Title: Miami drug war - Wikipedia
Headings: Miami drug war
Miami drug war
References

Content: Miami drug war - Wikipedia
Miami drug war
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Miami drug war
Date
1970s–1980s
Location
Miami, Florida
Status
Medellin Cartel collapsed
Belligerents
United States
DEA
FBI
Miami Police Department
Drug cartels
Medellín Cartel
Colombian gangs
Commanders and leaders
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Reubin Askew
Bob Graham
Griselda Blanco
Pablo Escobar
Jorge "Rivi" Ayala
Mickey Munday
Barry Seal
Luis Fernando Arcila Mejia
Casualties and losses
1,200+ casualties
The Miami drug war was a series of armed conflicts in the 1970s and 1980s, centered in the Florida city of Miami, between the United States government and multiple drug cartels, primarily the Medellín Cartel. The drug war was triggered by the 1979 Dadeland Mall shootout; in broad daylight, two gunmen of a Colombian drug gang entered and shot two men at a liquor store. The murderers were immediately dubbed " Cocaine Cowboys " by a police officer. Violence began to become endemic in Miami. In 1980 the city had 573 murders in the year, and the next year had 621 murders. By 1981 the city morgue had an overload of dead bodies and had to rent out a refrigerated truck to keep the bodies, keeping it until 1988. Most of the violent crime was directly related to conflicts in the city's growing drug trade. Miami in 1981 was responsible for trafficking 70% of the country's cocaine, 70% of the country's marijuana, and 90% of the country's counterfeit Quaaludes. Much of Miami's drug trafficking activity was centered out of Coconut Grove 's Mutiny at Sailboat Bay where drug traffickers would frequently meet and conduct business.