Cocaine Cowboys
A firsthand crime documentary traces how Colombian cocaine traffickers turned 1980s Miami into an American capital of cash, murder, and narcotics.
Overview
A gripping look at Miami's transformation into the cocaine capital of America during the 1980s.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- gritty
- tense
- sensational
- true crime night
- documentary viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly find the documentary a compelling, energetic account of Miami's cocaine era, strengthened by extraordinary firsthand testimony despite some conventionality.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film connects cocaine trafficking, murder, and sudden wealth to Miami's emergence as a nationally prominent city.
Jon Roberts, Jorge Ayala, Mickey Munday, Toni Mooney, and other participants appear as themselves and describe the drug trade firsthand.
The film presents 1980s Miami as a nexus of cocaine, murder, cash, and illicit power.
Its central account combines extravagant drug profits with ruthless barons and killings compared to Prohibition-era Chicago.
Films like Cocaine Cowboys, and why
Cartel Land
true crime documentary examining organized drug trafficking, violence, and the transformation of a major American city
The House I Live In
documentary portrait of cocaine economies, criminal networks, and the human cost of the drug trade
The Imposter
crime documentary built from firsthand testimony and investigative reconstruction of organized criminal power
Movie Details
- Director
- Billy Corben
- Release Date
- 2006-11-03
- Runtime
- 118 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (192)
Cast
- Jon Roberts
- Jorge Ayala
- Mickey Munday
- Toni Mooney
- Nelson Andreu
- Al Sunshine
- Edna Buchanan
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Philo
- Rent
- Google Play Movies, YouTube, FlixFling
- Buy
- Google Play Movies, YouTube, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Cocaine Cowboys about?
- A firsthand crime documentary traces how Colombian cocaine traffickers turned 1980s Miami into an American capital of cash, murder, and narcotics.
- What is Cocaine Cowboys like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cocaine Cowboys as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Cocaine Cowboys violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Cocaine Cowboys as graphic.
- What did critics think of Cocaine Cowboys?
- Critics broadly find the documentary a compelling, energetic account of Miami's cocaine era, strengthened by extraordinary firsthand testimony despite some conventionality.
- Which films are like Cocaine Cowboys?
- Films with a similar feel include Cartel Land, The House I Live In, and The Imposter.
- How long is Cocaine Cowboys?
- Cocaine Cowboys runs 118 minutes.
- Where can I watch Cocaine Cowboys?
- In United States, Cocaine Cowboys streams on fuboTV, Philo.
