Nene Maravilla, a 10-year old kid from the worst slums of Ciudad Juarez, MX., is forced to panhandle for money along with his little sister, Ximena. Papa Maravilla is a drunk and abusive father. During his panhandling duties, Nene is befriended by Tizoc, a street kid that sells gum on the streets as a means for survival. He informs Nene that most of the street kids are under the protection and working for a pedophile nicknamed Violin. Nene ends up leaving his abusive home and ends up hustling for Violin as well. This is where Nene and Tizoc’s relationship flourish into a brotherhood. One night, Violin attempts to rape Nene, he defends himself and winds up stabbing Violin. This marks the birth of Nene’s infamous reputation. But Violin was under the protection of two corrupt federales, Chuco and Azul. Naturally, lacking the extra income from Violin’s monthly payouts, Nene and Tizoc are forced to work for them now.
Now teenagers, Nene and Tizoc join forces with a street walker named Esmeralda. She is a transplant from Veracruz with plans to leave Juarez, and invites the boys, but they lack the funds for the trip. Esmeralda cooks up a scheme where they rob pharmacies for prescription drugs. They plan to sell them to her junkie friends to raise the money to return to Veracruz for a fresh start. Their plans go awry when Chuco and Azul catch wind of their planned getaway and order a hit on Esmeralda. This crushes Nene’s spirit, so his entire focus is now on building his criminal empire.
The boys begin doing small jobs and earning the trust of El Comandante, the head of the Juarez Cartel. One day, word comes down that Chuco and Azul need to be put down for their involvement with the Sinaloa Cartel, which has plans of taking over Juarez. Nene and Tizoc jump at the opportunity since they hold a major grudge against them for the murder of Esmeralda. This earns them a meeting with El Comandante. Nene informs him about the formation of El Sindicato/The Syndicate and asks for a loan to begin the construction of a drug tunnel.
With the tunnel fully operational and an endless supply of Colombian cocaine, The Syndicate grows into the most powerful cartel in Mexico. But constant warring between The Syndicate and the Juarez and Sinaloa Cartels turns Juarez into the bloodiest and most violent city in the world. The violence is equal to that of Medellin, Colombia during Pablo Escobar’s reign of terror. With the carnage at its peak, Nene starts his descent into madness. He has now become the most wanted man by the FBI, not to mention rival cartels. The amount of heat he’s brought on himself is bad for business, so his Colombian counterparts suggest that he hands the reigns of The Syndicate over to someone else. Nene refuses and the consequences are fatal.
His demise comes at the hands of one of his most trusty allies.
