[wind blowing]
[Latin guitar music playing]
[male narrator] Nowadays, the US government can listen to anything you say.
They know where you are, they know who you're talking to,
and trust me, they know who you're fucking.
You turn on a cell phone or a computer, and you're doomed.
But in Colombia in 1989, it wasn't that easy.
First off, there was no Internet.
No cells.
The best they had were satellite phones,
and in order to capture a satellite phone, you had to fly directly over it.
On top of that, the only people who had sat phones were the filthy rich...
the landowners, the politicians...
And lucky for us, the narcos were richer than them all.
[phone squeaking]
[man speaking Spanish] What's up, Lizard?
We're going out tonight.
[narrator] And once you got a signal, you didn't know who you were listening to.
That's why back then, the US government developed software that could identify
- the voices of our targets. - [indistinct chatter on headphones]
I got Poison at 400 to 1700 megahertz, gentlemen.
And you guessed it: no GPS either.
Hammer, prepare to engage.
[narrator] Once we got a target, we still had to locate it.
So we had to triangulate their signals using assets on the ground.
[chatter in Spanish over headphones]
OK, he's in Modelia. He's on the west side.
Hawkeye, how do you copy that?
[man over radio] Can you be more specific? Police units are standing by.
[in Spanish] La Dispensaria.
I've got a table ready.
Show up around midnight.
- It's gonna be raining women. - [narrator] Poison didn't know it,
but he'd just made himself a date.
Negative on Hammer. This fuckwad just told us where he's going.
Hammer, disengage.
So who do we give this to? DEA?
- Yeah. Let's give it to Javier Peña. - Peña's an asshole.
- I'm gonna give it to the other guy. - Sure.
[baby crying]
[narrator] By "the other guy," he meant me.
I'm Steve Murphy, Drug Enforcement Agent.
And as you can see, I am deeply embedded in Colombia.
Hello?
[man] Poison will be partying at La Dispensaria.
Got it.
He's meeting Lizard and the rest of them at midnight tonight.
OK.
[Steve] I would've loved to go after Poison myself,
but the DEA is restricted in a foreign country.
So I did just what you would do... I called the cops.
Hola.
- [up-tempo Latin music playing] - [in Spanish] La Dispensaria?
All right.
Guess who that was.
Your partner.
He just gave me a great gift.
Poison.
Does he know how I'm going to package it?
Yeah, sure.
He's not a fool.
Gotta go.
Gonna stick me with the bill?
Cheap son of a bitch.
[Steve] In case you're wondering, this is the asshole.
Javier Peña, my partner.
And this is Colonel Carrillo, the leader of the Search Bloc,
the unit we helped create to capture the bad guys.
Boy, did he have a lot of love for the narcos.
- [motorcycles rumbling] - [up-tempo Latin music playing]
[Steve] Party time in Zona Rosa. Everybody goes there.
Especially the local hitmen.
Colombians call them sicarios.
- [in Spanish] What's up, son? - Hey, brother.
- Let's go inside and have a good time. - [horn honks]
[Steve] Now, Poison, he was one of the best.
Crazy motherfucker who killed dozens of people.
Probably hundreds.
But don't get me wrong.
I would've sent Carrillo there even if Poison never killed a fly.
I don't have a lot of love for the narcos either.
[in Spanish] It's on, boys!
We're gonna stop on 14th and go around the corner.
Riano, Trujillo, you're in the front with me.
- Galvis and Silva, you take up the rear. - Yes, sir.
You got it, boys? We're gonna go at it with everything we got.
We're gonna kill these fuckers, all right?
[all] Yes, sir!
[up-tempo Latin music playing]
[men calling out in Spanish]
[Steve] I wouldn't blame you if you held me responsible for this bloodbath.
[music playing loudly]
[indistinct chatter in Spanish]
[Steve] Yeah, I pushed the buttons.
- [overlapping gunfire] - [screaming]
But don't call me a bad guy just yet.
[Latin guitar theme music plays]
My fellow Americans...
[Steve] Take Richard Nixon, for instance.
People forget, but 47 million Americans voted for Nixon.
We thought he was one of the good guys.
And Nixon thought Chilean General Pinochet was a good guy
because he hated the commies.
So we helped Pinochet seize power.
[sirens wailing]
Then Pinochet turned around and killed thousands of people.
- [crowd chanting in Spanish] - Maybe not such a good guy after all.
But sometimes, bad guys do good things.
Nobody knows this, but back in '73, Chile was on its way
to being the world's biggest cocaine processing and exporting center.
[in Spanish] How many times do I have to tell you not to waste the acid?
[Steve] They had deserts to hide the labs and miles of unpatrolled coastline
to ship the product north.
To be productive, you can't waste money! Come on!
[chatter in Spanish]
[man 1 shouts] You're surrounded!
- [man 2] Hands up! - [man 1] Everybody on your knees!
[Steve] But Pinochet spoiled the party.
- What the fuck is going on here? - [weapons cocking]
On the ground!
[Steve] He shut down 33 labs and arrested 346 drug dealers.
And then, being Pinochet...
he had them all killed.
- [man 1 shouts in Spanish] Attention! - [boots stomp in unison]
- Weapons ready! - [weapons rattle]
Aim!
Ready ammunition!
[man 2] Fire!
[man grunting]
[Steve] They say when a nuclear holocaust destroys the world,
- only the cockroaches will survive. - [panting]
I guess they were right.
[groaning]
The bullets missed Mateo Moreno, aka Cockroach,
and he was smart enough to play dead.
He wasn't killed on that day.
Instead, he won the damn lottery.
Cockroach had been stealing from his bosses for months.
Now he was left alone in the world with the perfect product.
A product whose offer creates its own demand.
[in Spanish] Start packing. We have to leave the country.
Fucking Pinochet is killing the whole world.
- But you're not a communist. - No, not a communist, something worse.
A drug trafficker.
- A drug trafficker? - Yes, a drug trafficker.
[Steve] Back then, we were just finding out about the effects of cocaine
- on the human brain. - [button clicking]
We didn't know much, but we knew it was some pretty powerful shit.
...this will give us better results, OK?
Cocaine hijacks the pleasure centers in the brain.
A rat will choose cocaine over food and water.
It would choose cocaine over sleep, over sex... over life itself.
The human brain isn't quite the same as a rodent's...
unless we're talking about cocaine.
Cockroach knew he had the perfect product.
He just needed to smuggle it to the right markets.
[Cockroach] Gracias.
And the best smugglers in the world were in Colombia.
WELCOME TO COLOMBIA
[cheers and applause]
Like Goldilocks, he had three options.
And pay attention, because all three are important to this story.
The Ochoa brothers: Jorge, that's Fabio on the horse.
- A typical Colombian smuggling family. - [chatter in Spanish]
- They were smart and rich... - [shouts] Salud!
...but Cockroach felt the high life had made 'em too soft.
Another possible partner was José Rodríguez Gacha,
nicknamed "The Mexican," for his love of tequila and sombreros.
He dominated the emerald smuggling routes.
- [up-tempo Latin music plays] - [indistinct chatter in Spanish]
Emeralds are a pretty rough trade, even by Colombian standards.
If you make it to the top...
- it means you've killed your enemies. - [people screaming]
[in Spanish] Hey, partner. What are you doing here?
[Steve] And sometimes, your partners.
Cockroach worried that the emerald trade had made Gacha too hard.
So he zeroed in on his third option: a man Cockroach knew would be just right.
[in Spanish]
[Steve] Yeah, you guessed it: Pablo Escobar.
The man who would change my life forever.
Pablo was making a killing in the smuggling business.
Cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, you name it.
At the time, Pablo owned half the police in Medellín.
But DAS was Colombia's version of the FBI.
They didn't play by the same rules.
[Pablo speaking Spanish] Good day.
Pablo Escobar?
Where's Felipo?
Felipo's been arrested.
Bullshit. Felipo works for me.
He used to work for you. Now he's going to jail. What do you think about that?
- Do you know who you're talking to? - Shut the fuck up.
- I wasn't talking to you. - Relax, Gustavo, please.
Show some respect.
Now what's the problem, Mr. Jose Luis?
How do you know my name?
You're Colonel Jose Luis Herrera.
And that's Nacho Ibarra.
There's Garcia, Lopez...
- Is that Pinilla? - [Gustavo] Yes, Pinilla.
- That's Pinilla. - Yeah.
Pinilla...
and with Phillipe is Esparanza.
I don't give a rat's ass. Open the fucking trucks.
I don't have all day.
Open it.
[Herrera chuckles]
Tell me something, Mr. Escobar.
Who the fuck do you think you are?
You don't even bother to hide your contraband.
Because I pay for the privilege, Colonel.
Oh, yeah? You don't say.
Where are your import papers?
You need papers for these TV sets.
Take them.
[chuckles]
Sorry, Mr. Escobar. We're not Medellín police making a shit salary.
- Look, brother, it's not for you. - Then who?
It's for Carlitos.
Your son.
Wouldn't he like a TV in his room?
Hey, Pinilla!
Your daughter just got her driver's license, right?
I've got some car stereo systems in there that are really cool. Real nice.
That friend of yours, Lopez... he's got a wife that's really beautiful.
- Right? She's a fox. - [Gustavo] Yeah.
Your wife is gorgeous, brother.
What's she doing with a guy like you?
I think she deserves some jewelry, no?
Why don't I have my boys drop off a few gifts?
Colonel, how is your mom doing?
- She just got out of the hospital, right? - Yes, she's feeling better.
- Good. That makes us happy, right? - [Gustavo] Yes.
Gentlemen...
I'm going to tell you who I am.
I am Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria.
My eyes are everywhere.
That means you guys can't move a finger in all of Antioquia
without me knowing about it.
Do you understand? Not a finger.
One day, I'm going to be President of the Republic of Colombia.
So look, I make deals for a living.
Now, you can stay calm and accept my deal...
or accept the consequences.
Silver...
or lead.
You decide.
- Let 'em go. Let 'em go. - [Pablo] All right, then.
[indistinct chatter in Spanish]
[vibrant Latin song playing]
[man shouts] Yo, Pablo!
- This is Pablo. - [Cockroach] Hello.
- Nice to meet you. - [Gustavo] Mateo Moreno.
No, no, no. "Cockroach" to my friends.
[Gustavo] All right, yesterday we were talking,
and I think this business can make us a lot of money.
Explain.
Well... I get the paste in Peru.
I will handle the chemical part of production,
and all the other details in producing this exquisite white powder.
What I need from you is to help me get it into Colombia.
- Now tell him how much it costs. - [chuckles]
In Chile, this little thing costs ten bucks a gram.
- They sell it by grams? - Yes, it's very good. Look...
You do a little bit, and in 20 minutes, you want to do some more.
Also...
it's a digestive aid. It makes you want to take a shit.
It's very clean, this stuff. Want some?
If this is really that good and we can make some money,
- we can find room on our trucks. - [Cockroach sniffs]
We can sell it in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena...
We're going to be rich.
- What did you say your name was? - Cockroach.
Well look, Cuca...
you don't have any vision, my friend.
If it costs ten dollars a gram here...
imagine how much it will sell for in Miami.
- [song ends] - [grunts]
- [light applause] - [Pablo] I love that song.
Rodrigo! One more.
[stomps foot]
[song begins again]
[singing along in Spanish]
[Steve] Back then, Miami was a paradise.
I signed up for the sand, surf and women.
In '79, the bad guys I was chasing wore flip-flops.
[Steve shouts] DEA! Stop!
I was a young DEA agent, partnered with my buddy, Kevin Brady.
Kevin was a little slow afoot.
[grunts]
[Steve] Why you running, huh?
What you got? What is this? Huh?
What is that?
That right there... that's a goddamn promotion.
- [laughs] - [exhales] Let's go celebrate.
- Whoo! - Look at that.
[disco music playing]
- Go! Go! Go! - [laughing]
- [indistinct chatter] - [Kevin] How you like me now?
How much money you owe me?
What happened to the money you owed me last week?
That's right, that's right.
All right. All right, who do we pick?
How 'bout her?
No, no, no, we gotta fuck with him.
- Yeah, let's mess with his head. - Um...
Oh, right there. See her? At the bar?
- Which one? - Blue top, blond hair. That's his type.
- [Steve laughing] Oh! Strike! - She's hot.
- All right. - Whoo!
[clears throat] Murph! Sparrow, three o'clock.
Hey, while you were walking back, she was checking your ass out.
Oh, she was checking out your ass.
Get the fuck outta here. Come on.
[Kevin] Listen, she eye-fucked you the entire time you were bowling.
She was. She was eye-fucking you. The entire time.
[snorts] I'm serious, I'm serious. Look at her.
- Uh-huh. That's his type. - Talking about the blond one?
No, the other one. Of course the blond one.
She's the hottest one there. She's your type.
- You dicking me around? - [Kevin laughs]
Fuck it, I'm going in.
- [Kevin] Go get her. - [man] Mm!
- [Kevin] Yup. - [man] Hey, while you're up there,
get us another pitcher, will ya?
- Pace yourself. - Look at him. Look at his swagger.
[men laughing]
[women talking indistinctly]
How you doing?
Busy.
I just said, "Look, if you don't wanna be there, you don't have to be.
No one's forcing you to do anything." So, I don't know... [indistinct]
[men cackling]
[Steve] Yeah, those bastards got me.
But I couldn't let it end like that.
Excuse me. [clears throat] See those guys over there?
Uh, they're fucking with me.
Telling me you were checking out my ass, and who checks out a cop's ass, right?
You're a cop?
Not a cop, actually. I'm DEA.
Drug Enforcement?
So you're the one making pot more expensive.
Come on, why don't you do me a favor? [clears throat]
I wanna show these guys up. Why don't you, uh...
give me your phone number?
How about a fake number?
That'll work.
Hey, buddy, you got a pen?
[sighs]
- I'm sorry for the trouble. - Sure.
Have a good night.
- [Kevin] Aah... - [men laughing]
[Kevin] Shot down!
- Where's the pitcher at? - The pitcher? Oh, I...
I didn't make it back with the pitcher.
I just came up with this and I couldn't read it. What does that say?
- Read it and weep! - Aw... Gimme that.
How much did that cost you?
- That's your handwriting. - It's not my handwriting!
[dial tone]
- [dialing number] - [Steve] I figured, what the hell.
Worst that could happen, I'd wake up some grandmother in Boca.
[line ringing]
Hello?
So it wasn't a fake.
I thought you might figure it out.
After all, you're DEA.
[Steve] And just like that... she had me.
The minute Pablo laid his eyes on the paste-processing labs in Peru,
cocaine had him.
[in Spanish] It's been a while.
These are my friends, Pablo and Gustavo.
Would you like a little coffee?
Yeah, a coffee?
Yes, a coffee.
- How about you, Pablo? - No.
[Cockroach] You sure?
My factory is small, but highly productive.
Look. For crushing the leaves, I like to use children because of their tiny feet.
Little magic leaves.
[man] The kerosene separates the drug from the leaf.
[Cockroach] Over here, the sulfuric acid distills and distills it.
Then you cut it, and mix it with gasoline.
Then, basically, you pull the merchandise out of the liquid.
Let it dry, dry, dry.
[man] You use ammonia to get the paste.
[Cockroach] And here it is. It's pasty... but pure.
Here is the prize.
It's like the kitchen in your house.
Like baking a cake. [clears throat]
Only a much better cake than you've ever had.
[chuckling]
Look, an old press, an antique.
Now we put it in the oven.
Here's one. The other will follow.
All natural, organic and healthy. Very good.
[Gustavo] Well...
- we'll take a kilo. - A whole kilo. Perfect.
- No. - [man] You said a kilo.
We'll take five.
[softly] How do we get five across the border?
That's Gustavo's department.
[man] This one has got a good engine.
I was taking a look at it, and the best place to hide the merchandise
would be under the rear wheel well.
It's 22 and one half horsepower.
Is this easy to take off?
Don't worry about that shit. I'll stick five kilos in there easy.
All right, all right. I'll take three cars, please.
- Sure, when do you need them? - Now, brother.
All right, we'll take the cars and head back to the lab.
Why the fuck are we going back to the lab?
Because there are four wheel wells per car and that's 20 kilos.
- For three cars, that's 60 kilos. - [Pablo counting softly]
So if it's nine dollars profit per gram, what?
$9,000 per kilo.
$9,000 times 60... The profit is $540,000.
- [laughing] - That's it!
- Do you know how to drive, Cockroach? - Yeah.
- OK, Pablo and I drive fast. - [chuckling]
[Steve] That's half a million dollars... per trip,
using the same smuggling routes he always used.
Easiest money he ever made.
Back in Medellín, Pablo didn't waste any time.
He bought a house in his old neighborhood
and opened his first lab to turn Peruvian paste... into cocaine powder.
[in Spanish] How are you feeling, Gustavo?
All this smells like shit to me.
What an ignorant bastard. It's like French cheese.
The stinkier, the better.
All right.
What about all these lights?
Is that to tip off the cops, or what?
Just worry about transporting the stuff and selling it.
I'm the artist here, clear?
Clear.
- Right? - Yeah. Mm-mm.
[Steve] It was a mom-and-pop operation, so small they called it The Kitchen.
But make no mistake, it would change Medellín forever.
[in Spanish] You know the thing that has me worried, Pablo?
[exhales]
Don't you think the workers will choke with all that smoke?
[inhales deeply]
[voice strains] Let's build them a chimney.
- [sputtering] - [giggles]
- There you go. - [laughing]
[Gustavo] Gentlemen, the first three?
If this business makes so much money, why are you sending me coach?
We just started up. We have to be careful with money.
- Don't be a dick. - No, no, don't give me that dumb shit.
- Come on. - How much can a first class ticket cost?
[Gustavo] I don't know. Why don't you buy it yourself?
[Steve] Like her son, Pablo's mother Hermilda was very resourceful.
[Pablo speaking Spanish] Hey, Mom, how much do you think we can fit in there?
- Around five kilos, honey. - That much?
Trust me, Pablito.
I love it. Let's do it.
- Pablo. - Thank you, my love.
[knocking at door]
It's Gustavo.
Five kilos, right?
[Steve] Pablo loved his young bride Tata, and she loved him.
He was a family man till the end.
The guy they got to wear the jacket was the Lion.
- Meet my friend. - Hello, how are you doing?
Hey, Pablo, this is Lion.
[Steve] He was a friend of Gustavo's who'd spent his childhood in the United States.
Says he wants to fly first class. It's not like we're rich, right?
Pablo Escobar Gaviria. How are you?
- Lion. - Pleased to meet you, Lion.
Here's three.
We're going to need two more, right, Mom?
- [Hermilda] That's right. - Pablito...
make sure it is not you who wears it, OK?
Look, my love... it won't fit me. [chuckles]
Try it on.
Come here.
That's it.
Good, right?
One...
- two... - Wow, it holds a lot!
...three.
[sighs]
- Two more. - Got it. I'll be right back.
He looks really handsome, doesn't he?
[Hermilda] Listen, Lion, that jacket fits you very nicely.
Yeah. Excuse me, ma'am, can you adjust the jacket a little bit here in the back?
- Aah! - Listen to this guy.
He looks very handsome, son.
- Like a fag model, isn't that right? - [chuckles]
[Steve] The Lion was one of the first guys to ever bring coke into Miami.
Welcome to the United States.
Thank you. Have a great day.
Next, please.
[Steve] His contact was a crazy nut job named Carlos Lehder,
half Colombian, half German, and 100 percent playboy.
Big fan of John Lennon and Adolf Hitler.
Go figure.
Back in '79, this piece of work was flying bales of grass up from Colombia
on a fleet of small planes.
- [in Spanish] What's up? - What's up, son?
- Welcome. - Thanks a lot. How are ya?
- Everything good? - Everything's good.
Whoo! It's so hot.
What the hell are you doing with a jacket on?
You like my jacket, brother?
I got it in Colombia and look, it has a little gift.
I was in jail for a while, remember?
I saw this shit there. It's pure poison.
What you got there is the perfect product.
Pablo says the gringos will fall in love with this shit.
[laughs] It's gonna fuck up their brains, that's for sure.
Yes, sir.
Here you go.
Go on. There are five kilos.
Where are you going?
I'm gonna get another jacket, brother.
We'll meet at the same time tomorrow, all right?
[Steve] The Lion made more than 20 flights between Medellín and Miami.
Drugs in, cash out.
And the rich and famous in Miami snorted every single gram of it.
And in no time, Pablo had to replace his cars with trucks.
Gustavo had the trucks filled to the brim with potatoes,
the major item Colombia imported from Peru.
He didn't even have to bribe the cops.
The coke paste was hidden in the spare tires.
Each tire could fit about 20 kilos.
Ten trucks, 20 kilos each, going back and forth every day...
You do the math. No way the Lion could transport it all.
Pretty soon, the Lion had to come up with new ways
to smuggle the drug to Miami.
[in Spanish] The briefcase doesn't have a false bottom?
You guys are pilots,
so you can get this stuff by without a problem.
Look, it's $150,000 per kilo, so whatever you want.
We'll take four.
All right, much better.
Take these two and tell Jairo to give you two more. All right?
- All right. - Perfect. Thank you very much.
- See you later. - Later.
Come in, please.
Look, here are the packets.
You take a packet... you dip it in the oil and swallow it.
Easy, right?
You swallow 50, and I pay you $10,000.
All right?
But with you two, we have a problem.
You girls are pregnant, right?
That's good, because US Customs won't search pregnant women.
You two can easily swallow 70 instead of 50.
And I'll pay you $15,000 to help you with the kids.
All right? All right. Perfect.
[Steve] During the early '80s, most flights out of Bogotá
had several mules on them.
They didn't even know about each other.
And you know what?
Getting in was easy, because nobody worried about cocaine in America.
All we cared about was grass.
[clucking]
Pretty soon, cocaine was hidden in almost every legitimate Colombian export.
Fish, coffee, flowers, rubber hoses... anything.
But even that didn't do it.
The real game changer was filling Lehder's planes with coke instead of weed.
[in Spanish] Do you trust this guy?
I don't know. He was in prison in the United States.
- So is he gay or what? - Oh, for sure he's gay.
But he's got good routes.
- Amigos! - [Gustavo] Hello, Carlos.
Gustavo Gaviria, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you. - My cousin.
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria. Nice to meet you.
- Cousin? Nice to meet you. - How was your flight?
Smooth.
Let's get down to business.
The Lion tells us you've been transporting a lot of marijuana in your plane.
- That's true. - About how much per flight?
- How far? - Miami.
[sighs]
- Somewhere around 1000 kilos. - [Gustavo] 1000 kilos?
Counting the gasoline.
Carlos...
[Carlos] Yes?
What if we take out the seats, the carpet and all the other crap
and only leave space for the pilot? Can you fit more?
We'll leave the engine, right?
- How much more? - [chuckles]
About... 300 more.
All right then, Mr. Carlos. Let's take a walk.
[Steve] Within months after meeting Cockroach,
Pablo was establishing the first dedicated narco routes from Colombia to America.
It was a real milestone in the story of narcotics, folks.
Then Pablo closed The Kitchen and started opening cocaine labs
in the middle of the jungle.
Under the canopy cover of the Colombian rainforest,
he could expand his production capability indefinitely without anybody noticing it.
[clanging]
[in Spanish] We brought you a little present.
- [chatter in Spanish] - [woman laughs]
[Pablo] Brazilians.
Best asses in the world, believe me.
No, I'm not feeling well.
- What's up, Cuca? - Hello.
Hey, Gustavo.
What the fuck is up with you guys?
You're flying around in planes...
- while I'm rotting here in this jungle? - Look, Cuca--
Look, let us explain what we have to--
Wait.
From now on, in all of my labs...
I'll build a large house with air-conditioning, with a pool...
- [Gustavo] And whores from Brazil. - ...and whores from Brazil.
- Just for you. - One problem.
These are my labs. Mm?
Relax. No one's arguing with you.
Come show me the production and we'll talk later.
[Steve] Pablo couldn't hide his success from his friends.
They were violent, crazy and filthy rich.
Guys used to getting what they want, one way or another.
[in Spanish] How something like this can make so much money!
Now I ask myself... if I should get involved with this.
What do you think, Pablo?
I heard the "potato" business is like the "egg" business.
I wouldn't get involved.
Look, man, I took a good look at the market.
Importing potatoes from Peru is easy.
- Of course. Same old contraband routes. - Mm.
Be careful, guys. If we all start buying potatoes at the same time,
the Peruvians will raise the price.
They also grow potatoes in Bolivia.
We can reduce the cost of the refining process if we buy together.
Well, guys, the hard part is getting the merchandise to Miami.
You need a lot of creativity for that.
How much would you charge us to be "creative"?
You deliver the product to me, labeled.
I will take it to Miami and deliver it to your contact there.
Better yet, Lehder will do it.
I'll charge 35 percent of the sales value,
but I'll insure the safety of your load up to 50 percent of the value.
The potato business is ours. We don't need--
Deal?
Deal.
Sounds good to me.
All right, I will create my own routes
and stop using your services as soon as possible. OK?
[Gustavo] We expect nothing less, Gonzalo.
Partners?
We know your policy toward partners.
Let's just call us...
"friendly associates."
To Miami.
[all] To Miami!
[up-tempo '80s rock music plays]
[Steve] When I started, a one-kilo grass bust was cause for celebration.
And before long, we were seizing 60 kilos of coke a day.
We thought we were making a huge difference.
Truth is, we weren't even making a dent.
They let us have 60 so they could bring in 600.
Pablo's coke flooded in.
It didn't take long for Miami to get addicted.
And I mean that.
It was like the whole city was running around trying to get this shit.
And with the money...
came the violence.
The hippies had been replaced by Colombians,
and these guys didn't wear flip-flops.
The Miami coroner said Colombians were like Dixie cups.
Use 'em once, then throw 'em away.
The Dade County morgue couldn't fit all the bodies from the drug war.
They had to rent a refrigerated truck from a local company
to hold all the extra corpses.
That was the first person I ever shot.
A teenager not old enough to buy a six-pack.
Hey... it was self-defense.
- Kevin called you? - He's worried about you.
Did he forget to tell you the kid was 17?
He sells drugs, right?
- Yeah. - Yeah, then fuck him.
[sighs]
What happened?
- Coming through! - [Connie] I was about to finish my shift
when we got hit with the lights and sirens.
Stay with me.
I have an unconscious pregnant female.
Paramedics said she collapsed after she got off her flight.
By the time she got to us, she was barely breathing.
- [nurse] Pressure 60 over 40. - Dilated pupils, rapid pulse.
- I knew she'd overdosed on cocaine... - [flatline tone]
...but she had no residue on her nostrils, no injection marks.
We did everything we could.
She died in the ER.
We tried to save the baby...
The baby died in my hands.
I'm so sorry.
She was body-packing 11 ounces of cocaine.
Two of the pellets split open.
[sighs] Twelve grams in her bloodstream.
No one survives that.
[bugs chirring]
[in Spanish] Why won't Pablo ever see me?
I spent all this time waiting around for him.
Tell me something, Cockroach.
Did you ever think you were going to have this much money?
[dry chuckle] Fuck the money. I'm talking renegotiation.
If it wasn't for me, you two would still be smuggling cigarettes.
Let me give you a piece of advice.
Never say that to Pablo.
He's not as forgiving as I am.
[Steve] Pablo was fucking Cockroach over.
But Cockroach should've listened to Gustavo.
Instead, he found another way to get his fair share.
- [man shouts in Spanish] Stop! - [chatter in Spanish]
What do you have in the spare tires?
390 kilos, Pablo. We lost it.
Gustavo, what do you mean "we lost it"?
Just what I said, we lost it.
We lost it? It just disappeared? Into thin air or what?
Don't mess with me, Pablo. We lost it.
It looks like the cops must have stopped the guys when they were leaving Ipsalia.
Look...
we've paid every cop from here to Ipsalia.
So how did we lose a load, brother?
It looks like Colonel Herrera suddenly turned honest.
Know what I mean?
And how much is he asking?
Too much.
What are you going to do?
Come back, Pablo.
Don't go and risk it for this asshole. Come back.
Where are you going, Pablo?
Pablo?
[indistinct chatter in Spanish]
What's going on, brother?
Mr. Escobar...
- we need to renegotiate. - Eat shit.
Eat. Shit.
What if I shot you in the head?
- [phone ringing nearby] - [chatter in Spanish]
[Ibarra] Are you sure about this, Colonel?
[Pablo laughs]
He hasn't stopped laughing since we arrested him.
- [Pablo chortling] - We're DAS, Ibarra.
What's that faggot gonna do?
[photographer] There we are.
No, lower, lower.
No that low.
Ready.
- [clears throat] - [camera clicks]
Another one, another one. I'm ready.
[Pablo clears throat]
- [Steve] Pablo didn't know it then... - [camera clicks]
...but this mug shot was gonna cause him a lot of grief down the line.
[Ibarra speaking Spanish] Remove the handcuffs.
[Herrera] You can go now, officer.
Sit down, Mr. Pablo.
We counted more than 300 kilos in those trucks.
That's a street value of over four million dollars, Mr. Escobar.
And you only gave us $150,000.
Well, that's what we agreed upon.
You know something?
I make deals for a living.
Now you can either accept my deal or accept the consequences. You decide.
Or we can renegotiate, come to an agreement,
and everyone goes home happy.
Deal?
[sighs softly]
I'll give you one million dollars...
under one condition.
What is it?
Someone in my organization gave you the street value of my cocaine.
Otherwise, how would you know?
Give me a name...
and you won't have to split the cash with him.
[Steve] Turns out Cockroach was a real cockroach.
Not only did he sell Pablo to the authorities,
he was stealing from him all along and selling his coke in Miami, too.
Cockroach's dealer was Germán Zapata, a Colombian with a plumbing business
that served as a front for his cocaine operation.
He had 1200 keys in the van... and guess who was buying the load?
The plan was to trade vehicles,
and Zapata would be arrested once he left the port.
1200 kilos.
That would get us on the cover of the Miami Herald.
OK, gringos.
How's the plumbing business?
Fine.
[murmur greetings in Spanish]
- [speaking English] How's it look? - Plumbing business is very good.
[Kevin chuckles]
Come on, amigo. I'll show you.
[Steve] Everything was going perfect.
Like I said, amigo... 100 percent pure.
[Steve] Except that Pablo was onto Cockroach.
- Got a full load here, Murph-- - [automatic gunfire]
[screaming]
[car alarm wailing]
[single gunshot]
Don't move! Don't move.
- Don't move! Don't move. - [man speaks Spanish]
Get down!
- Hands! Down! - [car alarm stops]
Don't look at me.
[whispers] Fucking...
In the case of the State of Florida v. Juan Diego Díaz,
after taking into account all due considerations,
bail has been set at two million dollars, or a bond of $200,000.
[slams gavel]
[Steve] I got to the courthouse early the day of La Quica's trial.
My testimony was gonna put that bastard on death row.
The US District Attorney said La Quica met his bail of two million dollars,
paid by a wire transfer from, well... why don't you take a guess?
La Quica boarded and was back in Medellín by midnight.
From '79 to '84, there were 3,245 murders in Miami.
And outside the Tourist Bureau and the cops,
no one much cared about that.
What got the US government to take notice was the money.
Billions of dollars a year, all flowing from the US to Colombia.
And that... America couldn't take.
A group of powerful businessmen went and met with President Reagan.
They were terrified the narco economy would sink the real economy of Miami.
Or... maybe they were pissed off that they weren't getting a cut.
Whatever it was, the businessmen came at just the right time.
It's back-to-school time for America's children...
[Steve] It was time for America to suit up against a new enemy.
Drugs are menacing our society.
They're threatening our values and undercutting our institutions.
They're killing our children.
[Steve] It was classic Reagan.
Folksy, direct and tough.
He vowed to go after drugs at the source.
But it was Nancy who stole the show.
So to my young friends out there, life can be great.
But not when you can't see it.
So open your eyes to life, to see it in the vivid colors that God gave us
as a precious gift to His children.
Say yes to your life.
And when it comes to drugs and alcohol... just say no.
No, no, no! No, Pablo, no, no!
- No, no! - [gunshot]
[gasps]
[Steve] They say when a nuclear holocaust destroys the world,
only the cockroaches will survive.
Leave that piece of shit there.
[Steve] I guess they were wrong.
During his career, Pablo would kill over a thousand cops.
But I wouldn't learn that till later.
My dad volunteered to fight in World War II because of Pearl Harbor.
But you think he knew anybody in Hawaii?
No way.
He was a West Virginia farm boy, but these fuckers stepped on our soil.
So he laced up his army boots and went to fight.
It was his duty.
Cocaine in Miami?
Kilos from Colombia?
This was my war.
This was my duty.
And I was ready to fight it.
And my wife was ready to fight it with me, too.
Your ticket, please.
OK.
We had no idea what we were in for.
One year later... all that patriotic bullshit was right out the window.
[Javier over radio] OK, man, what do we got?
- We got Poison... - Excellent. Who else?
We got Lizard.
Uh...
We got, we got...
- Big Badmouth. - That motherfucker.
- Thank you for the gift, agent. - No problem.
[camera shutter clicks]
[Steve] If there's one thing I've learned in the narco world,
it's that life is more complicated than you think.
Good and bad... they're relative concepts.
In the world of drug dealers, you do what you think is right...
- and hope for the best. - [camera shutter clicks]
[man speaks Spanish] Look at what happened, boss.
They killed Poison at La Dispensaria.
- Who did it? - I think it was Carrillo.
And there was a gringo DEA agent taking pictures.
- Raise the bounty. - On Carrillo, sir?
I'll pay half a million for the head of a DEA agent.
Half a million?
Do it.
As you wish, sir.
Fucking gringos.
[theme music plays]