The True Story Behind Colombian Thriller Series Fugue State 1986

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On December 4, 1986, Colombia experienced one of its worst massacres. Over a few hours, Campo Elías Delgado, a former Vietnam War veteran, killed his mother, neighbors, and people dining at the Pozzetto restaurant in Bogotá, turning a normal evening in the Chapinero district into a terrifying event.

Netflix’s new limited series, Fugue State 1986, explores the tragic events of a massacre that happened 39 years ago, blending fact and fiction. Instead of simply retelling the story of the murders, the show centers on the complex friendship between Jeremías Salgado (played by Andrés Parra), a character based on a real person, and Camilo León (José Restrepo), a literature student who witnesses crucial events before the killings. Carolina Gómez plays Indira Quinchía, a determined investigator trying to understand why the crime happened.

The series, created by Ana María Parra and guided by author Mario Mendoza (who knew the man at the center of the story personally), and directed by Carlos Moreno and Claudia Pedraza, is based on two core facts: the massacre itself, and the fact that the man was a university student in Bogotá beforehand. Everything beyond that is fictionalized. According to Parra, the story is told through the eyes of someone who knew him – a character named León – rather than the perpetrator. This close relationship allows León to grapple with the central question: what drives someone to commit such a terrible crime?

Here’s to know about the real events behind Fugue State 1986.

What happened on Dec. 4, 1986

The violence started early on December 4, 1986. That morning, Campo Elías Delgado went to the home of a 15-year-old student he tutored in English and shot both her and her mother. He then returned to the apartment he shared with his own mother, killed her, and burned her body with alcohol and newspapers.

When smoke began to fill the hallway, Delgado knocked on his neighbors’ doors to alert them about a fire. Tragically, the six people who answered—attempting to help in what they thought was an emergency—were shot and killed.

Several hours later, he walked into Pozzetto, a popular Italian restaurant in Chapinero, carrying a briefcase of ammunition. He sat at table 20, ordered spaghetti and drinks, and ate without incident. After finishing his drink, he suddenly pulled out a revolver and began shooting at the other customers. People panicked, diving to the floor and hiding under tables. The gunman, Delgado, died at the scene, but it’s still unknown how he died – whether he was killed by police gunfire or if he died by suicide.

The tragic event resulted in the deaths of 29 people. The Netflix series based on this story concludes by stating that on December 4, 1986, Campo Elías Delgado, a Vietnam War veteran and language student, killed 29 individuals, including his own mother, in Bogotá, Colombia, all within a single day. The killer’s remains have never been found, and important case files are either missing or unavailable.

The man behind the massacre

Born in Durania in 1934 to Rita Elisa Morales, Rafael Delgado experienced a difficult childhood marked by the suicide of his father, which he apparently attributed to his mother. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army and fought in the Vietnam War.

When the massacre occurred, Delgado was 52 years old and had experienced a life filled with hardship, loneliness, and a constant desire to find connection. He once attended Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, where he met Mario Mendoza, who later became the executive producer and script supervisor for the film Fugue State 1986.

Mendoza explains that it was crucial to portray the real person’s deep loneliness and sense of isolation in the fictional character, highlighting a feeling of spiritual exile. Having fought in the brutal Vietnam War, the real-life figure, like many soldiers, struggled with post-traumatic stress and found it incredibly difficult, or even impossible, to readjust to normal life after returning home.

According to the author, Delgado deeply wanted to feel like he belonged, and this desire was thoughtfully reflected in the character of Jeremías Salgado. As Medoza explains, this longing is visible in many personal moments, as well as in Jeremías’ work at the newspaper and university. He isn’t a loner by choice, but because circumstances force him to be, adding a layer of complexity to the character that the entire creative team valued.

What’s real—and what’s fiction

The series takes inspiration from a real-life massacre and the killer’s last day, but it primarily focuses on a fictionalized account of the four months leading up to the event, revealing the killer’s life and his relationship with another character. According to the creator, the story is personal; the real-life setting included the same university they attended, where one of their literature professors was connected to the case.

Starting with a minor, almost unnoticed connection, the authors developed the friendship between Jeremías and a budding writer – a world both Parra and Mendoza knew well. As the author explains, this shared love of literature is the foundation of the entire story, linking the killer and the person who observed his life.

The massacre also served as the inspiration for Mendoza’s 2002 novel, Satanás. He explains that he wanted to capture the dark and hopeless feeling of Bogotá at the time. Having studied at the same university as the killer, and even sharing research materials for their theses, Mendoza felt a disturbing connection to the murderer and a uniquely close perspective on the events.

The social and historical context behind the series

I found Fugue State 1986 really compelling because it doesn’t just focus on the events themselves, but digs into the world that created them. Director Mendoza really emphasized to me how crucial understanding 1980s Bogotá was to the whole project. He explained that the writing team did a deep dive into the era, because that ‘unhealthy atmosphere’ – that pervasive sense of toxicity – is practically a character in the series. It really seeps into everything you see.

In 1985, the M-19 guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, a year before a major tragedy occurred. The military reacted with force, and the resulting conflict led to the deaths of judges, hostages, and fighters, creating a time of great political unrest in Colombia.

The constant violence and political turmoil of the era deeply affect Jeremías and León’s inner lives. According to Parra, the 1980s aren’t simply a setting for their story; they’re woven into the characters’ very psychology. This is evident in the everyday violence they experience, their feelings of despair, and how they connect with a city and country caught in a repeating cycle of violence. The atmosphere of the 1980s doesn’t just surround them—it shapes their thoughts and feelings.

Mendoza points out that the story also encourages us to think about society’s role in such events. He explains the idea of “Amok Syndrome,” where a person is driven to extreme actions by consistent mistreatment and humiliation from those around them. While this doesn’t excuse criminal behavior, it does ask us to consider how the actions of others – all of us – might contribute to it. Mendoza notes that Colombia has a long history of violence, passed down through generations, and hopes the series will encourage viewers to reflect on these inherited traumas and their impact on everyone.

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2025-12-05 01:07