Netflix's Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami - What happened to Augusto Falcon and Salvador Magluta?

5 August 2021, 19:47 | Updated: 5 August 2021, 19:53

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami tells the story of Augusto Falcon and Salvador Magluta. Picture: Netflix

The Netflix docuseries tells the story of two friends who dropped out of school to become America's most prolific drug traffickers.

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings Of Miami has finally hit Netflix.

The docuseries, follows the lives of immigrants and school dropouts-turned-notorious drug traffickers Salvador 'Sal' Magluta, Augusto 'Willie' Falcon and his brother Gustavo.

The duo - known as Los Muchachos or "the boys" - began their illegal activity in 1978 and went on to serve as middlemen for Pablo Escobar and his Medellin cartel and Colombia's Cali cartel.

The Netflix documentary doesn't just take a look at their criminality, but also their lavish lifestyle and pursuits as champion power boat drivers. But what happened to the the Kings of Miami in the end? Find out the fate of Willie and Gustavo Falcon and Salvador Magluta.

How can I watch Cocaine Cowboys?

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings Of Miami is released on Netflix from 4 August 2021 and all six episodes of the documentary will be available to stream.

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings Of Miami | Official Trailer | Netflix

What happened to Augusto Falcon?

Augusto 'Willie' Falcon is one-third of Miami's notorious Cocaine Cowboys, accused of trafficking almost $2million in cocaine across the 1970s and 80s.

In 1991, police raided Augusto and Salvador’s grand homes and arrested the duo. A federal grand jury indicted both Falcon and Magluta for drug trafficking crimes, including operating a continuing criminal enterprise.

Both Magluta and Falcon were found not guilty after a lengthy trial before Judge Federico Moreno. However, shortly after the United States Attorney's Office launched an investigation into the pair's finances, which revealed that jury members had been bribed. Several of the jurors and some of their lawyers were charged with various criminal offences.

Magluta was eventually sentenced to 205 years in federal prison, which was then reduced to 10 years on appeal.

Is Augusto Falcon still in prison?

No, Falcon was released in 2018, but was deported to the Dominican Republic. He argued he could not return to his country of Cuba because he had given donations to political groups, including paramilitary groups who tried to assassinate Fidel Castro.

What happened to Salvador Magluta?

After Falcon and Magluta's initial trial, which was fraught with bribes and jury tampering, Salvador Magulta was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of a plea deal, which involved him accepting guilt for one charge of money laundering.

He remains in a Supermax prison in Colorado.

Who is Gustavo Falcon and where is he now?

Gustavo was Sal's brother and was heavily involved in the operation. When the other two were arrested, he remained on the run for 26 years until he was finally caught in 2017 in Kissimmee, Florida while on a bike ride with his wife.

He and his family had evaded the authorities with a host of different identities, but in 2013 Gustavo was foiled when he was involved in a car accident and gave a Miami address known to the police for being linked to forcing driving licences in 1997.

Though the police thought he had fled to Cuba, Mexico or Colombia, it turned out Gustavo and his wife had been living at an address in Kissimmee under the names Luis and Marian Reiss for 14 years.

After being arrested, he pled guilty to one count of cocaine distribution and was jailed for 11 years, which he is currently serving.

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami is available to watch on Netflix