Compte is the son of Cuban migrants and has been active as an actor since 1996. End of the 1990s and early 2000s, he first appeared in series such as Chicago Hope and Pacific Blue. This was followed by minor roles in movies like Before Night Falls and Double Whammy. Compte's first recurring role was as Charlie Gutierrez in the series E-Ring from 2005. Other guest appearances as in Monk and NCIS: Los Angeles followed. In 2011 he portrayed cartel member Gaff in the hit television series Breaking Bad. A year later he was seen in End of Watch. Other roles in series such as Bones followed, before playing the role of Danny Ortiz in 2014 alongside Liam Neeson in the movie A Walk Among the Tombstones. In 2015, he gained more prominence as Horacio Carrillo in the Netflix series Narcos.