After a 21-month hiatus, Narcos: Mexico is back. Miguel Félix Gallardo is no longer the main character after getting imprisoned but most of the egoistical drug lords are back, making the Netflix show a must-see saga once again. The tales still revolve around trafficking but the show is more about power than narcotics. Nearly everyone is lusting for influence and control.
Thanks to better choices, a couple of characters have become way more powerful than the rest. Their influence ranges from social power to political power to financial power. Some are lucky enough to have the perfect blend of both three kinds of power. And in a world where everyone has a target on their back, having power is indeed a good thing.
Walt Breslin
The DEA agent spearheads "Operations Leyenda," a mission meant to avenge the death of the slain agent, Kiki Camarena. Through his investigations, he contributes to the fall of Félix before shifting his focus to the disintegrated cartels.
Mexico is considered the "region of interest" for the DEA due to its close proximity to the US and the fact that Walt is the top agent in the region makes him a law enforcement god. He and his men have the backing of the American government, meaning they can get away with anything. Unlike Kiki, Walt is also feared by the cartel members because they are all trying to avoid facing the US government's wrath.
Benjamín Arellano
Thanks, to the tutelage of Cuban smuggler Alberto Sicilia Falcon, Benjamin grows to be one of the top traffickers in Mexico. After the fall of The Plaza, he forms the highly successful Tijuana cartel.
In the underworld, doing much better than peers translates to being mightier than them and in the final season, all other cartel bosses are shown to be jealous of Benjamin. He can afford to decline meetings with his associates, something that clearly reveals his high standing in society. And whenever he holds parties, every major criminal shows up, a testament to his social and political influence.
Don Neto
Together with Rafa and Félix, Neto forms the Guadalajara cartel, which gains control over all other minor cartels in Mexico. He is later arrested and sentenced to 40 years for conspiring to murder Kiki.
Neto might be at the top of the hierarchy but he has Félix and Rafa to thank for that. Personally, he never contributes any ideas or comes up with strategies. He is the stereotypical tough gangster with an IQ that's probably in double-figures rather than triple ones. Unlike Félix, he is unable to wiggle his way out of the claws of the justice system when he gets arrested, proving he is slightly down the list of Mexican heavyweights.
El Azul
The former Director-General of the DFS works with the Guadalajara Cartel for a while. His disgruntlement with Félix's leadership leads him to become one of the Sinaloa Cartel's founding fathers.
Azul's ascendancy is at its peak when he is the Director-General of the DFS. He flexes his muscles both politically and socially on several occasions. Using the powers bestowed upon him, he helps Rafa and Félix set up Mexico's most profitable marijuana operation. He is shown to have control over the entire law enforcement too. For this reason, he is highly valued by his partners.
Rafa Quintero
Rafa invents the sensimina (seedless) brand of marijuana. He grows thousands of acres of the plant, making him one of the richest narcos before his partner Félix decides to venture into cocaine distribution.
Rafa deserves much credit as a pioneer. It's the marijuana business that lays the foundation for the Guadalajara cartel's cocaine distribution business. And it's through the routes that have been set up by Rafa and Félix that Escobar and the Cali Cartel are able to move their product to America. Rafa not only has enough money to impulse-buy mansions but also has DFS members on his payroll, which makes his marijuana business easy to run. Unfortunately, his fate after getting arrested remains one of the unanswered questions in Season 2 of Narcos: Mexico.
Isabella Bautista
The Mexican socialite is shown to have connections with several traffickers, including Félix, Alberto Sicilia Falcon, and Juan Matta-Ballesteros. She helps Félix secure connections with the latter two, a move that cements his status as the biggest drug lord in Mexico.
Isabella has everyone that can pull strings on speed dial. The most impressive thing about her is that there is no stagnation. Even when the ungrateful Félix refuses to make her a part of his empire, she partners with Benjamin's sister Enedina and Colombian drug lord Orlando Henao Montoya to form her own organization. The fact that she's able to get new partners in an instant is proof of how lengthy her wings are.
Jaime Kuykendall
As the head of DEA's Guadalajara bureau, Jaime mostly does administration work. It's because of his good leadership that the DEA manages to bring down some of Mexico's notorious narco-traffickers.
Jaime's rank means he has access to top members of the US government. He is seen chatting with the ambassador as well as cabinet secretaries. Kiki and Walt, two of the best DEA agents on the show, also bend to his will. Whenever any of his agents have a request that requires approval from those higher up in the Mexican government, Jaime gets it done rather quickly.
Pacho Herrera
Cali Cartel's Head of Distribution features heavily in Narcos: Mexico because he is heavily courted by most of the major Mexican players. To move Cali's cocaine, he strikes deals with both Félix and Fuentes.
Pacho's status as one of the leaders of the Cali Cartel makes him one of the most influential kingpins in the world since his organization takes top position in the South American hierarchy after Escobar's death. His influence is further underscored by his close ties to two of the most powerful Mexican drug lords of all time, both of whom can't survive without him. He can get away with any crime too, making him one of the most dangerous characters in Narcos.
Amado Carrillo Fuentes
Fuentes, also known as the "The Lord of the Skies," because of his large fleet of trafficking planes, starts out working for Pablo Acosta in the Guadalajara cartel then breaks out to form the Juarez Cartel. After Félix's arrest, he grows to be the most powerful drug lord in Colombia and amasses a fortune of $25 billion.
On the show, Fuentes' fortune is described as being greater than that of Pablo Escobar. This kind of financial power earns him a spot close to the top of the list. His social power is great too as he can do whatever he wants in Juarez. He is once seen walking into a nightclub and shooting someone before walking away like nothing happened.
Miguel Félix Gallardo
The Guadalajara cartel rises from a police officer to the most powerful drug lord in Mexico in just a short span of time. He earns himself the nickname El Padrino (The Godfather) because he convinces bosses from different regions to work together under him. He is also responsible for some of the most brutal kills in Narcos.
Félix's control over all other drug lords makes him the most powerful character in all three seasons of the show. The notorious kingpins in Colombia acknowledge his usefulness too and that's why after making a cocaine distribution deal with the Cali Cartel, Escobar forces him to move his product too. Even more impressive is that Félix's network isn't limited to traffickers alone. His ties with the DFS and the top brass in Mexico's government grant him an "untouchable" status for a while.