‘Narcos’ Actor Survives Weekslong Coma, Says He’s ‘Reborn’

‘Narcos’ Actor Survives Weekslong Coma, Says He’s ‘Reborn’

Actor Manuel Masalva, who starred in Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico as Ramón Arellano Félix, is awake and “healing” after being placed in a medically induced coma for weeks.

Masalva took to Instagram on Monday to share his first health update since being hospitalized in Dubai for an aggressive bacterial infection for 105 days.

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“I am healing. I want to profoundly thank you all for the support you have given me and continue to give me, in every sense, every one of you,” he wrote in Spanish. “More than ever I believe that unity is strength.. This [process] has barely begun, there is much more left to go, but I feel blessed, strong, reborn and well-accompanied. … God has given me a new chance at life. God has given me new life.”

Manuel Masalva attends the blue carpet of “GQ15 Mexico Men of The Year Awards” at Altto San Angel on November 03, 2021 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Victor Chavez/Getty Images)

He continued, “Today is 105 days, but I am awake, and the light has been raining down since. 81 [days] it took for me to breathe fresh air, the coming and going of thousands of people in this great hospital, where I was reborn, here in another culture, that has surpassed us in love and spirituality.”

Masalva admitted that while he doesn’t fully understand “all of what’s going on or just a part of it,” he has nothing but gratitude in this moment. “It’s been an eternity and there are still some parts missing, I just want to give the strongest thanks that I can give to God, my family, my doctors and all those people that have supported me since the start of this process,” the actor wrote. “I owe you all my life, without you and the hand of God it wouldn’t be real.”

Manuel Masalva poses during the red carpet for the ‘MTV MIAW 2023’ at Pepsi Center WTC on August 04, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Masalva first arrived in Dubai on March 18 after previously traveling to the Philippines, the Los Angeles Times reported in April, and within two days, he experienced pain that resulted in him seeking out medical help. Doctors learned that Masalva had contracted a bacterial infection, and he was rushed into surgery on March 26. The following day, however, the infection reached his lungs, and doctors chose to place him in a medically induced coma to help him recover.

Masalva remained in critical condition throughout the following month, according to his friend Mario Morán, who posted on a GoFundMe set up to support the actor’s medical bills at the time. “The bacteria has already been detected,” Morán wrote on April 3. “He’s on antibiotics, and we’re waiting for him to begin to improve.”

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