By 1975, Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel had established cocaine trafficking routes into the US through Miami,[2]: 193  superseding the 'Cuban mafia' which had previously controlled drug smuggling in Florida.

[5] Major traffickers in Miami at the time include the Falcon brothers and Sal Magluta who smuggled in around $2 billion of cocaine from Colombia, as well as Medellín cartel traffickers Rafael Cardona Salazar, Carlos Lehder, Mickey Munday, Jon Roberts, Griselda Blanco, George Jung, Barry Seal and Max Mermelstein.

[14] Jorge "Rivi" Ayala, one of Blanco's hitmen, pled guilty to three murders in 1993 but is believed to be responsible for around three dozen killings during the drug wars.

[16] The Miami River Cops Scandal were a group of 19 police officers convicted of various state and federal crimes including murder, racketeering, robbery, drug possession, civil rights violations and conspiracy charges.

[15]: 139  On July 13, 1985,[18] the officers seized hundreds of kilograms of cocaine in secret compartments of the Mitzi Ann, a boat docked at the Tamiami Marina.

[15]: 140  The corruption was uncovered during the investigation into the deaths at the Jones Boat Yard and when officers were apprehended attempting to sell the cocaine to undercover agents.

[11] The operation centered around a fake money laundering front in Miami Lakes called Dean International Investments and led to indictments of 67 people on federal charges, the seizure of 100 kilograms (220 lb) of cocaine, 250,000 methaqualone pills, tons of marijuana and $800,000 in cash and assets.

[11] He set up a Florida task force with agents from the DEA, US Customs, the FBI, the ATF and the US Department of Justice which began work in March 1982.

[4] The increased manpower and coordination given to combat cocaine smuggling in Miami resulted in the amount seized nearly doubling by 1983 to an average of 2,000 pounds (910 kg) a week.