The new Netflix documentary series, The Predator of Seville, was released on March 27, 2026. It tells the story of Gabrielle Vega. In 2013, the 19-year-old from the United States decided to go to Spain to perfect her Spanish before heading to college. She was smart, optimistic, and eager to learn. But during a weekend trip to Morocco, facilitated by a student travel company named Discover Excursions, something happened that threw her life in a new direction.
Gabrielle, accompanied by a tour guide named Manuel Blanco Vela (“Manu White” to students), was assaulted by him inside a hotel. Nonetheless, Vega was unaware that the same thing had happened to dozens of other women.
Vega quietly held that night in her heart for years. When she chose to tell her story out loud, the response was immense. Over the course of two days, women began contacting her in the wake of her social media post in 2018, claiming her story sounded eerily similar to their own.
Ultimately, roughly 50 women linked their stories to Vela. And so began a fight for justice for these women through years of international maneuvering through complex legal systems. Vela finally sat in a Spanish courtroom and was jailed.
The Predator of Seville – Who is Manuel Blanco Vela, and how did he operate?
Blanco Vela derived his access to young women from a business that appeared legitimate, as per The Predator of Seville. Discover Excursions offered affordable weekend excursions to Morocco, Portugal, and various cities in Spain and marketed nearly exclusively to Americans who were studying abroad in Spain. To his clients, he was laid back and approachable and a lot more like a peer than a professional. He even created a false identity to fit his act: the self-designated “Prince of Seville.”
His pattern was actually quite predictable. For instance, during overnight trips, he would tell women that the place was too dangerous to go out after dark and would suggest they stay in the hotel. He would then offer drinks.
Several women, in The Predator of Seville, said they had the first drink and then were overwhelmed by very strange side effects, as they had never experienced: giddiness, dizziness, slurred speech, and blackouts. In fact, there are accounts from numerous women in many countries of the same scenario.
What happened to Gabrielle Vega in Morocco?
On the trip in 2013, Vela said to Vega’s group that we shouldn’t go out. He convinced them to stay in and have drinks. In The Predator of Seville, Vega said she drank very little alcohol before being completely incapacitated. She could barely stand. She blacked out. When she woke, she was in the hotel bathroom with Blanco Vela, who assaulted her. The following morning, vague memories came back. She recalled what had happened, but didn’t feel positive she could prove it.
Some friends that she was on the trip with said that date rape in Spain was not taken seriously, and she had the feeling that she would not be believed if she reported it. She did not want to talk about it and felt that there was no point in reporting it, so she didn‘t, and it stayed with her for years. She revealed that it led to long-term PTSD with suicidal ideation in a period of her life.
The Predator of Seville – How did other survivors come forward?
One of her breakthroughs came in 2018 when she was invited to speak in person about her story on an American television show. The following day, women who had been on Discover Excursions trips began recognizing themselves in her story. Vega set up an email address so that victims could contact her, and then she started to compile their stories into a spreadsheet. She now had a list of over fifty women. Many of them had never shared their stories before.
Next, the investigative journalists entered. The case was explored in detail on a podcast made by WBEZ Chicago, where 26 victims from different years and countries were interviewed. The signs were clear then.
A Spanish civil court also subsequently held that Blanco Vela was liable for the death of Lauren Bajorek, a 21-year-old Penn State student who fell to her death from the balcony of his apartment in Seville in 2015. Her death had been ruled an accident at the time. However, the questions around it never quite disappeared.
What does The Predator of Seville cover?
The Predator of Seville is a three-part documentary series commissioned by Atresmedia and directed by Alejandro Olvera in collaboration with journalist Ana Pastor’s production company. It takes us from the assault on Vega in Seville in 2013 to the criminal proceedings more than ten years later. The series includes interviews with numerous victims, never-before-seen material, and provides an in-depth update on how jurisdictional complexities in cases involving Spain, Morocco, and Portugal hampered the prosecution. Spanish authorities in Portugal claimed that, as the offender, Blanco Vela, was situated in Spain, they could do nothing.
The Predator of Seville does not dramatize events. It is the women saying it. Sixty minutes allow them to tell for themselves. You listen to all the lying, the shame, the disbelief from the media, the levels of courage needed to bring this out.
Edited by Sahiba Tahleel