- [first lines]
- Steve Murphy: [as narrator] Nowadays, the US government can listen to anything you say. They know where you are, they know who you're talking to, and trust me, they know who you're fucking. You turn on a cell phone or a computer, and you're doomed. But in Colombia in 1989, it wasn't that easy. First off, there was no Internet. No cells. The best they had were satellite phones, and in order to capture a satellite phone, you had to fly directly over it. On top of that, the only people who had sat phones were the filthy rich - the landowners, the politicians... And lucky for us, the narcos were richer than them all.
- Steve Murphy: [as narrator] Back then, we were just finding out about the effects of cocaine on the human brain. We didn't know much, but we knew it was some pretty powerful shit. Cocaine hijacks the pleasure centers in the brain. A rat will choose cocaine over food and water. It would choose cocaine over sleep, over sex... over life itself. The human brain isn't quite the same as a rodent's... unless we're talking about cocaine.
- Steve Murphy: [as narrator] From '79 to '84, there were 3,245 murders in Miami. And outside the Tourist Bureau and the cops, no one much cared about that. What got the US Government to take notice was the money. Billions of dollars a year all flowing from the US to Colombia. And that... America couldn't take. A group of powerful businessmen went and met with President Reagan. They were terrified the narco economy would sink the real economy of Miami. Or... maybe they were pissed off that they weren't getting a cut.
- Steve Murphy: [as narrator] And with the money... came the violence. The hippies had been replaced by Colombians, and these guys didn't wear flip-flops.
- Pablo Escobar: I'll give you one million dollars. Under one condition.
- Herrera DAS Agent: What is it?
- Pablo Escobar: Someone in my organization gave you the street value of my cocaine. Otherwise, how would you know?
- [pauses]
- Pablo Escobar: Give me a name. And you won't have to split the cash with him.
- Title Card: Magical realism is defined as what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe. There is a reason magical realism was born in Colombia.
- Steve Murphy: [as narrator] When I started, a one-kilo grass bust was cause for celebration. And before long, we were seizing 60 kilos of coke a day. We thought we were making a huge difference. Truth is, we weren't even making a dent. They let us have 60 so they could bring in 600.
- Gustavo Gaviria: [scheming how to get more cocaine into the private plane] What if we take out the seats, the carpet, and all the other crap, and only leave space for the pilot?
- Carlos Lehder: We'll leave the engine, right?
- Steve Murphy: [as narrator] Take Richard Nixon, for instance. People forget, but 47 million Americans voted for Nixon. We thought he was one of the good guys. And Nixon thought Chilean General Pinochet was a good guy because he hated the commies. So we helped Pinochet seize power. The Pinochet turned around and killed thousands of people. Maybe not such a good guy after all.
- Steve Murphy: If you make it to the top... it means you've killed your enemies. And sometimes, your partners.
- La Cucaracha: [to Escobar, while explaining the making of cocaine] It's like the kitchen in your house. Like baking a cake. Only a much better cake than you've ever had.
- Gustavo Gaviria: Tell me something, Cockroach. Did you ever think you were going to have this much money?
- La Cucaracha: Fuck the money. I'm talking renegotiation. If it wasn't for me, you two would still be smuggling cigarettes.
- Gustavo Gaviria: Let me give you a piece of advice. Never say that to Pablo. He's not as forgiving as I am.