Gustavo "El Oso" Zapata

Tell him you quit. In two months, you can buy this place, let anyone you want train for free. You’ll be a hero.

-Lucia Villanueva

## Gustavo "El Oso" Zapata

### Aliases

* Oso
* The Bear
* The Saint

### Relatives

* Hernan Zapata (Brother) †
* Nuvia Zapata (Sister-in-Law) †
* Ernesto Zapata (Nephew)
* Carlo Zapata (Nephew)
* Cedro Zapata (Nephew)

### Affiliation

* Villanueva Cartel
* CIA (Asset)

### Occupation

* Luchador (Formerly)
* Enforcer (Formerly)
* Bouncer (Formerly)
* Smuggler

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Sergio Peris-Mencheta

**Gustavo "El Oso" Zapata** is one of three protaganists on the show. He is an aspiring luchador who later began working as an enforcer for the Villanueva Cartel.

## Biography

### Season 1

El Oso was first seen in a wrestling match in which he lost by pinfall. Many folks including Franklin Saint, Leon Simmons, Kevin Hamilton and the Villanuevas watch the match. After his wrestling career ended, he went to work as an enforcer for the Villanueva's. He was recommended for a job by Pedro Nava, who introduced him to his cousin, Lucia Villanueva. He was first hired to steal some money, in which he killed a guard named Max. He later learned the money he stole belonged to Ramiro Nava, Pedro's father and Lucia's uncle. To deal with a fallout, he helped them find a fall guy, a sicario named Enrique. He killed him and disappeared his corpse to set him up to look like the thief. He began building a relationship with Lucia, which sparked some jealousy with Pedro. Ramiro eventually found out they rolled him and started running their cocaine productions. Later on after Mauricio Villanueva died, Lucia and Oso went to Stomper of the Los Monarcas who agreed to take out Ramiro and his sicarios. They chose to hit them at the funeral, in which Oso was not content with. During the wake, Ramiro is offed by Los Monarcas, in which Oso is made a partner by Lucia, who now runs the family business, which Pedro made a run for it.

### Season 2

He and Lucia are running a smooth operation while Teddy is supplying them. They've even expanded their business venture to La Fuerza, run by Gabriella Elias. When Pedro returned, he introduced them to his fiancé, Soledad, whom he met in Texas. He and Lucia later discovered Soledad was a DEA agent after a fiasco at the warehouse with Stomper, Memo, and Stranger. To make manners worse, Gabriella found out and vowed to wipe out the Villanuevas if she didn't receive some compensation for the 3 dead men. With the DEA on their tails and a target set by La Fuerza, they attempted to get the recipe for crack from Franklin, who refused, so they went to Kevin, in exchange for the man who killed his cousin, Delroy. While Lucia was providing the recipe to the Elias's, Oso was arrested by Tony Marino and Lorena. They were released after the DEA were ordered to cut them loose. At Lucia's home, Lucia was attacked by Conejo after the incident at Acuña Park and Oso came to her rescue. He was severely wounded and near deaths door as Conejo bolted with multiple injuries.

### Season 3

With Lucia nowhere to be found, Oso was working as a bouncer in Tuscon when Teddy found him. He then agreed to work for Teddy and went to Sinaloa to meet with Mariela Villanueva and get the routes the Villanueva's use for their smuggling. After learning the Lorena was working with Teddy, Gustavo killed her and Teddy, who was irate to the action, had Oso bring her to a secluded area to dig a hole, and do some stew making to dissolve her body as they buried her. He was unable to find Lucia, and even her uncle Miguel, whom he reached out to, was unable to help him. Oso then acquired 2 homes, one in Tijuana and one in San Diego, to dig a tunnel leading underneath the border. He convinced his brother, Hernan, and his step-wife, Nuvia, to move into the San Diego home with their 3 kids after he took out Nuvia's ex-husband, Ivan.

### Season 4

The smuggling operation took a hit when Teddy and Oso encountered the new corrupt Tijuana police chief, Oscar Fuentes. He demanded ten times what the original police chief agreed to, and when they tried to haggle with him, he killed Hernan and Nuvia in their home. Gustavo later learned that Teddy was a CIA agent and went on a rampage to take out Fuentes and his dirty cops. After his brother was killed, Oso looked to Nuvia's sister, Xiamara, to watch over her kids, and even provided some cash. After Teddy was booted from the operation, Agent Havemeyer provided Oso information on Lucia's whereabouts.

### Season 5

A year down the road, instead of pursuing Lucia in Miami, Oso is now in a relationship with Xiamara as he is working under Teddy's replacement, Grady Williamson. After Grady is killed, Teddy is back to work with Oso as usual. When Kane's men attacked him, Teddy, and Franklin on a drop, Oso was wounded and he and Franklin were separated from Teddy as they eluded their attackers, only to wind up in Bell Gardens, where they encountered a crazy elder and his tiger and Tavio and his gang. They managed to escape the area with their lives. Down the road, Oso learned that Xiamara's house was bugged and assumed it was Teddy, especially after he was asked to bug Franklin's car. He soon learned that Teddy robbed Franklin dry and feared the same repercussions. He plotted to skip town but was immediately taken down by Tony Moreno and the DEA, indicating the DEA, not the CIA, bugged his place of residence.

### Season 6

After being arrested and having his funds taken, Oso was made a CIA in a plot to take down Teddy and expose the corruption in the CIA. On the other hand, he was approached by Rubén of the KGB who threatened his family if he didn't help the DEA expose the CIA, and then there was Franklin who offered Oso an alternate way out. Oso sided with Franklin, altering his deal with the DEA as well as helping Saint capture both Teddy and Rubén. Franklin had Top Notch make some false documents for Oso, who managed to help Xiamara, her mother, and the kids flee. He later parted ways with Franklin and was now fulfilling another lifetime goal of running his own luchador gym in Mexico.

### Aftermath

After leaving the game, Oso was running a successful business in training future luchador's. He eventually learned that Xiamara and the rest of his family managed to settle down in North Carolina in which he took comfort in. It was a shame that he had no clue about Franklin or the fact that he was going to break his word to him about killing Teddy.

## Appearances

* Make Them Birds Fly
* Slow Hand
* Trauma
* Seven-Four
* A Long Time Coming
* Cracking
* Baby Teeth
* Story of a Scar
* The Rubicon
* The Day
* Prometheus Rising
* Jingle Bell Rock
* Serpiente
* The Offer
* The World is Yours
* Surrender
* Aftermath

* The More You Make
* Cash and Carry
* The Game That Moves as You Play
* The Bottoms
* Confessions
* Pocket Full of Rocks
* Hedgehogs
* Blackout
* Weight
* All the Way Down
* Expansion
* The Get Back
* Say a Little Prayer
* Through a Glass, Darkly
* Betrayal
* Sleeping Dogs
* Fight or Flight

* Commitment
* Lions
* The Iliad: Part 1
* The Iliad: Part 2
* Lying in a Hammock
* Celebration
* Departures
* Fault Lines
* The Sit Down
* Door of No Return
* Projects Boy
* Ebony and Ivory
* Concrete Jungle
* Charnel House
* Ballad of the Bear
* Sacrifice
* The Struggle

## Victims

* Max (Thrown to his death)
* Enrique (Killed off-screen (Confirmed))
* Stomper (Stabbing)
* Lorena Cardenas (Shooting)
* Ivan (Thrown to his death)
* Nestor Gutierrez (Throat slit)
* Pedro Kindelin (Shooting)
* Oscar Fuentes (Strangling)