Mexican Actor Carlos Miguel Suárez Dies at 67

Mexican actor Carlos Miguel Suárez Soto, remembered for his roles in Televisa telenovelas, died at 67, his friend and longtime acting partner Roberto Tello confirmed on October 20, 2026. Suárez, known to audiences as Poncho, had spent years pursuing work outside television, including selling tacos in Mexico City after a kidnapping and financial difficulties disrupted his acting career. The cause of his death has not been disclosed.

Tello, known professionally as El Coreano, announced the death through social media, sharing a video featuring the two actors together. Their on-screen partnership made them familiar faces in Mexican melodramas, particularly during the 1990s.

"Rest in peace, my dear Charly. I love you, Poncho," Tello wrote in his farewell message, referring to the character associated with Suárez's television career.

Suárez appeared in productions including Muchachitas, Dos mujeres, un camino, Volver a empezar, Tú y yo, Soñadoras, Amigas y rivales, and Las vías del amor. He frequently portrayed antagonists and supporting characters, building a career across several popular Televisa productions.

The actor's professional and personal life changed after a kidnapping in 2012. In interviews, he described being held captive for four days after an incident that initially appeared to be a brief abduction intended to force him to withdraw money from an ATM.

"It was supposed to be four days?"

Suárez's account to the television program De Primera Mano was more specific: the kidnapping began as a short ordeal but continued for four days. He also described physical injuries sustained during captivity.

"I lost some teeth, and they damaged my tendons, but I am much better now than before," Suárez said in an interview with Imagen Televisión.

He explained that photographs of his daughters found among his belongings intensified his fears for his family's safety. He decided against pursuing legal action because he feared the kidnappers might target them.

"I did not pursue it any further because they had pictures of my daughters. They had caught me with pictures of my daughters, and I did not want to do anything," he said.

Suárez also connected his financial struggles to changes in the television industry, explaining that opportunities for actors working primarily in traditional telenovelas had diminished as production formats changed.

"I suffered a kidnapping, and then other things happened, too. Television changed a lot; telenovelas stopped being what they were and turned into series," he said.

He later described the immediate financial consequences of the attack, saying the kidnappers had left him without money. In another interview, he recalled that his injuries continued to affect him, including problems with his appearance and physical condition.

In addition to the physical consequences, Suárez said he experienced difficulties returning to the same kinds of acting roles. Accounts published by Mexican outlets also described reported problems with his vision, memory, and hearing.

As television opportunities declined, Suárez turned to selling food to support himself. He initially sold basket tacos before expanding into a business offering cochinita pibil tacos, tortas, burritos, and other dishes. Reports identified the venture as La cochinita del tío Ferruco, where he worked to maintain an income outside the entertainment industry.

Despite his reduced television presence, Suárez continued appearing in productions in later years. His credits included Mi fortuna es amarte and Golpe de suerte, which was filmed between 2023 and 2024, according to El Financiero and El Universal. Other career records cited by Infobae identified Amores con trampa in 2015 and an episode of Como dice el dicho in 2018 among his later television appearances, leaving differing accounts of his final screen work.

Suárez's partnership with Tello extended beyond television. The two actors also attempted to revive their popular characters through theatrical performances and comedy sketches in 2019, continuing a collaboration that had made Poncho and El Coreano a recognizable pairing among viewers of Mexican telenovelas.