Traffic (2000) Movie Script

Last night I had an ugly nightmare.
Oh, yeah?
What happened, man?
I'm lying down in my bed.
Then I get up...
and there's my mother,
may she rest in peace...
seated in a chair
with a plastic bag over her head...
and she can't breathe.
And I can't help her.
Fuck.
What do we do?
We'll give them a half hour.
Who are they?
Don't worry.
It's just the police.
This is a private road.
You have to have a permit.
- Do you have a permit?
- I don't have a permit.
Do you have a permit?
Well, then, we have a problem.
Can we buy a permit?
Yeah, but it's gonna cost you.
- How much?
- Four hundred pesos.
You too-- 400 pesos.
What's underneath the tarp?
- Boxes of food.
- Show me.
Lay down on the ground, sweetie.
You're under arrest.
Yeah, you guys are screwed!
What's your name?
Javier Rodrguez Rodrguez.
Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez.
You've done an excellent job.
But we'll take over from here.
Put the prisoners in the Suburban
and impound the truck.
How did you find out about this?
A little bird told me.
What's the name
ofyour little bird?
It doesn't have a name.
Those fucking anonymous ones!
For an officer of the state police...
you're very well-informed.
- Hey, was that General Salazar?
- The Big Boss himself.
What is he doing around here?
Up to something. I don't know.
They took our handcuffs, Manolo.
This informant, paid by police,
using taxpayers' dollars...
to continue his felony
drug habit, was the link...
that allowed the police
to raid a private farm,
a working farm where honest
Americans make their living.
The government, in its haste,
has hired an army of criminals...
- whose allegiance to the truth
is at best questionable.
- Mr. Rodman...
it's a shame that your client
didn't use as much sense...
in choosing what he planted...
as he did
in choosing his attorney,
but, lately,
the only variation...
I'm hearing in your argument
is the name of your client.
You can stand here all day and argue
the ins and outs of Illinois v. Gates,
but you're not
gonna convince me...
that our government has not sanctioned
the use of anonymous informants.
Furthermore,
there is no sacred protection
of property rights in our country.
You grow marijuana on your farm,
be it an ounce or an acre,
that farm can be seized...
and that farm can be sold.
What the hell is that?
You can tell a lot about somebody
from this stuff.
- It's from your friends
at Warren, Putnam and Hudson.
- A fishing rod.
- What do you think they want?
- Depends what state they're from.
Uh... Arizona.
Arizona.
Medicinal marijuana initiative.
Or am I being cynical?
Mark... I'm gonna miss you.
Thank you for all your hard work.
Hi. How are you today?
You've got a daughter.
Why is it important to get
a handle on this drug problem?
Because it's an issue
that affects all families.
- But I'm planning on being
back here as much as I can.
- How do you feel about--
Okay, Gordon, no telltales:
no scratching your nose,
no clearing your throat,
no crossing your legs.
- I got it.
- You got it, babe.
I'm cool, man.
You just don't tell any jokes.
- " Don't tell any jokes"?
- Don't tell jokes.
It's a giveaway, Ray.
- It's not a giveaway.
- Every time you tell a joke,
it's a giveaway.
- Don't tell any jokes.
- You know what the problem is?
You are too uptight, man.
Why don't you loosen up,
take a deep breath?
Breathe in slowly.
A little stretching maybe.
- Come on, man. They're looking at us.
- Come on, man.
We're gonna get these motherfuckers.
We know our shit.
Can I get it?
Can I get it?
- Oh, baby, can I say it?
- Say it. It's show time.
We're looking for Mr. Eduardo Ruiz.
We have a 2:00 appointment.
He's right down the hallway
in the back room.
Thank you.
Come in. Hey, fellas.
Come on, you guys. Get him talking.
- Get him outside.
- How you doing?
- I'm well. How are you?
- I'm good.
Look, what's up, Ed?
We gonna move some white or what?
You guys ever bought
a quarter ton before?
- No?
- I don't think so.
It's a big fucking deal, all right?
It's not like you can stick it
in a condom up some mule's asshole.
How many peasants is that
gonna take? You'd have a line
from here to Mexico City.
You say show up at a time, we show up at
the time and we're fucking sitting here.
- Sure I can't offer you
something to drink?
- I can offer you ajoke.
You want to hear a joke? I got
a joke, I got a joke. Come on, bro.
It's just a joke. Let me tell one joke.
I'm gonna tell you a joke.
All right, why are hurricane
named after women?
- I don't know.
- Because when they arrive,
they're wet and wild.
When they leave, they take
your house and your car.
- It's true.
- You didn't find that funny?
I chuckled. Damn.
- Fellas... that's us.
- Yo.
Okay, that's the van. Don't make
your move until they get Ruiz outside.
I told you there was
nothing to worry about.
I got another joke.
- Come on. Please.
-Just one more. Relax.
A guy goes, gets a tattoo
put on his penis.
One side says yes,
the other side says no.
- On his penis?
- Yeah. The words "yes" and "no."
So, his wife says, "Hold it. You tell me
how to cook, how to clean the house--"
- Who the fuck is that?
- That's local.
What the fuck is going--
Shit! Agent down !
Get in there now ! Go !
- D.E.A. !
The vest caught it.
Go ahead.
Go. Shit.
Shit !
- I think we lost him, Ray.
- Yeah, I think so too.
- Don't fucking move !
Get your hands-- Move !
Get out, you son of a bitch !
Get out !
Is this what
they wear to go to sleep...
or do they hang out like this
the whole time?
That would be sleep attire.
- It's like a smoking jacket.
He's gonna be smoking
in a minute.
Okay, who's the father of
Greek tragedy? Anyone? Anyone?
Okay, Aeschylus it is.
His trilogy? The Oresteia.
This is fucking beautiful. Can anyone--
Can anyone stop the Seth machine?
- No.
- That's correct. Score.
And "tragedy" is closed out.
- But wait.
- Is he her husband?
- Yes.
Oh, hey, so, uh...
you want to try something?
Yeah.
- What are you doing?
-Just watch.
What you're going to do is
inhale the smoke and hold it.
What is this, like freebase?
Not "like." It is.
Okay, go.
Go, go, go, go, go, go.
Hold it.
Hold it.
See?
Now you see.
Oh, how-- Oh, they're doing great.
Look at how cute they are.
- Helena, he's doing so good.
- Little Tiger.
Little Tiger, I hope.
We'll be very happy if he
becomes the next Tiger Woods.
So will his bank balance.
- My God. Duck?
- Duck. Thank you very much.
- Helena, you never order duck.
- I know, I know.
It's not me who ordered it.
It's somebody else.
Well, he or she
has very good taste.
- I love duck, don't you?
- It's delicious.
Do you want some, Nan?
- Oh, yes. Thank you.
- It's such a fatty bird.
There's good cholesterol,
and there's bad cholesterol,
which is confusing to me.
- Mmm, that's so good.
- You know what they say about red wine.
It's good for you.
There's cholesterol in my wine.
- You're allowed to have your red wine.
- The French do, don't they?
I'm European.
I say that to my doctor.
"I'm European.
I'm allowed to drink red wine."
Oh, my doctor said it was fine
when I was pregnant.
- A glass a week.
- After my amnio,
he said, "Okay, now you can go
and have a glass ofred wine."
- I had two.
- Did you have fun?
- Yeah.
- Thanks a lot.
- Can I bring the bag
in the backwith me?
- No, sweetheart.
- How about just my putter?
- Give me the putter.
- All right.
In you get. Come on.
We've got to go.
Put this down here, okay?
That's where Tiger Woods keeps it.
Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- Okay.
David, you're gonna have to promise me,
no swinging the club in the car.
Okay.
Until you officially take over the
Office of National Drug Control Policy,
under no circumstances will you speak
to the press unprotected...
without going through this office...
or having someone in the room.
There are a lot of interests
in this town.
Right now,
they're scared of you.
The reason they're scared
of you: Technically, you have
veto powers over their budgets.
You'll also be meeting
senators and congressmen,
each with a specially
prepared question.
They're questions designed for
one thing-- to make them look smart.
If you lecture them,
they won't think you respect them.
If you treat them
with utter humility, they will.
This is about your respect for them
and the president's respect for them.
Speaking of which, when he
gets back from Russia and China,
we'll get you two together for
some face time, let you two catch up.
Also, one month from today,
you will give your first
official press conference.
In it, you will outline the president's
strategy for winning the war on drugs.
Judge, I just want to be
clear about one thing:
I am not a partisan person,
I am an issue person.
Over the course of the next few weeks,
if you allow me,
I will bring you up to speed
on an incredible array of issues,
the most important ofwhich,
in my opinion, Mexico.
I know everyone you're going to meet.
I know what they want and why.
It is important
that they like you.
It is not important
that they like me.
That is why
I can help protect you.
Like you protected Landry?
I see where you're going with that.
If I could say one thing: Basically,
a guy like Landry is so autocratic,
he doesn't even know how
to let himself be helped.
There's a political component
to this job that the general
didn't have any patience for.
General, Bob Wakefield.
General, Bob Wakefield.
-Judge, nice to meet you. Thank you.
- A pleasure to meet you, sir.
-Jeff, you want to excuse us?
Yes, sir.
I'll be right outside.
- Have a seat.
- Thank you.
You've done a fine job, General.
The Office of National
Drug Control Policy...
is in better shape
than when you found it.
I'm not sure I made
the slightest difference.
I tried. I really did.
I think there are some positive signs.
The work's just started.
I plan on seeing it through.
You can count on that.
You're here for two years,
three maximum.
What'd they offer you,
a court appointment?
District? Appeals?
Not Supreme.
This is a tough enough job.
I plan on focusing on this.
You know, when Khrushchev
was forced out,
he sat down, he wrote two letters
and gave them to his successor.
He said, "When you get yourself
into a situation you can't get out of,
"open the first letter,
and you'll be saved.
"And when you get yourself into
another situation you can't get out of,
open the second letter."
Well, soon enough, this guy
found himself in a tight place,
so he opened the first letter,
which said, " Blame everything on me."
So, he blamed the old man.
It worked like a charm.
He got himself into a second situation
he couldn't get out of,
and he opened the second letter.
It said, "Sit down
and write two letters."
Yeah.
Don't you want to know
what kind of car it is?
- It's a brown Ford Explorer.
- It was here. It's been stolen.
I want to file a report.
A report will not help you
find your car.
- The police won't find your car.
- You are the police.
- You call this man...
and he'll find your car.
- I don't get it.
How is this guy gonna know
who has our car?
The police will tell him.
Why will they tell him,
and they won't tell us?
Because we pay him, stupid.
Right? And he pays the police,
and suddenly our car appears.
Es correct.
Es correct.
Just give him the money.
Give him the money.
- Let's start moving to the sidewalk.
- Here, take it.
- No. No, no.
- No, please, take it.
Let's start moving to the sidewalk.
Let's go to the sidewalk.
Call the man.
Have a nice day.
-Javier Rodriguez.
- Si.
We want you to come with us.
- Where?
- It's just a short trip.
Follow me.
Bien.
I would say one thing
to you,Judge,
and that's you're never gonna solve
this problem on the supply side.
As long as that demand
is out there in our cities,
Mexico bashing is not gonna do
a damn thing for you.
We in the legal drug business--
Merck and Pfizer and the rest
of my very important clients--
realize that we're not fighting
a war here with a traditional
winner and loser.
I don't know that
you can win this war.
Everybody says we want
to declare war on drugs,
but if 25% of high school seniors
are using drugs--
-If you reduce that to 10,
that's a great improvement.
- Right.
I'll congratulate you.
That would be a phenomenal achievement,
but you'd still have 10%
habitually using drugs.
Can I get a scotch and soda, please?
The price of coke
and heroin has dropped,
but purity has increased.
All this law enforcement
has really achieved is that
kids get better stuff cheaper.
Education, rehabilitation,
prevention--
that's not significant
to these reporters.
- Mm-hmm.
- They want to see people in prison.
They want to see the gory aspect
of the drug problem.
Thank you so much for sharing
your point of view.
- I look forward to working
with you in the future.
- Well, call me.
I have a good bill
on treatment-on-demand.
I could use your help.
- Wonderful. Look forward to it.
Thanks, Senator.
- Okay. Great.
If a judge or a politician is willing
to put a reefer in their mouth,
- I'll do a story on it.
- Right.
- Stand up and be independent.
- Right.
I don't care who's president. I don't
care who the members of congress are.
I don't care
who you have to deal with.
If you're independent and you
use that bully pulpit right,
that's where your power is.
It's the stick of law enforcement
that creates...
the carrot of huge profit
that is economic truth.
Addicts don't vote.
What the hell
are you doing here?
You like your view?
- TV screen big enough?
- How's the food?
Hope it's all good because this
is as good as it's gonna get...
for a long time, Eduardo.
I'm a legitimate businessman.
I've got tuna boats. I'm a fisherman.
- Check it out!
- Shut the fuck up !
- Fucking can it, bitch !
- You can't come in here like that!
- I want to see my lawyer.
- Okay.
It's cool, man.
- Eddie... you're in a lot of trouble.
- It's cool.
You know what? The amount of coke
we found on this creep--
- that's capital punishment
in some states, right?
- Yeah, down in Texas.
- They'll fry him.
- Definitely.
We've got him making
the deal on tape.
We got him bragging
about the quality, about his business.
- We got this motherfucker.
- You're fucked.
No, no, he's fucked.
I only see one way
out of this predicament.
You make us believe
you got a boss, Eddie.
Look, no boss, it's all on you.
No.
No, that's a death sentence.
I'd never make it to the trial.
- Look, we're gonna protect you.
- Who you working for?
- This is coercion.
That's a big word
for a fisherman.
Big-ass word.
Who you working for?
I know another big word.
Immunity.
Take it easy, will you?
What's going on in here?
- We have a warrant
to search your premises.
- What?
Carl !
My husband !
- Relax. Ma'am.
- Carl !
Ma'am, right here.
You can't go any further.
- David, come here !
- Ma'am, I have a search warrant.
He'll be back.
Where are they taking Daddy?
He'll be all right.
He's all right. They're just gonna
take him to the office and talk.
Just relax.
They're not going to hurt him.
- I don't understand what's going on.
- He'll be all right.
- What are they doing to Daddy?
- Daddy's gonna be okay.
It's okay, sweetheart.
It's okay, baby.
Not you.
You.
I'll wait here.
Five years with the Tijuana police.
Three years in the state police.
Your parents died when their house
flooded in the rains of '93.
How unfortunate.
You make $316 a month.
That's what they pay.
Well, look.
This could be your past.
We can talk about your future...
if you can do me a favor.
If I can.
I want to wipe out
the Tijuana cartel.
What can I do to help?
His name is Francisco Flores.
He's an assassin.
He runs guns for the Tijuana cartel.
I have to talk to him.
I need you to find him
and bring him here.
- This is crazy!
- Don't freak out, Manolo.
Don't you know
who "Frankie Flowers" is?
A hired assassin! A psychopath!
Fucking crazy!
- Who knows how many he's killed!
- Then I'll go by myself.
And we can't ask for help...
because he lives in San Diego.
Ah.
Well... is this
a surprise or what?
An honor.
Thank you.
- Hi, sweetie.
- Good trip?
- How are you?
- Good trip. I'm good.
I just can't believe this.
- What's Washington like?
- It's like, uh--
It's like Calcutta;
surrounded by beggars.
Only these beggars
are wearing $1,500 suits...
and they don't say
"please" and "thank you."
So, we put
the case before the arbitration panel,
none of whom have
any expertise.
"Superfund" is just
one of those words.
People stop paying attention.
- It's frustrating.
- It's so frustrating.
Did you meet the president?
Honey, your father
knows the president.
It just so happens... that
the president of the United States,
my new boss,
the leader of the free world,
has penciled me in
for a little face time.
None of my friends can fucking believe
my dad's actually the drug czar.
- Caroline.
- I'm sorry, but, I mean, come on.
It's great.
It's great, Daddy.
It's just amazing, that's all.
Arnie, thank God.
Helena, I am so--
Please tell me
what's going on here.
What is going on? They came into
the house. They just took him away.
They searched my home.
Let me tell you what's happening.
All right?
First of all, Carl is not here.
The D.E.A. has got him.
They're gonna hang onto him
until his arraignment,
which will probably be tomorrow.
So here you are wasting your time.
All right? Are you with me?
- Yeah.
- Okay. Now, do not discuss anything...
over the telephone.
Don't talk to your neighbors.
Stay out of your yard.
- What is he charged with, Arnie?
- I don't know,
but under no circumstances
am I going to talk about it here.
Now, you go home and be with your son.
All right?
Miss?
Can I have a Budweiser?
- Excuse me.
- Yes?
Can you give me a cigarette?
It would be interesting to know
how you did it so quickly.
We all have our weak side.
The path of the Lord
is very subtle.
Amen.
What a badass.
All I'm saying--
What I'm-- What I'm saying is...
it never seems like anyone ever says
anything that matters to them.
We all look at each other
and nod with these--
these responses
that we've been trained to make.
Responses--
Not real responses.
Social conventions,
like phony, fake smiles;
surface bullshit.
Do I ever just say:
" Hey... I'm uncomfortable
in this crowd."
"I don't know what the fuck
I'm doing either."
"l know you're afraid,
and that's okay, you know, because--"
Hello? Fucking... exactly.
We act like we have all the answers
and we're totally invincible...
like our parents seem
and their parents before them.
I'm sorry I have to be the one
to say this, but it's fucking bullshit.
- For instance?
- I know you jack off
to Caroline every night,
instead of Vanessa,
who you're supposed to be in love with.
Don't even get me started
on that convention.
Because what is that convention?
We're this random collection
of self interests,
and all of a sudden we decide...
that we're gonna walk two-by-two
down the fucking aisle to Noah's Ark?
Actually, for your information,
when I jerk off,
I'm not just thinking about Caroline,
I'm thinking about you with Caroline.
- So, how about that?
- Baby--
That is what
I'm talking about-- sarcasm.
Always fucking sarcasm.
You're afraid, and you think
that if you admit that,
people will think
that you are weak...
or they won't like you...
or whatever it is
you think will happen, but--
Can you shut up for one second
and listen to yourself?
Wh-What?
Because you are so fucking right.
- I'm so fucking high.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Okay, wait.
Why don't we...
change this thing,
this social pattern?
Why don't we be different?
- Yeah.
- But then why are you
even talking about it?
But we're making it,
like, from now on.
You're like,
"Why don't we do something?"
- Why don't you do something?
- That's what I'm saying, Seth.
- You do it yourself--
- I'm saying if you knew it,
you wouldn't even say it.
Vanessa, I'm serious, I feel fucked up.
It's a social pattern, you know?
Spence, baby, are you all right?
He's fucking blue.
He isn't breathing.
Oh, my God, Fucked-up Bowman's
fucked up.
- Wait--
- What the fuck do we do?
- Uh-- Oh, God--
- Fuck !
- Somebody call a doctor !
- Wait, your dad's a doctor. Call him.
No, he's a research--
Call your dad. He's a doctor.
- What kind of research?
- Mapping the fucking pig genome.
Call your dad!
He's a neurosurgeon!
I can't call my dad !
It's 3:00 in the morning !
He's gonna fucking die right here
on the floor if you don't do something !
No, he can't die on the floor!
His parents are in Barbados !
Move ! Move !
Okay, nobody has anything
on them, right?
Fuck !
We know that you killed
our chief of intelligence.
We also know that you...
killed police chiefs
in Tijuana and Mexico City.
A question.
Why do you resist?
My father has money.
That is not the correct answer.
We also found out...
that you hunted down
a neighbor of General Salazar.
A poor peasant.
Your people killed
his granddaughter.
That was a stupid thing to do.
- You fucked up.
I'm on the board
of my son's school.
I have fund-raisers
for adult literacy at my own home.
I think I have a right to know if
my husband is a legitimate businessman.
Of course he is.
I've known Carl for 20 years.
He doesn't even jaywalk.
Carl is a very important member of this
community, and when we get through...
suing the police and
the district attorney and the D.E.A.,
they're gonna be renaming
the public parks after your husband.
Carl is very, very good
at his business.
Which is smuggling illegal drugs
into this country.
- They're whispering.
They're whispering.
- I know.
- Can't hear it.
- I know. The fucking bug's
too far away from the room.
It's halfway to the kitchen.
We're not gonna get shit.
They're saying something.
Sounds like they're conspiring
to conspire.
I can feel the lies vibrating
from their home.
I don't think
she's in on it, man.
Come on, I dream about this.
I have actual dreams about this.
About busting the top people,
the rich people.
- White people. Hey.
- White people. I know, I know.
I don't think she's in on it, man.
She knows Arnie Metzger.
So does half of San Diego.
- You want to bet?
- Get in your pocket.
- I got--
- I love it. I love it when you do this.
- How much you want to bet? How much?
- I got-- I got 12 bucks.
- Okay, give me ten. We'll make it even.
- Okay.
- Beautiful.
- Wait a minute. What?
- How old are you?
- Sixteen.
Live with your parents?
Yes.
Parents still together?
Yes.
- Do you work?
- I volunteer.
I read to blind people,
one day a week for two hours.
In school?
Yes.
Private?
Yeah.
How are your grades?
- I'm third in my class.
- What does that mean?
- I get A's, all A's.
- You do?
What else do you do?
I'm a National Merit Finalist.
I'm on the Hi-Q and the Math Team.
I'm in the Spanish Club.
I'm a thespian.
I'm vice president of my class.
I'm on the volleyball team.
You want to tell me
what you're doing here, Caroline?
Carol.
Oh, sweetie.
You okay?
It's okay.
Caroline, how well did you know
this boy that overdosed?
He didn't hang around us.
He was like one
of those hippie kids.
I'm not part of that group.
How well did you know this boy Seth,
the one that was driving?
He's a friend.
He's also the only one that was doing
anything about the situation.
He definitely had
a few beers, but...
it's not like
he wanted to drive.
We just didn't know
what else to do.
It wasn't my pot.
Okay, we understand, honey.
We've got to talk.
Alone.
- I think she's lying.
- Me too.
So let's ground her,
clip her wings:
school, scheduled activities
till further notice.
Robert, honey, Caroline
clearly used very bad judgment,
but don't you think spending a night
in jail is punishment enough?
I mean, we've all
had our moments.
- Lord knows, I tried
every drug there was--
- I don't want to hear about that.
You experimented
when you were in college.
Shall we take the quotes off
experiment and call it what it was?
- This is different.
- Why?
- She's 16 years old !
- I think she needs to find out
for herself, on her own.
- We have to allow her room
to figure out--
- You want to give her room?
So she can O.D.
like that other kid?
I am not sending out the message that
our family will accept this behavior...
because we do not.
- Correct?
- Of course, but we don't want
to push her away.
She has to know that we understand
what she's exposed to.
How long have you known
about this?
How long have you known?
Six months.
My technique is more profound
than yours, Javier.
Much more profound.
When he loves me like a father,
he will never tell anyone
he was here.
He will give me
the names of his superiors.
Then we get them
and they too will give us names.
And eventually somebody
will get us to Juan Obregn.
And on that day,
the Tijuana cartel will fall.
What a disgrace.
What a disgrace, Francisco Flores.
It's all right. Salazar is here.
You're among friends now.
This shameful treatment
will stop immediately.
Guard!
Yes, General.
Are you responsible for this?
- We are not savages!
- Yes, General.
- Has he eaten?
- I don't know, sir.
- Go get him some clothes.
- Yes, General.
Your Honor, this is a man who heads
a large criminal organization...
with international contacts
we can only begin to understand.
Our case against him is very strong.
He is not a flight risk.
His flight is assured.
The people ask that Your Honor
deny bail. Thank you.
My client is no more
a flight risk...
than Your Honor
or the able prosecutor.
He's a pillar
of his community;
a family man with a wife and child
living in La Jolla,
the communitywhere he has made
his home for the past 20 years.
As our defense
will quickly show,
my client is guilty
of nothing more...
than being the handy target
of an admitted criminal.
Therefore, we ask that you release
Carl Ayala on his own recognizance.
I'm going to deny bail.
I appreciate you coming in
so early this morning.
Judge Wakefield,
it's an honor to handle it.
She's a minor. It probably would have
expunged on her 18th birthday anyway.
Nevertheless, this is asensitive issue
for me. I'm sure you can understand.
Like I said, open container,
P.I., misdemeanor possession.
It's easy to make it go away.
One thing bothers me: The kid they
dropped off had coke and heroin in him.
Serious amounts.
He's lucky he's alive.
So I've got to ask:
What's your daughter on?
I don't know what you mean.
I mean... have you asked her
what kind of drugs she's tried?
No.
I don't know.
- Is she in any kind of therapy,
professional help?
- No, no, no. No way.
My daughter is one of
the leading students in her school.
Well, I hope it stays that way.
Yeah, hi, it's Robert.
I want you to clean out my schedule
for the next three days.
Because I'm tired of talking to experts
who've never left the beltway.
It's time
to see the front lines.
Carlos Ayala started out
in the family connection business--
real estate in Tijuana,
fishing boats out of Ensenada,
hydroponic strawberries.
Then he met up with the Obregon brothers
ofthe Tijuana cartel.
Using regression analysis,
we made a study...
of the custom lines at the border
and calculated the odds of a search.
The odds are not high, and we found
variables to reduce those odds.
So, you pay off
customs officials?
Well, you know, in Mexico...
law enforcement is
an entrepreneurial activity.
Not so much in the States.
Anyway, we, uh--
We hire drivers with nothing to lose and
throw a lot of product at the problem.
Some get stopped. Enough get through.
It's not difficult.
Look, boys, this has worked for years.
It's gonna continue to work for years.
NAFTA makes things even
more difficult for you because
the border's disappearing.
Do you realize in the next
year or two at the outside
Mexican trucking companies...
are gonna be able to go from the States
to Mexico and back again...
with the same freedom
as U.P.S., D.H.L., FedEx?
- It's gonna be a free-for-all.
- What, are we on Larry King
or something?
Shit.
Tell us something
we don't know, Eddie.
You guys remind me of those Japanese
soldiers left on deserted islands...
who think World War II
is still going on.
Let me be the first to tell you,
your government surrendered
this war a long time ago.
I don't think all this attitude
is gonna help in front of a jury.
- It's really a bad attitude.
- Very bad. Very bad.
Look, Ed, there's only one problem
with all this math. You're in here.
Well, I got greedy, didn't I?
- Yes, you did.
- Yeah.
Decided to bring a little in on my own
and somebody tipped you off.
Carl never would have
been so stupid.
Well, Carl hired you.
That was a mistake.
Carl and I have been friends
since we were little kids.
He was loyal.
Javi.
A group of us are going to a party.
Who?
Esteban, Guzmn, Toms,
all of them.
Your new buddies.
Yes.
- Let's go.
- No.
- It'll be fun.
- Another day.
At my house I have
some B&W speakers.
A while ago I bought a CD burner.
I make CDs with the music I want.
Just like I bought them in a store.
You and I have a lot in common.
Not everything, but a lot.
We both studied on the other side
with the gringos.
Your father is an engineer, right?
My father-- may he rest in peace--
was also an engineer.
I've been into stereos
since I was very young.
Most people don't care...
but for me it's very important.
They say in Latin:
In vino veritas.
Wine brings out the truth.
Use this to write down...
the addresses of those bastards
who killed my captains.
And not where they were last week,
but where they are now.
Where they are this minute.
And better yet,
where they are going to be tomorrow.
You know where they are going
to be tomorrow, right?
Reported by the government
news agency, Notimex (NTX) :
"Yesterday, forces of the Mexican Army,
acting on an anonymmous tip...
joined with police to arrest members
of the Obregn brothers drug cartel.
Head of the Federal Drug Forces, Gen.
Arturo Salazar, said in Mexico City...
that the sweep was a crippling blow
to the Obregn brothers...
who reportedly dominate
the narcotics trade...
in the city of Tijuana
and the rest of Baja California state.
General Salazar wen t on to say that
the au thorities were working overtime...
to confirm that Porfirio Madrigal,
head of the rival Jurez cartel...
died last week during
a plastic surgery procedure."
Here it is, here it is.
Get out, asshole.
- Are you going to kill me?
- No.
No, the Obregns
will do that for us.
The port of San Ysidro, California:
- In the last six months,
a threefold increase?
- Increase in narcotics seizures.
Would that mean, pro rata, three times
as much drugs is getting in?
That's a scary way to figure it,
but I believe that's true.
In my heart, I'd love to say
that we were getting 60 or 70%.
In the reality, we're more like 40 or
And it's all big-dollar issues now.
That's the reason you're seeing
a lot of these murders taking place.
It's one organization
fighting another organization.
When things are good,
people don't kill each other.
When things are bad,
when they're losing dope,
when they're losing drivers
and guys are going to jail,
people start killing each other.
- How's David?
- "How's David?"
- Oh, he's terrific, Carl. Terrific.
- Oh, Helena--
He watched his father
being dragged away by federal agents.
- He's just doing fine.
- Okay.
I can't even begin
to tell him where you are...
and when you're coming home,
if you're ever coming home.
Helena... we're gonna get through this.
I promise.
- I'll make it up to you.
- Do you have any idea
what's going on out here?
Huh? Our credit cards are maxed.
The people in the bank--
you should see the way they
look at me when I walk in.
I have a letter
from the government telling me...
anything I sell from the house will be
taken against an income tax lien.
Our fucking friends--
Nobody will help us.
Nobody will take us in.
Nobody wants anything
to do with us, Carl.
So, you just tell me
how you're gonna make it up to me.
Helena--
Just tell me what to do.
I'm not bringing a child into the life
that I was brought up into.
I won't do it, Carl.
I want our life back.
Yeah, we're smarter.
We know the difference.
Hello. Ding, ding, ding.
We have a winner.
- Hi, folks.
- Hello.
- Hi. Room 310, please.
- Okay, I need to see some
I.D.s, please, and $28.
- Okay.
Man, I love this place.
I wish we could
just stay here.
Just be here forever
and ever and...
make a little home here.
I want to, uh...
I want to have sex and then do a hit
right as we're both coming.
Okay.
The first time I got laid
was on a beach just like that.
- You got a what on a beach?
- Got laid, man.
Lost my virginity,
was a sophomore in high school.
- That's cool.
- Yeah, it was sweet.
Did he treat you good?
- Who's this guy?
- I don't know.
- I never seen him before.
- He's going right for the kid.
David !
David, come back here !
- Mom, Mom.
- Please, put down my son.
Shouldn't let
your kid wander off with strangers.
Karen, if he tries to move
with that kid, you break cover.
Mrs. Ayala, your husband owes
a lot of money. Snapping this
kid's neck wouldn't cover it.
You better come up with it in a hurry
or your kid is gonna disappear,
and he won't turn up
until the evening news.
You get only one warning.
First payment is $3 million.
-Javier.
- Yes?
What's up, Ana?
Manolo never came home last night.
Come in, come in. Sit down.
I don't know where he is.
He wasn't with you last night?
No.
I'm worried.
Don't worry too much.
It makes you ugly.
Do you want a coffee?
Coffee with sugar?
- No.
- No?
Look, Javier.
I was going through his clothes
the other day.
Look what I found.
What is it?
- What were you doing?
- I was with friends from work.
Was Salazar there?
No.
The general is going
to Mexico City next week...
and I'm not going
to get left behind.
Javier Rodriguez.
The word is you're not
that happy in your work.
Maybe we can help.
-John, how are you?
Bob Wakefield, pleasure.
-Judge, welcome.
- Good to see you. How are you?
- Long time, no see.
EPIC is very unique.
It's a facility that has over 15
different agencies--state and local--
that participate
in gathering intelligence...
and making sure
that information gets out...
to people in the field that need it
to stop drug trafficking.
From here, we have the ability
to track vessels, airplanes, boats,
anything that carries drugs.
When the information comes in,
we're able to check
with different databases...
to see if it's
in the system or not.
And would most of that energy
be focused on the two cartels?
The Juarez, the Obregon brothers--
Are those the two that would be
most important?
Those are the two
clearest threats right now.
They are the dominant force
in trafficking,
both on the Mexican side
and in the U.S.
How are the cartels achieving...
the level of intelligence and
sophistication that they're showing?
- Craig, why don't you answer that?
- An unlimited budget.
So, you're saying, actually,
that even a country of our size...
and the budget that we throw
towards this issue,
- they can compete at the same level?
- No, they're way beyond us.
- "Way beyond"?
- Our budgetary process
makes us pale in comparison.
That house you're looking at over there
used to belong to Porfirio Madrigal.
His nickname was Scorpion.
I'll let you figure out
what that means.
Wasn't that the guy
who died during plastic surgery?
Best of our information, yes.
Who do you interact with
on that side?
Nobody.
Well, who has my job in Mexico?
Your position doesn't exist
over there yet.
I want
everyone thinking out of the box...
for the next few minutes.
What are we doing about Mexico?
- Come on, guys, out of the box.
- Unlimited funds?
Unlimited.
From a D.E.A. standpoint, we need
a vetted task force and matching funds.
And cut the red tape on getting them
equipment and training.
Come on, guys,
I want to hear from everyone:
F.B.I., customs, treatment.
- Is there anybody from treatment
on this plane?
- No, Judge.
Then, I want to know why there isn't
anybody from treatment on this plane.
Yes, sir.
We need to take down one of
these cartels--Juarez or Tijuana--
not because they're a symbol, but--
Hell, they are a symbol.
But because we need to send a message.
When Carlos Ayala hires Michael Adler
as his legal defense,
I send Ben Williams
down to San Diego as a prosecutor.
Why? Because it's a symbol.
It's a symbol that
we are sending the best.
It's a message that we're
going after their top guys.
So...
right now...
on this flight only...
the dam is open...
for new ideas.
On a clear day,
you can see Mexico City.
I have this place swept twice a day,
so just feel free to talk.
I learned that back
in Miami in '85.
U.S. shut down
the entire Caribbean.
- It's a big game of whack-a-mole.
You knock it down in Miami--
- Arnie, I need money.
Somebody-- I think it was the Obregons--
threatened David.
They want a first payment
of $3 million.
Oh, Helena.
I'd give it to you myself, but I-I-I
just don't have that kind of money.
Please. Does anyone owe us money?
Yes, there are people that do owe
you money, but nobody's gonna pay.
Carl's got too much heat on him.
What about our other businesses,
our legitimate businesses?
- Don't we own a construction--
- Laundromats wash the money.
Just tell me something
positive, Arnie.
Give me some good news,
for Christ's sake.
I'm sorry.
I just keep wondering what's
gonna happen if he doesn't get out.
Just never been
on my own before.
Always had someone. Always.
I remember the first time
that I saw you--
little Helen Watts
from the wrong side of somewhere.
Somehow I knew even then that your
survival skills were pretty well honed.
Glad you think so, Arnie.
I just keep picturing a debt-ridden,
whose ex-husband
is being compared to Pablo Escobar.
I don't know anyone who wants
to be with someone like that.
Do you?
Do you?
You two don't like me, do you?
Miss, with all due respect,
we don't have an opinion.
Maybe it's because
I'm going to have...
the nicest home you've ever seen
in your miserable lives.
The old man actually
kept his promise.
The general is a man of his word.
They will say anything
to get what they want...
and then it's always
tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.
Occupational hazard, I guess.
- The bags?
-My love, it's beautiful! How beautiful!
How are you feeling? Good?
How handsome you are.
Listen...
the Scorpion is alive.
Get in.
Porfirio Madrigal
isn't dead after all!
That means that Salazar is working
for the Jurez cartel.
I can't believe
this doesn't matter to you.
This is nothing new, Manolo.
That's why Salazar is so interested
in cleaning up Tijuana.
And he has plans for Juan Obregn,
the bastard.
That's right.
You know how much money
he would pay for this information?
- How much?
- A fuckload of money, partner.
- What's up, man?
- Take off your glasses.
Take off your glasses
so I can see your eyes.
We're going to keep
our mouths shut.
Okay.
I think we
may have found our Mexican drug czar.
General Salazar.
Be nice to have somebody
to workwith down there.
Does this mean you're
gonna be gone more?
Possibly, yeah.
You might want to pencil in
a little face time with your daughter.
- Barbara--
- Because I'm at the edge
of my capabilities, Robert.
I think it's important
we maintain a unified front.
If you start in
on the war metaphors,
I'm gonna drive this car
into a telephone pole.
- I am as worried as you are.
- Oh, I don't think so.
"Leave me alone.
Give me some money."
That's what I get
from our daughter.
She has a way of shutting me out
that seems very familiar.
Well, she has a way of self-medicating
that I'm sure is very familiar to you.
I'm not the one who has
to have three scotches...
just to walk in the house
and say hello.
I have one drink before dinner
to take the edge off. It's different.
-Oh, is it?
-Otherwise, I would be dying of boredom.
Why don't you go in and tell
your daughter how bored you are?
Caroline, open this door immediately.
Who is it?
I'm going to the bathroom.
- Open the goddamn door !
- One minute.
Excuse me.
I have to go to bed.
Oh, Jesus.
You are not going anywhere, young lady.
You stay right there.
Where are they?
Where the hell are the drugs?
Where are they?
Fuck you.
Fuck you.
I wasn't doing anything.
You're like the Gestapo.
Fuck me. Fuck me.
Well, fuck you !
- Javier, good to see you.
- How you doing, partner?
Did you take the precautions
we discussed about being followed?
- Yes, of course.
- Will you move to the middle, please?
- You're not carrying a weapon?
- No.
- Of course not.
- Where are you taking me?
- Somewhere safe.
- Where?
A place we have that we know
is protected. He's good. Let's go.
- No, no. No, no, no.
- Don't worry. It's really safe.
No, no, no, no, no.
This is safe. This is safe.
Come on, Javier, close the door.
Everything is cool, all right?
- This is safe.
- Come on.
Allright.
Where would you like to go?
- Huh?
- Where do you want to go, Javier?
I believe it's
important that we work together.
Mexico and the United States.
One hand washing the other.
We agree.
So, maybe you can tell me
about your informants in our operations.
We thought that maybe you'd have
that kind of information for us.
This is a very different
proposition, my friend.
We pay for that kind
of information.
Is that what
you're talking about, Javier?
Getting paid?
You like baseball?
We need lights for the parks
so kids can play at night.
So it's safe.
So they can play baseball.
So they no become--
Everybody like baseball.
Everybody likes parks.
Listen.
I believe it's important that
the United State take an interest...
in Tijuana now.
That's what I'm talking about,
my friends.
Accountnumber...
A cash advance.
How much can I get?
That's it?
You ever try the patch, man?
- The what?
- The patch.
- That shit doesn't work, bro.
- It worked for my cousin.
- No shit?
- Yeah.
He had to wear five or six
at a time, but it worked.
- So, how's he doing now?
- Oh, he's dead.
- He's dead?
- It wasn't from the patch, man.
- Okay, she's coming out.
- On it.
- What did he die from?
- His wife shot him.
She's leaving her property.
Where the hell is she going?
Maybe her neighbors.
No, I don't think the neighbors
are fucking with her too much
right about now.
What does she have
in her hand there?
She seems to be headed for the van.
Oh, shit.
- What-- Wh-What do we do?
- I-l don't know. What do we do?
- What do you think she wants, man?
- She's your girlfriend.
You think she'll invite you
to her baby shower?
-Just say hello. Work it.
- All right, all right, all right.
She's waiting outside the van.
- Hello?
- Would you like some lemonade?
- I was just making some.
- You want some lemonade?
Sure.
I knowt his is a difficult situation,
and you're only doing your jobs.
I don't wish you guys
any ill will or anything like that.
But I have a favor to ask you.
You're asking us for a favor?
Some man threatened my child.
These charges have created
so much attention,
it seems to be bringing
all the nutjobs out of the nutjar.
Would you keep an eye out
for anything out of the ordinary?
- Sure.
- Yeah, of course we will.
- I'd really appreciate it.
- Sure.
- Thanks.
- Thank you for the lemonade.
You're welcome.
I'm gonna get this analyzed
right away, bro.
So, it was my birthday...
and my ex-wife
was getting remarried...
and I was in some church basement
telling a bunch of strangers...
it was a good day because...
I didn't have to eat
out of a Dumpster.
That was enough to send me
out on a pretty big one.
I've been thinking a lot
about the first step--
that I came to believe
I was powerless over alcohol...
and that my life
had become unmanageable.
My disease tells me
that I don't have a disease,
that it's my birthday
and I can have one little beer,
one little line,
a little Valium.
Six months later, I wake up
in a sober-living house in Philly.
I'm from Dallas, people.
It's a disease,
an allergy of the body,
an obsession of the mind.
So, my name is Marty,
and today I'm a grateful,
recovering alcoholic.
And it's a good day because I
didn't have to eat out of a Dumpster.
Thanks.
Hi.
I'm Caroline.
I'm not sure I'm an alcoholic.
I mean...
I don't really like to drink.
For someone my age, it's a lot easier
to get drugs than it is to get alcohol.
I guess I'm angry.
I mean, I think I'm really angry
about a lot of stuff.
I'm just... not sure what.
Listen to me.
I built our house...
and I'm not gonna lose it.
My business--
that would take a lot
of private study.
I suggest...
you look into the Coronel.
- The painting?
- Into selling it.
If you can stomach it,
you should look into it.
Oh, my God.
Dear Judge,
I recruited the best men
in Mexico for my task force.
I make the selection, putting them
under a rigorous screening process.
And not only physically,
but also psychologically.
Judge, I'm sorry for boxes
and the paintings and things,
but I have been too busy
to completely settle in here.
I know you've made very good progress
with the Tijuana cartel.
- Congratulations, General.
- Muchas gracias.
I am confident
that before the end of the year,
Juan Obregon is gonna
be taken into custody.
But you must understand that it's
going to be a very difficult task...
because of the corruption
in the police force.
Hopefully, the exchange
of training methods and information...
between our two countries will help.
I hope so.
On another note, General,
we were talking about supply.
- Mm-hmm.
- What about demand?
What are your policies
towards treatment of addiction?
"Treatment of addiction."
Addicts treat themselves.
They overdose, and then there's
one less to worry about.
What I want you to do right now
is write down five triggers...
that could lead
to your relapse,
that could jeopardize
your recovery.
Five triggers.
Your parents, something they could say.
Anything that's a trigger for you.
It varies from person to person.
Some of us
have already discussed--
Linda, we talked about it
the other day.
I know you have trouble
with your sister,
how she's always
kind of outshining you.
Hey, sugarfoot,
how do you like your new home?
- You got to be kidding me.
This is not what my lawyers negotiated.
Please. Fuck your lawyers.
You're not getting
any goddamn cappuccino or--
- Biscotti.
- Yeah, you ain't getting
none of that shit either.
- Pick a bed.
- Stay off the phone, Eddie.
No long-distance calls, all right?
- Use 1-800-CRIMINAL if you do.
Mr. Ayala first came
to see me in January.
That would have been 1987.
He wanted to rent warehouse space
along the harbor.
I didn't ask too many questions.
I am a businessman also.
I was the company's secretary
from 1991 to 1994.
I supposedly worked for all
six companies, but they weren't--
I mean, it was just an empty office
with a desk and a telephone.
I never sold anything
the whole time I was there.
Sometimes people came in,
and they got paid.
I-I don't really know
what they did.
- Didn't Mr. Ayala
say where the money came from?
- No.
-Did you ask where the money came from?
-No.
Where do you think it came from?
- Objection. Speculation.
- Sustained.
I'll rephrase, Your Honor.
Did you feel like you were engaged
in a legitimate enterprise?
No, not really.
Thank you.
You were followed by the police,
but they won't be able
to hear us over the children.
I want to use a bomb.
Are you kidding?
Can't you just shoot him
or something?
I don't really like guns.
You shoot somebody in the head
two, three times...
and some pinche doctor
is trying to keep him alive.
When are you gonna do it?
I don't know.
Eduardo Ruiz is the only
real witness against Carl.
Security will be very tight.
- I may not be able to get to him.
- You'll be able to get to him.
If they can get to
the pope and the president,
you can certainly get to him.
Careful. You're starting to sound
like your husband, Mrs. Ayala.
Nobody saw her leave?
Hmm.
No, I understand.
Okay.
I gotta go.
I've got to go home.
Did you want me to resch--
Fine.
What's going on? You seem nervous.
- Because of Manolo.
I'm afraid he'll do something foolish
and it's going to get him killed.
Why?
He says he's going
to sell information to the DEA.
They're going to pay him
a lot of money.
What could he tell the DEA?
You know...
about Salazar and Madrigal.
Javier.
Where is he right now?
I don't know.
He took his passport and left.
Give me a kiss.
Don't tell him that I told you.
No.
What you want? Pot? Rock?
Hey, what you want?
- Fuck !
What the fuck do you want?
Yeah.
It has come to our attention that
Your Honor, while in private practice,
previously represented
the town of Seal Beach...
in their stop-work suit against
the police department of Seal Beach.
We believe this disqualifies you
from hearing this case,
and we, therefore, move for a temporary
suspension until it's investigated.
Mr. Adler, this is
a most unusual motion.
Nonetheless, Your Honor,
we feel our client deserves
every fairness afforded under the law.
I hope this is not in anyway designed
to delay the testimony of Eduardo Ruiz.
We will recess until 9:00 a.m.
on Monday morning,
and I will see counsel
in my chambers.
They are coming this way.
All of them are there.
They are passing me now.
Boy, there's a lot of them.
Listen, would you mind if we
walked back to the hotel today?
- Walk back?
- Yeah.
They're not getting into the car.
What are they doing?
They're arguing or something.
It's two blocks.
I could use the fresh air.
I've been stuck in that piece of shit
hotel room for two weeks.
I don't give a fuck.
Let's just stop standing around.
- I want to walk 'cause I want to walk,
not 'cause he wants to walk.
- Let's walk.
I like that.
Okay, we'll walk.
They're going past me.
I-I-I do not know. I think
they're going back to the courthouse.
This could be the last chance
to do this ! Get out of the car
and shoot him in the head !
You're a fucking big man?
I'm a real fucking man. I don't fucking
deal drugs to little fucking kids, you--
Fucking rat.
- You think you're a badass?
- I am a badass !
Move, move ! Get down !
- Go, go, go!
We need an ambulance.
- Go, go, go.
Ray. Ray ! Ray !
Wait a minute, Ray !
Manolito, Manolito, Manolito.
What's up, Manolo?
Looks like you're waiting
for someone.
I'm just looking for the waitress.
I'm ready to order.
Do you want anything?
A fucking salad?
Something to drink?
No, no. Calm down, calm down.
What are you gonna have, Manolito?
A steak.
Well, if you like steak...
we know a much better place.
You come with us.
Javier had nothing to do with this.
It was all my idea.
Punish me, not him.
Do me a favor.
Don't tell Ana I died like this.
Tell her it was something else.
Something official.
Tell her I died
doing something worthy.
Forgive me, Javi.
Put some muscle into it.
You too, Manolo.
You're done.
- Get out of there.
- Don't you hear?
Javier, put the shovel down.
Get out. Let's go.
I told you it wasn't his fault.
Shut up.
Turn around.
Let's go, Javier. It's over.
Don't be alarmed, Javier.
The old man works like this.
We had to go
through the same thing.
We had to do this
to be sure we could trust you.
Now we see that we can.
We are family now.
Sorry about the other night.
Me too.
Thank you for coming down here, though I
suspect it has been a pointless journey.
- Why would you say that?
- Bueno, pues, I hear these stories.
Your husband in jail,
his business in chaos,
various people fighting
over the scraps.
My husband was a victim of an informer
in your organization, not in ours.
That is not true, Mrs. Ayala.
Your route has been compromised.
Perhaps it is time for me to deal
with other distributors in California.
- I don't think you're gonna do that.
- You don't?
- No.
My husband was working on something
he called the Project for the Children.
- Are you aware of this?
- I don't know.
Perhaps I remember something.
If you want to smuggle narcotics
in Senor Espastico Jacobo,
that is nothing new, Senora.
No, not in.
The doll is cocaine.
High impact,
pressure-molded cocaine.
It's odorless,
undetectable by the dogs.
- Undetectable by anyone.
I don't believe you, senora.
I'm six months pregnant.
I won't do it.
- Then we don't have a deal.
- Yeah, right.
We don't have a deal.
Sorry to waste your time,
Mr. Obregon.
Okay.
Okay, okay.
- That's good coke.
- It should be. It's yours.
I want our debt forgiven,
I want to be the exclusive
distributor of Obregon brothers'
cocaine in the United States,
and I want the principal witness against
my husband, Eduardo Ruiz, killed.
Have you told the complete truth
during this interview?
Yes.
- Alex?
- Solid.
- That's good shit, Javier.
- You know, Javier,
they dump those cell phones
every 24 hours.
Yes, but I have
a contact at MexTel...
who can get me
his new E.S.N. in 12 hours.
That's good to know.
So, now that you have
what you want,
let's talk about how
I get what I want.
Oh, you don't have
to worry about that.
You're not gonna have
any problems there.
Yeah, but first let's talk
about what precautions you're
taking to protect yourself.
You worry about getting me
what I want.
I'll worry about myself.
Oye, Javier,
you should feel good about this.
I feel like a traitor.
Helena Ayala just left Club Platinum,
the Obregon brothers' place in Tijuana.
- Yeah?
- She got stopped at the border.
She was clean,
and she's back in San Diego now.
Okay.
- Hello?
- Robert, it's Jeff Sheridan.
- D-Did I wake you? I'm sorry.
- No, it's okay.
General Salazar has been arrested.
It turns out he has been working
for Porfirio Madrigal...
and the Juarez cartel
the entire time.
That is why he was trying to push
the Obregons out of Tijuana...
- so he and Madrigal could move in.
- What?
I thought Madrigal was dead.
I thought that had been verified.
Apparently not. It is a shitstorm here,
but the D.E.A. supplied the information
and was part of the sting.
So, maybe we can spin this a little,
but I don't know what to tell people.
-So, when are you coming back?
-I'll try to get there as soon as I can.
- Yeah, okay, but--
- Robert.
Robert? Robert?
I gotta call you back.
- What--
- My Leica's missing.
- She got the video camera too.
At least we know she's still alive.
Where are you going?
Pawn shops open in an hour. Ten minutes
after that, she'll be at her dealer.
If I can find him,
I should be able to find her.
Although
ser and estar both mean "to be,"
they have very specific uses.
May I help you, sir?
Excuse me!
Seth has to be excused.
He's going on a field trip.
I can't believe you brought
my daughter to this place.
Whoa, whoa. Why don't you just
back the fuck up, man?
"To this place"?
What is that shit?
Okay, right now, all over
this great nation of ours,
are cruising around downtown...
asking every black person,
"You got any drugs? You know
where I can score some drugs?"
Think about the effect that has
on the psyche of a black person,
on their possibilities.
I-- God, I guarantee you,
you bring 100,000 black people
into your neighborhood,
and they're asking every white
person, "You got any drugs?
Know where I can score some?"
Within a day, everyone would be
selling--your friends, their kids.
Here's why: It's an unbeatable market
force, man. It's a 300% markup value.
You can go out on the street
and make $500 in two hours,
come back and do whatever you want
with the rest of your day.
You're telling me that white people
would still be going to law school?
- What do you want?
- I'm looking for my daughter.
Caroline.
She's been here.
This is a business, man.
Why don't you get the fuck out ofhere?
I need to find my daughter, all right?
I'll pay you.
All right.
Okay. Hold on.
Who in the fuck do you think you are?
Where the fuck do you think you are?
- Why the fuck shouldn't I just
put your ass in a Dumpster?
- I got money.
- I got money !
- I got $1,000 in my wallet.
- It's for you.
- If I want your money, man,
I will take your money.
Just tell me
where my daughter is.
Please? Please?
Don't do that shit again.
Look, Jesus, man, I'm telling you,
don't do this vigilante thing.
Either the cops are gonna find her,
or she's gonna call you.
Okay?
I promise.
Ana.
If Manolo hadn't done what he did...
they wouldn't have been able
to get Salazar and Madrigal.
He did something really good.
What's more, he did
something important for Tijuana.
I would like to believe you.
You don't have to believe me...
because it's the truth.
The simple truth.
Tomorrow I'm going
to burn his clothes.
I know she's in there.
Just let me talk to her.
Look, I know she's in there, man!
No, I fucking know she's in there !
Jesus Christ !
I-I haven't touched her.
You get the fuck
out of here right now.
Hi.
Hi, Daddy.
Hi, sweetheart.
Hey, good morning, Eddie.
- Good morning.
- Big day.
You're a star.
Why don't you go take a shower, man?
You smell.
- Who is it?
- It's the Mafia.
- I've got his breakfast.
- Coming.
- So who's this going to?
- Over here.
- Ooh.
- Fuck off.
- Relax, Eddie.
- Yeah, where has the love gone?
Good-bye.
You know, you're gonna be testifying
for about ten days.
We could just decide
to stop feeding your ass.
You expect me to be grateful
for spending the rest of my life
looking over my shoulder?
Wow, that's--
that's heavy, Eddie.
Can't you for one second imagine
that none of this had happened,
that my drugs had gone through?
What would be the harm?
Huh? What would be the harm?
A few people get high
who are getting high anyway.
Your partner's still alive.
We don't have to have
breakfast together.
Don't you see this means nothing?
Your whole life is pointless.
You're really breaking my heart.
- The worst part about you, Monty--
- "Monty"?
The worst part about you, Monty,
is you realize the futility of what
you're doing, and you do it anyway.
Wish you could see
how transparent you are.
This food tastes like shit.
So, take your stank ass
and go get a shower already.
Let me tell you something.
You only got to me because you
were tipped off by the Juarez cartel...
who's trying to break into Tijuana.
- You are helping them. Uh-huh.
- Mmm.
So, remember, you work
for a drug dealer too, Monty.
- Fuck me.
- Who is it?
- Breakfast.
Hurry up.
It's getting cold.
Okay. One second.
- Get the fuck down !
- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey !
- Get down ! Get the fuck down !
- Hey, hey, I'm on your side !
- What the fuck?
- Oh, shit. Call an ambulance.
- Call an ambulance ! Fuck !
- Palms up.
Spread your damn hands out.
- Shit ! Eddie !
Hold on.
Oh, shit !
Hurry up with that ambulance !
Shit. Hold on. Hold on.
Your Honor, ladies
and gentlemen of the jury,
because of the sudden death
of Eduardo Ruiz,
the people have determined
that we cannot continue our case
against Carl Ayala.
Oh ! Oh !
Thank you so much.
Thank you, thank you.
- Yeah?
Hi.
I got a copy of your speech.
It's fantastic.
So, Robert, my genuine thanks.
You're my choice.
You're gonna be great.
The president's sorry he hasn't been
able to spend more time with you.
After the press conference,
he wants to really sit down.
Oh, and I got to the Post too.
Don't worry about that thing
with your daughter. It's not news.
They're willing to treat it
as a family matter, personal matter.
Anyway, if it came out,
we could turn it into a qualification.
"I've been in the trenches
of the drug war.
I've seen the face of the enemy.
Etcetera, etcetera. "
A sterling reputation
and close friend of the president,
recently confirmed into the Office
of National Drug Control Policy,
our new drug czar,
Robert Hudson Wakefield.
The war on drugs is a war
that we have to win,
and a war that we can win.
We have to win this war to save
our country's most precious resource--
our children.
Sixty-eight million children
have been targeted...
by those who perpetrate this war...
and protecting these children
must be priority number one.
There has been progress,
and there has been failure.
But where we have fallen short,
I see not a problem,
I see an opportunity.
An opportunity...
to correct the mistakes...
ofthe past...
while laying a foundation
for the future.
This takes...
not only new ideas...
but perseverance.
This takes not only...
resources, but courage.
This takes...
not only... government,
but families.
I've laid out a--
I've laid out
a ten-point plan that--
I can't do this.
If there is a war on drugs,
then many of our family members
are the enemy.
And I don't know how you wage war
on your own family.
National Airport, please.
Hey, Arnie, it's Saturday.
You're working too hard, my friend.
Carl, I'm running late.
I'm coming right over.
No, no, no, don't bother, Arnie.
Let me ask you something.
When were you gonna tell me
about the $3 million...
we got in from San Francisco
two days after I was arrested?
Um... I was waiting
for the right time.
Oh. You didn't think you could trust
my wife with that information?
I didn't want to risk it.
That could have been frozen
along with everything else.
You had it all figured out,
didn'tyou?
You were gonna move into my house,
raise my kids, sleep in my bed...
with my wife.
Sounds like a nice plan.
Oh, is it insane?
Just think about it, okay?
If I was gonna rip you off,
why wouldn't I just leave town
after Ruiz was killed?
Why would I sit next to you
in court and listen to a dismissal?
Let me ask you something.
You think there's a difference
between a reason and an excuse?
'Cause I don't.
- Good-bye, Arnie.
- Carl--
Carl?
Come on, sweetheart.
Come outside.
Everyone's waiting for you.
- Who was that?
- Arnie. He's, uh--
- He can't make it to the barbecue.
- Oh.
- Come on.
- Hi, Helena.
- Hello.
- It's a great party.
- Who is he, a friend of yours?
- Oh, I'm a nobody.
I'm the nobody who arrested you.
- You're--
- How you doing?
- What are you doing in my house?
- Oh, just looking around.
You got nice shit. Drug money
buys a lot of nice shit, Carl.
Listen, you don't want to talk
that way in my house.
You're fucking a murderer, Carl.
- Fuck you and fuck your wife.
- Hey, you can't be in here.
- Get him out.
- You put me out, Carl.
- I'm a cop.
- I don't care.
- Get out.
- Hey ! Hey, hey !
- Is that what you wanted?
- A nice little bedtime story, Helena.
Tell him how you murdered
my partner !
- You got the wrong--
- His name was Ray Castro, Helena !
Ray Castro !
You remember that !
- What's his problem?
- The carpet, sweetheart.
- No, no, no, I got it.
- I got it.
- Where did he come from?
- Outside, honey.
What do you want to do, man?
On the good days, I feel like I get it.
Like it all makes sense.
I can stay in the moment.
I don't have to control
everything in the future...
and I believe everything
is gonna work out fine.
O-On the bad days,
I just want to grab the phone
and start dialing numbers.
I want to pull my hair...
and run through
the streets screaming.
But thanks to the people
I've met in these rooms,
like Margaret and Jim...
and Sarah,
um...
I'm pretty sure
I'm gonna make it...
through today.
Would you like to share?
Uh... my name is Robert.
My wife Barbara and I...
are here to support
our daughter, Caroline,
and we're hear to listen.