Cocaine Cowboys, a documentary about the effect the ’80s cocaine business had on Miami, is due for its U.S release on the 27th of October. It was directed by Billy Corben and produced by Alfred Spellman of rakontur productions. Producer Alfred Spellman kindly agreed to answer some questions submitted by e-mail. Here are his responses:

A major theme you explore in Cocaine Cowboys is whether Miami is the town that cocaine made. What was Miami like before cocaine made such an impact and what do you think Miami would have been like today without the cocaine business?

Miami was essentially a small sleepy southern town prior to the cocaine trade. It had flourished in the 50s as a middle-class family getaway, with the Rat Pack holding court at the Fountainbleu. Once jet travel became mainstream, families went off to other destinations, leaving Miami behind.  By the 70s, Miami’s best days were behind it.  Regarding where Miami is today, the cocaine wars certainly accelerated the gentrification of the city — it hit rock bottom real quick!  Once it hit bottom, it was easier to climb out.  Miami was just slowly fading away — the cocaine wars were a stimulus for redevelopment.

How divided is opinion amongst Miamians about the image ’80s Miami had in the rest of the United States (and indeed the world)? On the one hand there was all the glitz, glamour and money while on the other there were drugs, murders and Sonny Crockett’s suits. What’s your take?

I don’t think it’s divided at all. Most in Miami accept and even embrace our old Wild West image.

You interviewed people who were heavily involved in the cocaine business, including a hit man for a particular infamous drug dealer. Tell us a bit about some of the more colourful characters you spoke to, if it was difficult to get them to talk, and what kinds of ingenious methods they had for smuggling and distributing cocaine.

You’ll have to see the movie for all that. It wasn’t difficult to get most people to talk.  Again, with the benefit of 25 years hindsight, many were excited about sharing their stories of the good, bad old days.

Miami saw a lot of violence those days. How did local politicians and police react and what could they have done better to halt the level of violence? Also, how much would your average Miami resident have been affected by drug-related violence?

The city was completely paralyzed. Remember, it was not only the cocaine war related violence — the Mariel Boatlift brought 125,000 Cuban immigrants, including approx 20,000 hardened criminals from Castro’s jails, in the span of four months in 1980.  Also, we had one of the worst race riots in history that summer, so 1980 was essentially a Perfect Storm. The cops were totally outgunned — when you have Mac-10 machine gunfire in broad daylight on city streets and the police department is still carrying revolvers, there’s definitely a firepower imbalance.

You’ve been quoted as saying that cocaine is making a comeback based on relative prices now and from the late ’70s/early ’80s. Will we ever see ’80s Miami make a comeback, though?

I don’t think you’ll see that Wild West mentality make a comeback, for a few reasons. The cops are much more sophisticated, computer databases certainly help, and nowadays everyone has cell phones, camera phones, there are security cameras everywhere.  It’s much easier to catch perpetrators now.

What do you think of the War on Drugs and did your opinion on it change at all after doing research for Cocaine Cowboys?

I think most will acknowledge that in dealing with a supply and demand construct, as long as a demand exists, people will continue to smuggle cocaine and sell cocaine.  The War on Drugs did not do enough to reduce demand.

You’ve got a new project coming out called “Clubland”, which is about the most
popular nightclubs on Miami Beach. Did you come across any similarities or parallels with Cocaine Cowboys during your research?

The club industry helped fuel the evolution of Miami after the cocaine industry was driven out.  It was the next engine driving development and world attention — it’s what we’re most famous for nowadays.

The official website for Cocaine Cowboys can be found here.