New Series! A Historian Reads: American Desperado

Following the beginning of our film review series, we thought it appropriate to begin a book review series as well. Historians do a lot of reading (heads up for anyone interested in entering the field), but it also happens to be a passion of ours. We will review books that deal with history but they could come from different fields and include fiction and non fiction.

After reviewing the documentary Cocaine Cowboys I thought it might be interesting to introduce you to one of the books used for the making of that documentary. American Desperado is the autobiography of one of the infamous cocaine cowboys, Jon Roberts. If you read the review of that film you will know that the cocaine cowboys refers to the period of extreme drug gang violence that occurred in South Florida during the 1980's and 1990's. Participants in this violence were called the cocaine cowboys because of the lawless nature that the region had developed.

Jon Roberts was one of these cocaine cowboys. A New York native, Roberts was one of the non-Colombian affiliates of the active cartels in South Florida. He began working as a distributor in New York in the club scene during the early 1970's and found it to be a lucrative occupation. However, he moved to Florida when the drug trade through the Caribbean exploded. Cocaine became a desired drug and the main supplier, Colombian cartels, developed extensive trade networks to get their product to the United States. Jon Robert's experience with the Gambino crime family in New York made him a perfect candidate to begin working with the up and coming Colombian cartels. Roberts claims that Cuban cartels in the area were having difficulty bringing in enough product to meet demands. Colombian cartels, who had been working exclusively in production, moved to expand their empire into manufacturing and distribution. Cuban and Colombian cartels were soon in conflict and Roberts found a niche within the Colombian cartel organization. He soon went to work with another American, Mickey Munday, a pilot who used his expertise in flight and navigation to bring up cocaine undetected. Both Roberts and Munday would eventually come under the radar of the South Florida Drug Task Force organized to deal specifically with the cocaine cowboys. A raid would lead to the arrest of Roberts and the escape of Munday. Under arrest, Roberts would eventually turn criminal informant helping the U.S government bring down many of his former colleagues.

Jon Roberts with co-author Evan Wright

This autobiography is an disturbing look into the late twentieth century drug trade by one of its important figures. Interest in this book has gone up recently since Mark Wahlburg has announced interest in making a film based on the autobiography with Wahlburg starring as Roberts. This news makes me uneasy because Hollywood does not have a good record in making accurate film about history in general, the drug war, and Colombians (that will be its own stand alone post/rant). We shall have to wait and see if this film turns out to be another misinformed glamorization film or maybe something closer to the truth. And the truth is that Roberts lived in a violent world and the nonchalant style of Robert's memoir reflects this. It becomes unsettling to read about the acts he committed or was involved in described in such a matter of fact style. Interestingly, since Roberts' death his co-author, Evan Wright, added an epilogue in which he describes his own uneasiness with Roberts' personality and violent past. Wright describes how he feared Roberts as certain times during the process of helping him write the book. As a reader, I found myself experiencing something similar to Wright. Despite this, I do believe this is an important book to the history of the drug war. It reveals the world from the inside out and demonstrates how the drug trade benefited by the war on drugs and the political climate of the United States. Moreso, Roberts' autobiography allows readers to understand the reality of the drug trade outside of the hyper-hysteria of the press and glamorization of the media that most people are familiar with. As this book shows, reality is often more horrific and sensational than anything a filmmaker than make.

New Series! A Historian at the Cinema: Cocaine Cowboys

Aside from traveling and studying, these historians also like to watch films (and tv). It's a great way to relax after a long day at work and school. This new series in our blog will be dedicated to reviewing films and series that have a historical slant. They can be fiction or non-fiction. As historians, it can be hard to watch any programs that deal with our thesis or emphasis. We can and will provide our invaluable expert commentary (clearly we are super fun to watch tv with). With this new series, we will provide our opinion on a variety of shows or films that we watch. We will discuss accuracy but also review them as a source of entertainment. Snarky comment will most definitely be included!

The first film to be reviewed is not a recent release. Cocaine Cowboys, released in 2006, is a documentary by filmmaker Billy Corben about the 1970's and 80's era of South Florida as a capital of drug smuggling and violence. Florida native Corben traces the the drug trade from Colombian cartels to the Floridian distributors that turned South Florida from retirement town to the real life set of Miami Vice. The story is not as simple as just drugs arriving in the United States and violence occurring. As the film demonstrates, the drug trade had been flowing for decades without resulting in the level of violence that would become the Cocaine Cowboy era. The 1980's and early 1990's happened after what most see as a huge economic boom during the 1970's. The cause of the boom? Drug money. While the rest of the nation was experiencing a recession, South Florida was inundated in hard cash and lots of it. The Miami skyline that we see today is a direct result of the inflow of capital and the city's new found attention as a hot spot for the young and wealthy.

A scene from the 1979 Dadeland Mall murders. 

Through a series of interviews with people who had lived through the period, Corben tells the story of wealth, criminal activity, violence, and fear. Reporters, law enforcement, Miami residents, and most interestingly, some of the cocaine cowboys themselves, each tell their story and their role in the cocaine cowboy wars. After the Dadeland Mall massacre, Miami dissolved from a tourist destination into what Time magazine would describe as "Paradise Lost." Corben allows each participant to tell their story as they recalled it. Those surrounded by the violence of the era remembered a time of fear and heightened tensions. Corben also allows the cocaine cowboys he interviewed an equal amount of freedom to express their perspective. This became part of the emotional power of the film. Despite some of the horrendous acts the cocaine cowboys participated in, Corben reserves judgment of the individuals for the audience. However, Corben is not completely detached from his film. There is indeed an argument to be found in this documentary.

Griselda Blanco "La Madrina"
Translated: The Godmother

 He places blame on one individual for the rise in violence in Miami. Medellin native, Griselda Blanco began her career in the drug trade while living in New York in the mid 1970's. When law enforcement began catching up with her activities, she relocated to Miami where her drug empire grew to an unimaginable size. It is often Pablo Escobar who is remembered as the king of cocaine. However, Blanco's empire and income makes Escobar look like an amateur. Corben follows the evolution of Blanco's presence in Miami through her associates. Smugglers, contract killers, and distributors recalled the extreme violence Blanco used to take over the industry. Her influence was felt across the United States and into her native country, Colombia. Tensions between her organization and others fueled the cocaine cowboy wars which made South Florida the most dangerous state to be in during the 1980's.

This documentary is one of my personal favorites because of its frank and blunt approach. The story Corben is telling is already so explosive and dramatic that it does not need sentimentalization. The first hand accounts by the different individuals interviewed take a very little understood topic and return the complicated nuances that are vital to understand what was really occurring during the reign of the cocaine cowboys. Corben also takes the time to look at how the cocaine cowboys changed the life of regular people in Florida. The film highlights that even if people were not fearing the next gun fight outside of their local malls, Florida residents had to change their lives to protect themselves from the escalating violence.

Croben offers a definite answer
to Time's question in this film.

There was very little research or exploration of the cocaine cowboys and the cocaine cowboys wars until this film's release. As a historian, I find this film extremely daring because of its attempt to explore all aspects of the cocaine cowboy wars. By the time the film ends, you will have learned about the economic, industrial, housing, personal, legal, political, and emotional impact the cocaine cowboys had on Florida, the United States, and even South America. There is a lot of information and it is surprisingly well communicated. Corben seems to understand how much is in this film and for the follow up, Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin with the Godmother, focuses exclusively on the shadowy villain that is Griselda Blanco. I will be reviewing this film in the future.

I recommend this film wholeheartedly. Corben is a professional filmmaker and despite the overwhelming amount of information he includes, it is done in a manageable and effective way. When the drug war is talked about today, the scenes of violence we think of are those occurring in Mexico but we are quick to forget when the violence was within the United States. This is not a film for all audiences. There is very graphic violence shown and discussed. One interview that may be difficult for some viewers is an interview with Jorge Ayala, currently serving several life terms in prison, who cheerfully describes murders he committed while in the service of Griselda Blanco. However, despite those reservations, I commend Corben for bringing this story to light and taking on the challenge of a story that is still fresh in the memories of many Floridians but forgotten by the rest of the world.