(This movie review of "Traffic" directed by Steven Soderbergh parallels the investigative research of the late Gary Webb and his landmark book "Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion." This review is included in Uri Dowbenko's book "Hoodwinked: Watching Movies With Eyes Wide Open")
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'Traffic': How the Drug War Became Big Business
by URI DOWBENKO
There are no good guys or bad guys in the so-called War on Drugs. Only losers.
On that theme, "Traffic," directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan, is a brilliant movie. It's engaging, heart-breaking and all too real, interweaving multiple storylines with a top-notch ensemble cast.
One story begins with Tijuana cop Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro) and his partner Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas) on a stakeout in the desert. They confiscate a truckload of drugs, only to be overtaken by Mexican army troops in shining new black Suburbans.
