The Gringo Hunters Season 1 Ending Explained: Who Killed Ortega?

The Gringo Hunters opens with a unit that deports U.S. fugitives, but its finale flips the hunt inward. In Episode 12, “428,” Ortega, the Baja California secretary of security who secretly orchestrated crimes the team was investigating, is gunned down by businessman Joaquín Meyer Rodríguez during a warehouse standoff.

Joaquín discovers that Ortega staged the kidnapping and death of his own daughter, Mariana, for political leverage, and pulls the trigger just as Ortega is about to execute Detective Nico.

Season 1, which premiered on Netflix on July 9 2025, with 12 episodes, was created by Jorge Dorantes and Scott Gold and directed by Adrián Grünberg, Natalia Beristain, Alonso Álvarez and Jimena Montemayor, with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard as executive producers.

The Gringo Hunters streams exclusively on Netflix. As of July 2025, the service has not announced a Season 2, though unresolved plot threads and solid view-through numbers keep renewal odds high.

Who really killed Ortega in The Gringo Hunters finale?

The finale centers on evidence Nico uncovers in Temo’s old case files proving that Ortega murdered Mariana and framed others to boost his career. Nico lures Ortega to a warehouse, hoping for a confession. Camila, Ortega’s niece and squad member, is taken hostage to force Nico’s surrender.

When Ortega boasts,

“I did it for the city, Mariana was collateral,”

Joaquín arrives, having read the same files. He shoots Ortega twice in the chest, and bodyguard Raffa finishes the job with a fatal headshot. The act spares Nico but signals that power in Tijuana has merely shifted rather than disappeared.

Joaquín’s phone call to Nico in the closing scene-

“We are not friends, detective.”

Ortega’s confession-

“I did it for the city. Mariana was collateral.”

Nico during the warehouse confrontation-

“This ends tonight, Secretario.”

These lines underscore the personal stakes that override formal justice in The Gringo Hunters.

How Ortega’s death reshapes The Gringo Hunters

Joaquín’s decision to kill, not arrest, positions him as the show’s new antagonist. His stalled “Nueva Tijuana” development loses official cover with Ortega gone, but Joaquín retains capital and allies to fight back. Father Murphy is arrested when Gloria releases Terry’s diary, exposing a U.S.-Mexico trafficking network.

Yet several names remain sealed, hinting that Season 2 could widen the conspiracy. The real International Liaison Unit’s cross-border work already challenges jurisdictional norms. The series dramatises that tension by pitting Mexican officers against wealthy U.S. suspects and corrupt local elites.

Nico’s squad ends the season reinstated and hailed as heroes, but the moral landscape darkens: with Ortega dead, the hunters face a rival who operates outside state structures entirely.

Will The Gringo Hunters return for Season 2?

Netflix metrics will determine renewal, and no green light has been issued yet. Still, the finale seeds clear arcs:

1) Nico vs. Joaquín - their final call establishes an uneasy détente likely to fracture.

2) Unfinished trafficking case - Murphy’s diary implicates unnamed U.S. officials, expanding the manhunt scope.

3) Camila’s divided loyalties - Ortega’s niece helped topple her uncle but remains tied to family money.

If renewed, production would probably follow the Season 1 model, 12 episodes shot in Baja California under the same directing team and could arrive in late 2026, mirroring Netflix’s typical 18-month drama cycle.

Until confirmation arrives, viewers can stream The Gringo Hunters exclusively on Netflix and re-watch Episode 12 to catch the subtle set-ups, like the new fugitive “Michael Waters” file on Camila’s desk, that point to the next stage of the hunt.

Joaquín killed Ortega in a burst of personal vengeance, ending one corrupt regime but unleashing another. The Gringo Hunters thus closes its first season by asking whether justice was served, or simply rebranded.

Stay tuned for more updates.