Cocaine Cowboys; a Compelling Documentary by Billy Corben

Cocaine Cowboys (2006) is a must-see for anyone interested in the crime genre, fictional or otherwise. It is a documentary about the drug trade in Miami in the 70s and 80s, basically up until Reagan launched his version of the War on Drugs in the late 80s. It has interviews with many of the big players — dealers, guys who trafficked in pot and coke, and one man who was considered the most dangerous hit man during that time. The footage from the era is fantastic (I especially enjoyed the cars, clothes and hairstyles), and it contains some pretty gruesome crime scene photographs. There is a lot to make the film compelling, and it is enjoyable on multiple levels. It is fascinating to see what Miami was like, where men could unload bales of marijuana off boats near beaches that are now swarmed with people just a couple decades later. To see that footage against what Miami is today is mind blowing. And for just pure, “Holy shit!” shock value, it scores high. If I came away with one thing, it is this: this country’s continued reluctance to legalize, regulate and tax this trade is utterly ridiculous.

This is a paragraph from the Wikipedia entry about the movie:

The film reveals that much of the economic growth which took place in Miami during this time period was a benefit of the drug trade. As members of the drug trade made immense amounts of money, this money flowed in large amounts into legitimate businesses. As a result, drug money indirectly financed the construction of many of the modern high-rise buildings in southern Florida. Later, when law enforcement pressure drove many major players out of the picture, many high-end stores and businesses closed because of plummeting sales.

This element of the documentary is particularly compelling. These people – the dealers and everyone they bought from, whether they are in real estate, banking, or sold automobiles – had so much friggin’ money to burn it was ridiculous. More than they knew what to do with, despite the elaborate setups they had for trafficking the drugs, front businesses to launder the cash, multiple houses and cars, you name it. On top of it, they were burying cash in bags out in the yard because they had more than they could store legitimately. Meanwhile Miami was booming as a tourist destination and as a hot spot for The Beautiful People to be seen, all on the backs of the drug trade. For years business flourished essentially right under the noses of law enforcement . . . until the bodies started to pile up. The bloodbath doesn’t really begin until crime matriarch Griselda Blanco arrives on the scene, a vicious boss who deserves a documentary all her own. It is then that the description of “Cocaine Cowboys” was coined, referencing the unhinged shootouts that come to mind when people think of the lawless days of the Old West.

Once the killing starts, the movie shows how law enforcement struggles with resources to combat the problem: they lack money to get (and retain) honest police, lack adequate firepower, etc. It is a story we have all heard, one with parallels in today’s headlines in Mexican cities like Juarez, but one that is rarely told as well as it is in Cocaine Cowboys. If you have any interest at all in uzi-packing crime, or just in quality documentary filmmaking, it is absolutely worth a look.

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