The 2006 documentary film Cocaine Cowboys focused on Miami, Florida's drug wars and the rise of cocaine. Between the 1970s and 1980s, the epidemic of offenses that resulted swept through Miami. The film's creators spoke with former drug traffickers, criminal group members, journalists, law enforcement officials, and Miami attorneys who provided a firsthand account of the South Florida drug war. (Cullen, 2017). The main drug smuggled into the area, according to the documentary, was marijuana. In the 1970s, cocaine shipments took the place of bhang because they were more profitable. The drug lords began smuggling drugs into the area from the surrounding nations. (Goldstein, 2006). With increased amount of imports of the drug into the United States, the price of cocaine went down dramatically. It became blue color and was able to be accessed in broader markets within South Florida (Goldstein, 2006).
The former drug barons revealed the various strategies they employing in smuggling in the drugs into South Florida. The key avenues included boats and aircraft. They also used complex methods to get the drugs into the US coastal region (Goldstein, 2006). The involved logistics included financing and purchasing of legal businesses to offer cover for their illicit products. They also employ the use of sophisticated electronic home gadgets, coupled with several other transportation schemes (Cullen, 2017).
Cocaine Cowboys indicates the challenges the drug smugglers faced in storing the huge amount of monies they made. This pushed them to establish a relationship with other drugs baron such as Noriega, based on Panama, to help them with storage. They also used to but an entire estate to store their monies in the houses and investing in several side investments (Goldstein, 2006).
The channels for distribution of the drugs were highly intricate, as more people got involved both locally and across the borders as the number of consumers increased. More youth were believed to be involved consumption and distribution of cocaine (Goldstein, 2006). The drug smugglers reveals that several condominiums were bought near the port and other entry waterways to offer a monitoring post for the local police patrol boats as well as the US Coast Guard. They were also used to provide high-tech communication equipment that was necessary for monitoring the radio frequencies of the state agencies, federal, as well as, local authorities for early warning of incoming airplanes and boats (Cullen, 2017).
Cocaine Cowboys exposed much economic advancement that happened in Miami and other cities in South Florida during this era as a result of the illegal drug business. Members of the drug business cartel created a lot of money from this business within a short duration. Their money infused in huge amounts into the legal businesses (Goldstein, 2006). Subsequently, money from drug trafficking was used to erect a number of the contemporary high-rise structures in South Florida. Later, law enforcement and local authorities made a lot of pressure on the business, forcing a number of key players out. This pushed several high-end stores and businesses to close their operation citing tumbling sales (Cullen, 2017).
Cocaine Cowboys also documents the gangland violence that was linked with the illicit business. According to the interviewed former drug barons, journalists, and law enforcement officers, an infamous criminal family matriarch, by the name Griselda Blanco, played a key role in the drug business history around Miami and several other cities in the United States (Hill, 2006). The family was the key players of the cartel that created a corrupt and lawless atmosphere, majorly from the operations of Blanco (Goldstein, 2006). This resulted to the drug cartel gangsters being branded "Cocaine Cowboys."
A section of the Cocaine Cowboys, often referred to as "The Company", has a status for their lavish lives and heavy spending lifestyle. They were known for shooting out their rivals and bribing law enforcement officers who arrested them (Cullen, 2017). Most of the gang members have been jailed after conviction, although one of the cartel members, Gustavo Tabby Falcon, has been eluding the Law enforcement officers and the authorities for than twenty six years. Falcon, 55 years old, was arrested in April 2017 after being on the hideout since the year 1991(Cullen, 2017). Other key suppliers included Colombian drug grandee Pablo Escobar, together with his Medellin cartel and the Cali cartel (Cullen, 2017).
When they were indicated 26 years ago, Falcon's Brother Augusto Falcon, who has been in prison for 20 years and his Cuban partner Salvador Magluta, they were believed to have trafficked about 75 tons of cocaine in the Southern Florida and other key cities across the United States between 1978 and 1991 valued to be more than $ 2 billion (Cullen, 2017). Mickey Mundey, other Cocaine Cowboys was believed to have smuggled about $38 billion worth of cocaine within six years in the early 1980s. The top cartel leaders in South Florida were Paco 'Papo' Mejia and Griselda Blanco. Blanco was assassinated in 2012 in Columbia (Jeannette, 2006).
It was believed that more than half of the offshore powerboat racers were also part of the cocaine trafficking cartel. The world of drug trafficking and boat racing became a very blurry channel. The boats were running from the Bahamas to Miami (Cullen, 2017). It is during this time when Columbian drug barons were believed to have flown in huge amounts of cocaine into the Southern Florida (Jeannette, 2006). From Miami coast, cocaine was distributed to stash houses in the city. Miami was perceived to be the cocaine hotbed in the 1980s, stimulating the sensational TV show dubbed "Miami Vice." It was the Dodge City or the Wild West. The cocaine cowboys were linked to Colombians initially but they expanded to several other cartels with time (Korten, 2005).
Some the profound effects of the cocaine trafficking into South Florida include increased deaths from consumption of the white powder. The death rate from cocaine consumption has been the highest since 2007 in South Florida (Cullen, 2017). According to TEDs data, the number of deaths from cocaine-related issues have been found to decrease from 2008 (14,912) to 11,385 in 2009. This has mainly been attributed to the increased crack down by the law enforcement officers and the effort made by the community in combating the situation (Korten, 2005). However, between 2012 and 2015, deaths from cocaine overdose was recorded to have increased to 3168 to 8234 deaths. Since 2015, this rate has been increasing by 19 percent. Cocaine has been recorded as the second highest source of death from drug overdose after fentanyl, a cheap synthetic painkiller. It is predicted that move overdose and death cases are likely to be recorded following the growth in availability and consumption of the illicit drug (Cullen, 2017).
Today, law enforcement officials hold that although the overall threat of drug consumption and consumption in the South Florida has somehow been contained, there are still operating distribution channels and the impact to the community has remained high. The threat is compounded by the easy ways in which the drug consumers get access to the drugs and the extensive negative social impacts linked with them and that continue to plague the area (McWhirter, 1981).
The rate of criminal activities related to the fighting for the drug cartel has increased in the area. There has also been increase in property crimes believed to be triggered by the illicit drugs business in South Florida (McWhirter, 1981). Law enforcement agencies hold that, cocaine, among other drugs commonly abused, contribute to violent criminal activities in South Florida. Additionally, cases of juvenile delinquency have been on rise following the youth joining such gangs and abusing cocaine and other drugs (Cullen, 2017). Although law-enforcement agencies have been putting a lot of efforts to control the menace, the drug cartels fight their way back by bribing the officers and monitoring the activities of those in-charge (Velzer, 2017).
Most of the violence experienced in the area is mainly between street gangs, who happen to be cocaine traffickers and who seek to control certain regions as their cocaine territories. Small gang organization crimes have also been targeting their formers members who tried to denounce their membership to such gangs and the cartels (National Drug Intelligence Center, 2003). The criminal gangs commonly in the street fighting for distribution of the drugs mainly include Jamaican, African-American, and Hispanic gangs mainly in low-income housing projects (National Drug Intelligence Center, 2003).
The retail crack distributors more so African Americans and their Hispanic counterparts normally commit assaults, drive-by shootings, invasion of homes, and homicide in order to safeguard their territory. Miami homicide police would find another of the drug cartel gangs floating in the river in Miami following several shootouts between the cartel gang members. Some gangs fought for their kingpins (Velzer, 2017). Powdered cocaine is well packaged in plastic bags and distribution done through private residents, certain businesses, open-air drug markets, offices, nightclubs, parties, and raves (National Drug Intelligence Center, 2003). According to NHSDA 2000 data, about 1.7% of the residents in South Florida interviewed indicated to have abused cocaine at least once in the year. This is comparable to the 1.6% percent countrywide. There is also increase in the number of cases of cocaine abuse by high school students in South Florida. YRBS data indicate that 8.3% of students confessed to have used the drug at least once (Velzer, 2017).
The government has respondent to the cocaine issue by putting in place steady and aggressive crack-down and heavy penalties for the people convicted of drug trafficking and distribution especially in South Florida. A number of the key cartel members have either been gunned down or jailed for several years. Others are convicted of related crimes like firearms possess and trafficking, and obstruction of justice (National Drug Intelligence Center, 2003).
The government law enforcement team includes the Operation Northern Light Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, initiated in May 2015. It was jointly-led by the Miami United States Attorney General's Office, DEA, FBI, ATF, and the local law enforcement agencies. They have been focusing on investigating and reducing the violent crime in the Miami and the surrounding South Florida coastal region (National Drug Intelligence Center, 2003). They use every legitimate approach available including federal racketeering statutes in trying to dismantle the criminal enterprises.
References
Cullen, T. (2017). How the Cocaine Cowboys built a drug empire that helped inspire 'Miami Vice.' Retrieved May 27, 2017, from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/cocaine-cowboys-built-empire-inspired-miami-vice-article-1.3052383
Goldstein, G. (2006). Magnolia Lines Up Cocaine Rights. Retrieved May 27, 2017, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002802718
Hill, L. (2006). Critic's Pick: Cocaine Cowboys. New York Magazine. 23(9), 14-28
Jeannette, C. (2006). Film in Review; Cocaine Cowboys. Retrieved May 27, 2017, http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?res=9401E0DF153FF934A15753C1A9609C8B63
Korten, T. (2005). Big Story, Big Screen: Two Miami Documentary Filmmakers Capture a Time and Place in Cocaine Cowboys. Miami New Times, 23(9), 24-128
McWhirter, W. (1981). South Florida: Trouble in Paradise. Times Magazine. 18 (21), 12-23
National Drug Intelligence Center. (2003). Florida Drug Threat Assessment: Cocaine. Retrieved May 28, 2017, from, https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs5/5169/cocaine.htm
Velzer, R. (2017). Cocaine Comes Roaring Back to South Florida and Then Some, Retrieved May 27, 2017, from http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-reg-cocaine-surge-fueling-overdoses-20170523-story.html
