Cocaine Cowboys Miami Dade County
THEY HAD GOOD CONNECTIONS
WITH THE D.E.A., WITH THE F.B.I.
WE ARE DEALING WITH
A KING this time, these Guys ARE OF WORST TYPE OF CRIMINALS
WITH WHOM WE HAD NOT
DEALT BEFORE.
AND SO MY MANDATE TO MY PEOPLE
WAS VERY SIMPLE.
EXTRAORDINARY TIMES CALLED FOR
EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES.
Al: YOU WOULD USE
WHATEVER METHOD YOU COULD
TO TAKE SOMEONE OUT OF
THE PICTURE OR OFF THE STREET.
WE’RE GONNA GET RID OF THEM
EITHER BY PUTTING THEM IN JAIL
OR WE WERE GOING TO KILL THEM.
Al: IT WAS A UNIT
THAT WAS MEANT TO BE
MORE PROACTIVE THAN REACTIVE.
IT WAS JUST A DIFFERENT WAY
OF DOING POLICE WORK
AND IT WAS CALLED FOR
AT THE TIME
BECAUSE OF THE NATURE
OF THE CRIMINAL
WITH BOTH THE COLOMBIANS
AND THE CUBAN CRIMINALS
WHO CAME FROM MARIEL.
MIAMI SEEMS TO HAVE BECOME
PARADISE LOST.
IN THE FALL-WINTER OF 1981,
THE ARTICLE PARADISE LOST?
CAME OUT IN TIME MAGAZINE.
TIME MAGAZINE CRUSHED MIAMI.
Reporter:
THE 9-PAGE ARTICLE INSIDE
FOCUSED PRIMARILY
ON MIAMI
AS THE TROUBLED CENTER OF DRUGS,
CRIME AND REFUGEES.
THE POLITICIANS IN MIAMI,
DADE COUNTY, MIAMI,
WENT CRAZY WHEN THEY SAW THAT.
Man: THAT’S THE NUMBER ONE
QUESTION THAT’S ASKED,
“IS IT SAFE
TO COME TO MIAMI BEACH?”
AND WHAT DO YOU TELL THEM?
AND AGAIN I’M SAYING TO THEM,
UNLESS YOU’RE COMING DOWN HERE
TO TRAFFIC IN DRUGS,
WE ARE AS SAFE HERE
AS YOU WOULD BE
ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD
INCLUDING YOUR OWN HOME TOWN.
WE WERE TORN BETWEEN
TWO WORLDS.
FUN AND SUN CAPITAL…
MURDER CAPITAL.
THAT WAS THE GIST
OF THAT ARTICLE–
THE CRIMINALS WERE WINNING
AND WE WERE LOSING.
Man: I WAS BORN IN CALI,
COLOMBIA.
ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES,
1969.
I GREW UP IN CHICAGO,
I WAS A MECHANIC WITH MY DAD.
I WORKED FOR GENERAL MOTORS,
THAT’S WHERE I LEARNED
HOW TO BREAK INTO CARS.
WELL, WHEN I WAS GROWING UP
I WAS KNOWN AS A CAR THIEF,
ONE OF THE BIGGEST
CAR THIEVES IN CHICAGO,
AND THEN AFTER THE ’80S I WAS…
I WAS KNOWN TO BE AN ASSASSIN
FOR THE CARTEL.
Rivi: I JUST GOT
WITH A GROUP OF GUYS
AND WE STARTED STEALING CARS
TO SELL THEM TO THE CHOP SHOPS,
BETWEEN $200 AND $500 A CAR.
WE USED TO STEAL 5, 6 A NIGHT,
THERE WAS THREE OF US.
SO WE WERE MAKING GOOD MONEY.
BETTER THAN WORKING FOR MY DAD.
I COME FROM A GOOD FAMILY,
I HAD EVERYTHING I NEEDED.
YOU KNOW, I DIDN’T NEED
TO GO STEAL CARS,
BUT IT WAS JUST THE MONEY
AND THE EXCITEMENT
OF GOING AND BREAKING
INTO SOMEBODY’S CAR
AND SELLING IT, YOU KNOW.
TROPICANA RESTAURANT.
WE USED TO
HANG OUT THERE
BECAUSE OF THE PAY PHONE.
THAT’S WHERE THE JUNKYs
USED TO CALL US.
WE USED IT AS OUR OFFICE.
AND I HAD A SPECIFIC SPOT
WHERE I USED TO PARK MY CAR
AND NO ONE WOULD PARK THERE.
ONE MORNING I GOT THERE,
THERE WAS A CAR PARKED IN FRONT,
SO I ASKED THE OWNER
OF THE RESTAURANT,
“WHOSE CAR IS THAT?”
HE SAID, “IT BELONGS TO
“SOME BIG SHOT FROM MIAMI.”
SO I TOLD HIM I DIDN’T
GIVE A FUCK WHO IT BELONGED TO.
AND I WANTED THE CAR MOVED
SO I TOOK IT.
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