Cowboy Cartel

Cowboy Cartel is a four-part true crime documentary about how the Mexican cartel Los Zetas laundered millions in drug money through the American quarter horse racing scene. The series follows FBI agent Scott Lawson, who slowly unravels a seemingly legal world of horse racing and stumbles upon an international money laundering network with bloody backgrounds.

What sets this documentary apart is its original approach: no standard drug violence or infiltration, but an in-depth investigation into how criminal money is cleaned through sports, auctions and prize money. The interviews with agents, insiders and experts are strong, and the series explains complex financial processes clearly without becoming too dry.

The visual style is neat and the atmosphere remains threatening, without exaggerating. But where the content is impressive, it sometimes lacks rhythm. Four episodes is actually too much; the story would have worked better in a shorter form. Also, some dramatic staged fragments feel superfluous and they slow down the pace of the documentary. The Mexican side of the story also remains underexposed.