Originally a money changer on the streets of Sinaloa, Teresa Mendoza’s life gets turned on its head after her drug-running boyfriend is killed and she learns that she is the next target. After fleeing to the Texas border, Teresa ends up being coaxed into the employ of Camila Vargas, wife of Don Epifano, the head of the Vargas cartel and presumably the one who ordered the murder of Teresa’s soulmate.
These events mark the start of Teresa’s rise to power, and the action that ensues shows audiences just how Teresa’s life is turned upside down by the dangers of taking up a career in the drug trade. Let’s take a look at the Myers-Briggs® Personality Types of the characters who influenced Teresa’s journey to the top.
10. Teresa Mendoza-INFP
Form early on, Tereza showcased her independence as well as her survival instinct, managing to escape the clutches of the powerful Don Epifano and even helping her best friend Brenda to escape from Mexico despite briefly losing all manner of communication.
Adaptable and quick thinking, Teresa quickly rose up the ranks in Camila’s organization and eventually branched out on her own, establishing valuable business relations with King George, Taza, and El Santo and even convincing Camila’s loyal right-hand man James to leave her in favor of Teresa’s new venture. Despite the nature of her business, Teresa remains compassionate and empathetic, only resorting to violence once all else fails.
9. Camila Vargas-ESTJ
An assertive and goal-oriented leader, Camila is one of the most powerful women in the drug trade, splitting her operations from those of her husband and making a name for herself. She is very manipulative and constantly reorganizes her business to accommodate useful partners such as Devon Finch, General Cortez, and Boaz Jimenez.
She is power hungry and thus jumps at the opportunity to take charge of any given situation; particularly when it comes to getting revenge Teresa due to their fallout.
8. James Valdez-INTJ
Previously Camila’s sicario and a military sergeant, James is an expert in combat, first-aid, pain tolerance and the inner operations of the drug trade. He has proven himself to be an insightful mentor to Teresa and has advised her on numerous occasions regarding how to survive in such a dangerous world.
He may be quiet, but certainly never misses the chance to speak up when it comes to providing feedback on decisions carried out by Camila and Teresa. Such behavior exhibits his constant hunger for improvement as well as how much he values competence in the workspace.
7. Brenda Parra-ENFJ
Slightly set in her ways, particularly when it came to her reluctance to flee Mexico, Brenda is an empathetic and appreciative friend who does her best to assist Teresa in her endeavors, particularly since it is a way to thank her for all her assistance during to times of trouble.
Brenda has a warm, expressive and sociable personality, and showed this side of her when she first exclaimed how beautiful Teresa was upon meeting her. She is also incredibly tactful and uses this trait to her advantage in order to earn extra money to care for her son, Tony.
6. Pote Galvez-ISTP
Starting out as Camila’s sicario, Pote became an ally of Teresa and later her sicario. Analytical and practical, he constantly imparts valuable advice to Teresa and typically proves to be correct in his judgment.
He constantly reminds those around him of his hands-on approach by accompanying Teresa to all her meetings and never hesitating to pull the trigger when need be. Even when his hand was broken, he reminded Teresa of how he is still able to take a bullet for her, showing how he is always willing to adapt in order to continue assisting Teresa in her future endeavors.
5. Epifanio Vargas-ENTP
A charismatic and enthusiastic cartel leader, Epifanio successfully transitioned from the drug trade to politics by fully utilizing his energy and adaptability. Apart from his inventiveness, Epifanio also benefits from being a highly-analytical person, which thus allows him to be the only person who could successfully anticipate his wife Camila’s next move.
Unfortunately, his career interests and hunger for novelty came before his empathy and understanding for his family members, thus leading to marriage complications with Camila and a strained, volatile relationship with his daughter.
4. Guero Davilas-ESFP
Teresa’s lover who was presumed dead, Guero is a caring individual who won Teresa over with his fun-loving personality as well as his enthusiasm. While he may have remained hidden for quite some time, he did so out of care for Teresa so that she would stay safe. Even when Teresa expressed grief at his absence, he completely empathized with her.
From rising in the ranks in the Vargas cartel to cooperating with the DEA and then resurfacing to aid Teresa, he effectively utilized his resourcefulness on many an occasion in order to survive and even excel at each one the challenging missions he faced.
3. Alberto Cortez-INTP
The general of the Sinaloan military, General Cortez used his conceptual and ingenious personality to blackmail Epifanio into accepting him as his second in command, as well as to earn his fair share in Epifanio’s profit.
Upon Camila’s rise to political power, he used new tactics to gain her trust and convince her to hire him. Eventually pitting Camila’s own daughter against her, he appears as a detached individual who does not care who he hurts during his rise to the top.
2. King George-ESFP
Teresa’s arms smuggler and close ally, George is an energetic and lively presence and a loyal friend to Teresa. A constant thrill-seeker, he first agreed to enter business with Teresa due to the dangerous tasks that lay ahead. In fact, Teresa even observed that someone who shoots holes in his ship is not only in the drug trade for the money.
He is always enthusiastic about his work, including when traveling to Bolivia on a highly dangerous mission, and exhibits his enthusiasm and playfulness through giving people nicknames, such as when he first referred to Teresa as “Principessa”.
1. Isabela Vargas-ESFJ
The daughter of Camila and Epifano Vargas, Isabela has a lively personality and enthusiastic when it comes to getting what she wants, such as dating and later becoming engaged to Kique Jimenez as well as convincing her parents to give their blessing to do so despite their initial reluctance.
She is very concrete in her ways, however, and when she finds out that her father is leaving the drug trade behind in favor of becoming governor of Sinaloa, she gives him absolute support and completely alienates her mother in the process. Due to being both sensitive and cooperative, she is also easily manipulated by external forces such as General Cortez, who convinces her that her mother was at fault for the death of Kique.
