Very good and thrilling TV series. At first I thought it would be similar to traditional Latino soap operas, but then I came to realize it tackles serious issues and present quite realistic picture of the Columbian mafia. The whole idea about displaying the world of drug cartels is very challenging. 'El Cartel de los Sapos' follow an interesting plot, filled with fascinating dialogues and amazing acting. I think Manolo Cardona shows remarkable acting skills. I wish he does well in USA and hope to see him in many more successful American movies in the future. Anyone who is looking for non-American series with meaningful script and persuasive actors, I recommend not to miss this one. Watch 1-2 episodes then decide whether you like it or not.

I was in Colombia while this series was on TV there. I had watched 1 or 2 episodes and they had stroke me with their very good acting, and production. I was amazed, because I had this image of telenovelas... Like some boring novelas that I had seen before...This is totally different. "El cartel de los sapos" was the first book I read in Spanish, when I got to colombia. This series is based on the book, although all the names have been changed. . First of all, the story is based on real events. "Fresa" or "Fresita", the narator, is called "la Flor" or "Florecita" in the book and in real life. He served a jail sentence in the U.S and is now out. Oscar Varela's real name was Orlando Henao... And so on. The story is the story of narcotrafic in Colombia, over the last 20 years. The only real name they kept is Escobar, but you have plenty of internet sites explaining who are the characters in real life. Orlando Henao, Diego Montoya (who was n°2 most wanted man in the FBI list, right after Ben Laden), and many others.Very good actors. Very good... Technically it's well done. I'm watching the series now, a friend of mine brought me the DVD's from Colombia. I have all the episodes, and believe me it's worth it. If you have questions don't hesitate...PS: a new season is coming in 2009!

As the daughter of Colombian immigrants to the USA and having lived in Miami for the past 30 years I can truly attest to the veracity of this series. The production value is high with authentic locations, props, wardrobe,etc. I was impressed by the image and sound quality on the DVD set because most Hispanic productions cut costs and this most important part of production suffers. Caracol has produced a top of the line show and one of which they can be proud of. The actors are all great, with some being superb such as Robinson Diaz as El Cabo and Julian Arango as Guadaña. Manolo Cardona has shown he can be a Hollywood leading man any day and I suspect it won't take long for us to see him there. It is a slice of the lives of the cocaine cowboys with never a dull moment. You will want to know what happens next at the end of each episode. As the previous post stated, "The Sopranos" a la Colombian. I advise you to get/rent the DVD set because the series shown on Telemundo is badly cut and the viewer looses out immensely.

The first season of the series is still ongoing and I'm glad to read that a second season will be made. I started watching it during the first week but missed some of the first episodes. It appears that Telemundo, which airs it in the US in 30-minute daily episodes as "El Cartel", is doing some heavy editing not only for language but also length. I would guess that originally it is produced in one-hour episodes and that Telemundo butchers it in half. The story goes by very fast and it can be difficult to keep up. It's shameful that it's being cut so much for the purpose that it can be shown after the far more inferior and downright moronic "Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso".This is an excellent and realistic Colombian series about drug trafficking filmed both in Colombia and the US. The story is told in extended flashbacks.The main character, a cartel captain named Martin is in jail giving a taped confession. The story of how he got there really takes up most of each episode. He is a member of the Pacific Cartel at war with the Western Cartel. Not sure what the geographic limits of each are since in Colombia, the Pacific coast occupies the West. In addition to the wars between cartels is the heavy pressure from the government for the drug lords to turn themselves in. And many bosses from both cartels are sitting in jail, or "the university" as they call it. But being jailed is not all that bad for these guys. They don't sit in jail cells, they have suites, with all sorts of accommodations and services, and continue to run things from the inside.The drug lords decide who lives, who dies, who has to go to jail- as a gesture to the government so it can orchestrate successful operations- who gets to leave Colombia for the good life in Miami. There is also a DEA agent in Colombia trying to make deals with drug bosses to rat out everyone else, in exchange for a new life and identity in the US.All this leads to everyone potentially ratting out everyone else, everyone is a target of the enemy gang, the military, but also of their own bosses. Not an easy life.As I write this, all the bosses sit in jail and plan how to kill each other. Everyone left out there is also planning to avenge whatever previous deaths and attempts to kill there were. Our main character is in Miami trying to stay out of things. His best friend is also in Miami, but he's getting involved in some shady affairs. Their wives are not so happy. Life in US is not like life in Latin America. Here they are by themselves without family and all the wealth and material things can't make up for that.There are a lot of characters to keep track. Most of them are very well acted, especially, our main character and his boss. There's also a lose cannon of a captain simply known as "Cabo" who survived an attack. He is completely bloodthirsty and out for revenge. He just ordered his underling to kill a childhood personal friend of the underling who is part of the other cartel.Production values are first rate. There are some pretty good action scenes and shootouts. The women are gorgeous- no surprise there for Colombian actresses. As for most Colombian series, the script is outstanding and the language real life. There are some very funny lines and unique personalities. The story and the characters are what captivate you- despite the criminal editing by Telemundo.