The brother of notorious cocaine boss Pablo Escobar has warned that Netflix should tighten security and “provide hitmen” after a location scout for Narcos was shot dead in Mexico.

Carlos Muñoz Portal was found dead in his car near Temascalapa in central Mexico – he had been taking photographs of new settings in Mexico, as the popular TV series about Escobar’s rise and fall had planned to move from Colombia.

Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria, aged 71, has called on the streaming service and network to change its security protocol, and warned against using certain filming locations “without authorisation from Escobar Inc”.

Gaviria was known as the “chief of the hitmen” in the Medellin cartel, and acted as lead accountant for Pablo’s empire in the 80s. He was released from prison ten years ago, where he had been since 1993. A letter bomb had left him partially deaf and blind.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, he said: “It is very dangerous... especially without our blessing. This is my country.”

“You have to eliminate all threats,” he continued. “If you have the intellect, you don’t need to use weapons. If not, you have to. In this case, Netflix should provide hitmen to their people as security.”

Gaviria founded Escobar Inc. in 2014, registering himself as “successor-in-interest rights” for his brother and his property. In July last year he demanded $1 billion from Netflix for unauthorised use of content.

According to Sky News, there were 2,186 murders recorded in Mexico in May, a new high since records began 20 years ago. Many of these homocides can be attributed to local drug cartels and gang wars.