Bolivia’s Diabla Cine and Mexico’s We Are Not Zombies are joining forces for “The Paradise” (“El Paraíso”). The series, which has been selected for the upcoming edition of the leading Latin American market Ventana Sur (Dec. 1-5), is based on over three decades of research chronicling how cocaine became a political and military tool across Latin America.
The series traces the hidden alliances between governments, intelligence agencies, and criminal networks that shaped the origins of the drug trade as a system of power. It features real-life testimonies and interviews with key witnesses and experts led by Theo Roncken, whose decades-long investigation forms the backbone of the narrative. The show will also feature informants directly connected to the historical events, many of them who have served drug trafficking sentences in the U.S.
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“The Paradise” is created by Claudio Araya Silva and produced by Ramiro Medina Flores and Silva for Diabla Cine and We Are Not Zombies. Silva also directs and will write the show alongside Roncken. The first production phase is slated to begin in September 2026, with filming taking place across Bolivia, Mexico, and the United States. The series is in advanced development, with post-production to wrap in early 2028.
Speaking with Variety, Silva said the co-production was a “natural result” of a creative relationship of over 15 years, starting at the Morelia Film Festival and “sustained by a shared vision to make critical cinema with social impact.”
“This project represents an opportunity to unite these trajectories around an investigation Theo Roncken has worked on for over three decades, almost as long as we’ve known each other,” added the producer. “Its relevance lies in filling a gap in the global narrative on drug trafficking: while Mexico faces structural violence and Bolivia seeks to legitimize its anti-drug policy, the decisive role of the United States in this system is rarely addressed. Thus, this alliance becomes a strategic convergence of three perspectives that seek to challenge dominant narratives and propose a broader reflection on co-responsibility and the geopolitical dynamics underpinning this global conflict.”
Silva said “The Paradise” is “not about the glamour of the drug trade, it’s about the machinery behind it, the alliances that rewrote our continent’s reality. It’s a political investigation filmed with the intimacy of a personal diary and the precision of a historical archive.”
Producer Ramiro Medina Flores echoed that thought, saying that we have “seen countless stories about the drug trade from the outside.” “‘The Paradise’ tells it from within Latin America. Through the eyes of those who lived it and the archives that prove it. It’s a series built on truth, not myth.”
Diabla Cine, based in Bolivia, is committed to developing documentaries that preserve Latin American history and culture, focusing on stories essential to understanding our present but often hidden or forgotten.
WANZ Films, part of the creative network We Are Not Zombies founded in Mexico City, produces films, docuseries, and community-driven projects across Latin America. Since 2013, it has built bridges between art, activism, and cinema, creating works that have screened globally – from Mexico to São Paulo, New York, and Cannes.
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