Does Salgado, the La Voz Editor, Die in Narcos: Mexico Season 3?

In the first season of ‘Narcos: Mexico,’ DEA agent Kiki Camarena (Michael Peña) and his colleagues represent an archetype of moral goodness that has become increasingly uncommon in crime dramas. In season 2, with Kiki’s death and the introduction of Walt Breslin (Scoot McNairy) and his Operation Leyenda unit, things become murkier as all characters seem to represent different shades of gray. However, the show creators bring back that moral goodness through the season 3 narrator Andrea Nuñez, her colleagues at La Voz, and editor Salgado. They take on not only the drug traffickers but also some of the most influential people in the Mexican corridors of power. If you are wondering whether Salgado dies in ‘Narcos: Mexico’ season 3, we got you covered.

Does Salgado Die in Narcos: Mexico Season 3?

No, Salgado doesn’t die in ‘Narcos: Mexico’ Season 3. While his car gets attacked by Tijuana enforcer David Barron and his Logan Heights crew, Salgado seemingly survives the encounter. We are introduced to Salgado and La Voz in the same sequence where Andrea makes her first appearance. In her narration, she recalls her father bringing La Voz on his way home from his work and telling her that answers to all her questions are in there.

In the show, La Voz is an institution, and Salgado is a hero. La Voz is one of the few publications free of the government’s control. The government has a monopoly over the timber industry, so it controls the paper supply, and by extension, the media narrative. Salgado has no desire to publish what the government wants him to. So, he has negated the problem by printing his paper in San Diego on the other side of the border and selling it by hand.

Salgado established La Voz with a columnist friend, whose satirical pieces on the corrupt and powerful of Baja California garnered popularity. However, he was killed shortly after he wrote a column on a member of the family of Carlos Hank Gonzalez, arguably the most influential man in Mexico. Two members of the Hank family’s security team subsequently surrendered, and the case was promptly closed. Refusing to accept this, Salgado continued to publish pieces blaming Hank for his friend’s death.

As Andrea begins investigating Hank’s connection with Amado Carrillo Fuentes, it brings a fresh set of attacks and threats to Salgado and his employees. To protect his staff, he decides to stop using bylines, effectively redirecting the prospect of violence toward himself. While Andrea fails to connect Hank with Amado, she gathers enough evidence to link Amado with General Rebollo, the leader of the Mexican and US joint task force, in her article. This results in Rebollo’s firing and arrest.

After Salgado runs a story on the Arellano family, the latter sends Barron and his men to assassinate him. But before they can finish their job, Barron is killed when a ricocheting bullet from a member of his own crew hits him. The rest of the crew decide to leave immediately. Salgado is taken to the hospital, and it is heavily implied that he pulls through.

Salgado is most probably based on Jesús Blancornelas and La Voz on Zeta magazine, which Blancornelas founded with Héctor Félix Miranda and Francisco Ortiz Franco. Widely regarded as “the spiritual godfather of modern Mexican journalism,” Blancornelas fearlessly published reports on the connection between politics and the drug trade. The real-life David Barron Corona was allegedly killed similarly to his fictional counterpart while trying to kill Blancornelas.

Read More: Is Narcos: Mexico a True Story?

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