Cocaine Cowboys

Review by: Jason Babb
JasonBabb@TheCinemaSource.com

What is it with this infatuation with the cocaine era of 1980's Miami? The
movies with iconic figures like Scarface, the documentaries about Pablo
Escobar and the news archives filled with cases about infamous kingpins.
It's like it will never be forgotten or get boring. Today there is even a
video gamed based on the movie Scarface starring Al Pacino. Not to mention the dvd sales, popular merchandise and numerous adaptations to the movie. I
do admit the lifestyle of a drug dealer living in the tropical Miami is very
appealing. The women, the cars, the money, the power and the respect value
are something every guy probably dreams about having but the repercussions
are costly. Just like what they say, you reap what you sow.

Cocaine Cowboys is a documentary directed by Billy Corben about the true stories that inspired Miami Vice. Original music is done by Jan Hammer, which sound similar to the scores you hear in the movie Scarface.
The film stars former millionaire cocaine wholesalers Jon Pernell Roberts
and Mickey Munday. They share their memoirs of their days of selling drugs
for the Medellin Cartel and the rapid drug epidemic that exploded throughout
the 1980's. Jon Roberts explains of his first trip ever to Miami in the mid
1970's when it was a boring retirement spot for old folks. Somehow with his
luck he landed a job with a drug dealer who introduced him to the major
heads of the Medellin Cartel. These were ruthless Columbians drug exporters
who controlled 80% of the enormous amount of cocaine production that was
smuggled into the United States. They hired Jon as a drug distributor who
made his fortune off a curious American society. Soon he becomes a wealthy
connected millionaire and a master of eluding the F.E.D.S. We see pictures
of Jon in his flamboyant suits, and hear many stories about his lavish
lifestyle. This included ownership of 50 thoroughbred race horses, a fleet
of cars, many estates and endless cash money. He meets Mickey Munday who is
a pilot and ships back and fourth large amounts of cocaine in his own plane
for the Medellin Cartel from Columbia to the States. Munday was less flashy
than Jon but more concerned with the preservation of the product and eluding
coast guards.

Both men are very clever about the business and thrived off of being able to
acquire a abundant amount of profit without being taxed by the government.
They spoke of the many bankers, officers and corrupt government officials
they paid off during those years of cocaine success. There are more
testimonials in this documentary from people who had ties to the Medellin
Cartel (organized by Fabio Ochoa patriarch of the

Ochoa family) and were
part of the 1980's crime wave. Jorge "Rivi" Ayala who is serving out his
prison sentence to this day, shares with us the horrid stories of being a
killer for the organization. Rivi was a main enforcer to Griselda Blanco
aka the Godmother, one of the bosses in the cartel. Rivi tells us of this
ruthless woman who had no remorse for the many innocent people who got in
the way of the many Medellin murder sprees. These people would literally
wipe out your whole family! (children included)

What separates this documentary from the other stories about cocaine cartels
and drug lords is the acknowledgment of the fictitious made for television
reenactments. These narrators give us a vivid detailed history of how
cocaine was used to build the rich, attractive city of today's Miami. Jon
strays away from clichés and false conceptions about the business. As a
pioneer in the business he tells us the real deal about how this cocaine
epidemic started and the about how drug cartels really work. He jokes about
the TV show Miami Vice and its ridiculous dark alley drug meetings with the
show me the money and I'll show you the coke routines. Jon is believable
and is the nicest drug wholesaler they could ever be. Rivi was a cold
killer that admits his loyalty to a Columbian cartel that was worse than any
Italian mob family at that time. This documentary is very informative and
has tons of still images and some video footage of murders, drug busts etc.
It made be feel left out of what seemed like the biggest impact on America
during that time. Anyone would find this film interesting.

Movie Grade: B

Synopsis:

In the 1980s, ruthless Colombian cocaine barons invaded Miami with a brand of violence unseen in this country since Prohibition-era Chicago – and it put the city on the map. Cocaine Cowboys is the true story of how Miami became the drug, murder and cash capital of the United States, told by the people who made it all happen.