Tamal Kundu
The third and final season of ‘Narcos: Mexico’ introduces several characters to the narrative, enabling the show to explore various aspects of the early days of the Mexican drug war. One such character is the Juárez police officer Victor Tapia, portrayed by Luis Gerardo Méndez, who is a Mexican actor and producer known for his performances in projects like ‘Club de Cuervos’ and ‘Charlie’s Angels.’ Operating in Juárez in the 1990s, Victor does things that he is not particularly proud of while striving to maintain his humanity. If you want to know more about Victor Tapia, we got you covered.
Who Is Victor Tapia in Narcos: Mexico Season 3?
Victor is a beat cop working in Juárez. He and his wife Tenci don’t have much, but they seem to be content. While Amado is making hundreds of millions of dollars through drug trafficking, a regular police officer like Victor earns $150 per month. It’s not a salary with which one can sustain their family. So, predictably, police officers have to find alternative ways to make some money, and Victor is no exception. In the morality spectrum of the third season of ‘Narcos: Mexico,’ Victor is probably a lighter shade of gray. However, as the series progresses, he is forced to make certain choices that torture him to the very last moment of his life.
After learning that a neighborhood girl named Teresa has gone missing, Victor starts looking for her. He visits the local morgue and requests the man in charge there to inform him if the body of someone matching Teressa’s description turns up. As the bodies of young women are found all over Juárez, Victor starts to think that this might be the work of a serial killer. He had met Walt a few days earlier, and the latter had given him the phone number to his office.
Desperate to find answers, Victor gathers blood samples from Teresa’s nails, believing that they belong to her killer, and reaches out to the DEA. And it’s Jaime Kuykendall who answers. Victor subsequently agrees to become a DEA informant in exchange for Jaime getting the DNA test done.
Ironically, it’s not the DNA test nor any other inquiries Jaime does on Victor’s request that helps him catch the killer. He spends almost every evening hiding in his car near a factory that employs many young women. Meanwhile, he and his partner, Rogelio, become enforcers for Amado’s brother Vincente.
When Tenci learns what Victor has been doing, she urges him to stop, almost prophetically adding that he will die if he doesn’t. But by now, there is no backing away for Victor. He gets a momentary taste of happiness after killing the man he believes to be the serial killer but later learns that multiple predators are roaming the streets in the night and killing women. Rogelio ultimately kills Victor after finding out that he is the informant.
Is Victor Based on a Real Person?
No, Victor isn’t probably based on a real person. But the femicide depicted in Juárez has a historical background. Since 1993, hundreds of women have been killed in Juárez, with their deaths being attributed to multiple reasons, including organized crime, the implantation of NAFTA, and sexual violence. It has drawn the attention of the global community. At the local level, women activists have led protests and campaigns and set up facilities to help the victims who survive.
Read More: Does Amado Die in Narcos: Mexico Season 3?
