Movies based on real-life drug stories

April 23, 2025

 Based on: George Jung, a major player in the American cocaine trade in the 1970s and '80s with the Medellín cartel. Starring: Johnny Depp

Blow (2001)

 Based on: Barry Seal, a TWA pilot who became a drug smuggler for the Medellín cartel and later an informant for the DEA. Starring: Tom Cruise

American Made (2017)

 Based on: The real drug wars of Miami in the 1980s involving the Medellín cartel and drug kingpins like Griselda Blanco.

Cocaine Cowboys (2006, docu-film)

 Based on: The rise and dominance of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, told through the lens of a young Canadian who falls for Escobar’s niece. Starring: Benicio del Toro

Escobar: Paradise Lost (2014)

 Based on: Robert Mazur, a U.S. Customs agent who infiltrated Pablo Escobar’s money-laundering empire. Starring: Bryan Cranston

The Infiltrator (2016)