Netflix’s ‘The Murders Behind Zona Divas’, a docuseries that investigates the sexual exploitation and murders of women in Mexico – DNyuz

In Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona DivasFilmmakers Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez chronicle the tragic story of women lured to Mexico with the promise of work, only to find themselves victims of a massive and violent sex trafficking operation. The four-part docuseries, also known in Spanish as The portalexplains how a website called Zona Divas monitored the people they hired for sex work, forced them into dangerous and unsafe situations against their will, and retaliated against them if they resisted or tried to escape, ultimately leading to the deaths of six foreign women. “The man suspected of killing her walked out of the hotel…â€

CAUGHT IN THE WEB – THE MURDERS BEHIND ZONA DIVAS: STREAM OR SKIP?

Opening shot: In images of Mexico City at night, we hear the voice of Kenni Finol. “Look girl, in Mexico they make a lot of money. I was able to save money and send it to my family in Venezuela.”

The core: Finol had gone to Mexico to work as an escort after fleeing the dire economic conditions in her hometown of Maracaibo, Venezuela. And she had indeed sent some money home to her starving family and ailing mother. But in 2018, Finol was dead, a victim of the violence surrounding Zona Divas after she tried to escape the clutches of the site’s founder and his henchmen.

Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas follows the stories of Kenni Finol and other women associated with the site, women from South American countries such as Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia, who were often promised work as models or “escorts” by Zona Divas before their passports were confiscated and the restrictive terms of their supposedly legitimate contracts were completely ignored. While one woman who found work through the site takes a pragmatic stance, saying she wasn’t mistreated – “Where there are men, there’s prostitution, it’s that simple” – Zona Diva’s also interviews Candice Miller from Colombia, whose testimony is given by an actress who plays her. “The reason I asked to hide my identity is because women in Mexico are not protected by the law. I’m actually scared.” And the Venezuelan mother of another Zona Divas victim can only cry as she caresses the photo of her dead daughter.

In an archive radio interview with the Mexico City news talk station MVS Noticias, Zona Divas CEO Ignacio Antonio Santoyo Cervantes, aka “Soni,” denies any wrongdoing. But women interviewed for the docuseries say Soni was their main recruiter and that he controlled every facet of the operation, including the use of sexual violence as a means of control. Later episodes of Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas explores the site’s history, its growing influence, and the continuing story of Kenni Fino, who collected incriminating video and audio evidence before attempting to escape the website’s dangerous influence once and for all.

What programs does it remind you of? Sujoa Mexican crime drama written and directed by Zona Diva’s filmmakers Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, won the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. And Netflix has also Ã’lòtÅ«ré: The Journeya series about a journalist’s investigation into sex trafficking in Nigeria.

Our opinion: “If you meet one out of 100 people who is dangerous, you’ve already blown it.” The interviews with Candice Miller in Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas are illuminating—and disturbing—as she describes an environment that revolves around sex work and would be extremely dangerous even if the organization that trapped her within it were not a notorious international sex trafficking ring. It points to what stands out about the stories of the women interviewed here, the similarities in their circumstances, and how the larger forces of grinding poverty and social unrest in South America were the real drivers that put them in these impossible situations in the first place.

Out of necessity, Zona Diva’s relies heavily on reenactments and dramatizations, and aesthetically, some of these parts of the docuseries are more effective than others. But this approach also emphasizes the emotional power of the interviews. With the women who were admitted to Zona Divas, with the family members and loved ones of those who were murdered, and even with someone like Kenni Finol, one of the women who was murdered, whose own voice and social media feeds become an important part of the emotional conduit that runs throughout the series.

Sex and skin: Zona Diva’s contains photos from the website’s pages, which show racy images of the advertised escorts, as well as blurry reenactments of sexual acts.

Farewell photo: The first episode ends with the description of a chilling encounter with the founder of Zona Divas. “When she refused him service, he said, ‘Do you know who I am? I am the king, Ignacio Antonio Santoyo. I am Soni.'”

Sleeping star: The voice notes, selfies and videos recovered from Kenni Finol’s phone paint a harrowing picture of a young woman forced into uncertainty by circumstances. “Imagine how much I need the money to work as a hooker. Imagine that. If I didn’t need the money, I wouldn’t be doing this job. I would be working in a shopping mall, like girls my age would normally do.”

Most pilot-like line: “We knew we were coming here to work as escorts,” says one woman in Zona Diva’sher face covered in fear for her life. “But not in the way we were forced to. As soon as we got here, they made us record a video, like a contract that we would work for them for three months. They took our documentation, our passports. We weren’t allowed to go outside unless it was with a driver. They told us, ‘You came here to be our whore. To do what we say.'”

Our call: STREAM IT. Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas amplifies and strengthens the voices of victims of an international sex trafficking ring that, from its founder down, seemed capable of destroying lives and shedding blood without punishment.

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor based in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.

The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Caught In The Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas’ on Netflix, a docuseries that investigates the sexual exploitation and murder of women in Mexico appeared first on Decider.