Cocaine Cowboys Review - The Pace Press

9/27/06

Cocaine Cowboys Explores New Side of Miami Drug Frontier

Andreas Diaz

Bent on living an extravagant lifestyle and driven by money, Cocaine Cowboys documents a period in time where brave men pioneered "virgin grounds" and paved the way for new American trends. Based on stories from the actual pioneering men, director Billy Corben captures the life of cocaine smugglers in America during the 1970s and 1980s.

Miami was a land of retirement, of spending the last good years in paradise. It was so laid back, in fact, that a single policeman could patrol an enormous area at night. During the aforementioned years, the grounds were ripe for a change. That laid-back land would soon become the "offices" of many powerful men's businesses.

Real transporters tell their stories of how Miami was practically an unwatched area at the time. Speedboats could pull up anywhere along the coast and drop off "packages" without repercussions. Yet, to the transporters, a speedboat could only hold so much value.

The transportation process became more of an art and outlet for creativity. Mickey Munday, one of the transporters who moved over 10 tons of weight, was a genius engineer who could repair planes and build special custom hangars to look like barns that were in fact drop off points. Another ambitious transporter, Jon Roberts, was always 'in it for the money' and once his girlfriend introduced him to Munday, the gateway was open for Colombian product to enter the United States.

Trafficking became a big business and once the "cowboys" could deliver the product for the Colombians to the Cubans, they could then sell it to the hungry American market.

As the drive for more money mounted, the American transporters found ways of delivering more profitable product to their clientele. The payment they received became so abundant that Roberts had to dig holes in his front yard to and stash the money in buried garbage bags.

The industry wasn't only profitable to the drug lords, however. Miami's economy was immediately boosted as the powerful men bought land, cars, buildings, boats, airplanes, jewelry, luxurious homes and helicopters to the southern city. Through this process Miami was again renovated into a major hot spot for vacationers and the wealthy.

The film hits upon the theme that all pleasures derived from evil will sooner or later fall. Crime began rising since the trafficking began but once the drug wars started between families and people who could not produce the money at the appointed times, it skyrocketed. Each progressing year shattered the deaths tolls of the previous until it reached 600+ per year.

Actions by crime lord Griselda Blanco, nicknamed "La Madrina" (Godmother) and The Black Widow and her ruthless lackeys brought about intolerable stories of life in Miami. Time magazine took notice of Miami's fall downhill and published a cover calling the once glamorized city, "Paradise Lost."

While Miami is the center for the cocaine industry, the film also documents the nation's realization of the nationwide domestic drug problem. Major steps involving President Regan, Special Forces developed specifically for anti-drug purposes and "The War on Drugs" are all deployed to Miami and other major trafficking centers. The rest is history.

Narcotics peddlers, transporters and big bosses are all taken down at any cost. Left in shambles, Miami became a place of unfinished building projects and shut down stores. Taking note of Oliver Stone's 1983 hit Scarface and shows such as Miami Vice, the documentary discusses how Miami's drug infamy actually restored much of the city's business due to movie deals, stars and national exposure.

Cocaine Cowboys is an epic documentary showing the progress of the cocaine industry in Miami and how both affected one another. Corben brings an understanding of the commodity and crime affiliated with cocaine, and gives us a film worth watching.