favorite of the two, Mexico being closer to home and the culture more familiar to me.
