Streaming service Netflix will release La Captura on August 21, 2026, a Mexican feature film inspired by the January 8, 2016 recapture of drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in Los Mochis, Sinaloa.
Directed by Chava Cartas, the 91-minute movie takes the real-life military and police operation as its foundation to present a dramatic story centered on two federal police officers who unexpectedly intercept one of Mexico's most wanted men during a routine patrol.
The film stars Alfonso Herrera as officer Arturo Carmona and Noé Hernández as officer Héctor Rosales. Their routine shift changes abruptly when they stop a vehicle and discover that one of its occupants is Guzmán, who was fleeing alongside his lieutenant Jorge Iván Gastélum, known as "El Cholo Iván", after escaping through the drainage system of Los Mochis.
Guzmán was the long-time leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, an international drug trafficking syndicate operating out of Sinaloa, a state in northwestern Mexico. Los Mochis, a coastal city in Sinaloa, was the site of the 2016 security raid that led to his final arrest by Mexican authorities.
Psychological confrontation in a motel room
Following the interception, La Captura focuses on the ethical dilemma facing the two federal officers, who must choose between turning the drug trafficker over to authorities or accepting a financial bribe to allow him to escape.
The narrative shifts much of its dramatic tension into a confined setting. Carmona, played by Herrera, stays alongside Guzmán in a motel room while awaiting the arrival of police reinforcements. Within the fictional storyline, the wait turns into a psychological confrontation as the cartel leader attempts to sway the officer using money, pressure, and threats.
Herrera explained that to build his character, he imagined the roughly two hours that the officer would have spent alongside Guzmán inside the room. For the actor, the silent exchange of glances between the two men forms one of the central elements of the scene.
Herrera noted that he viewed the interaction as being in a room with someone with whom a person tries to avoid all communication and eye contact.
Dramatised retelling of a real life arrest
Although La Captura originates from a documented historical event, the production incorporates dramatised characters, fictionalised situations, and scripted dialogues to develop its story.
The film deliberately avoids exploring Guzmán Loera's broader criminal career or attempting to reconstruct his life story. Instead, it shifts the focus of the well-known manhunt away from the cartel chief and onto the ordinary police officers who found themselves face-to-face with him.
Alongside Herrera and Hernández, the ensemble cast features performances by Héctor Kotsifakis, Fernando Cuautle, Gerardo Trejoluna, and Paola Fernández.
The Mexican feature film, which has a running time of approximately 91 minutes, arrives on the global streaming network Netflix on August 21, 2026.
