A well-narrated and thoroughly-sourced history of the triple threats posed to the people of Miami in 1980: police violence and the widespread and deadly rioting in reaction to it, the explosive growth of the cocaine trade, and the influx of refugees from Cuba (with more than a little troublemaking from Castro and company). A very interesting urban history and a well-realized picture of a time forty years ago when technology and cultural trends were in man ways different, but human nature was much the same. I was struck how a lack of empathy creates such misery for our fellow human beings in a variety of ways, from the police officers who beat a man to death to the rioters who targeted passersby and "outsiders" for savage and gruesome physical attacks, to the people willing to make money off drug addiction and the plight of refugees. ( )

This is the story of a year in the life of a city--Miami, 1980--told through several lenses: race, immigration, and drugs.

Shortly before the year began, a motorcycle chase ended when the young black rider, a former Marine, was brutally beaten by a number of Miami police officers, who then tried to cover up their crime by trying to it look like a motorcycle accident. The young man died from massive skull fractures, and early in 1980 several police officers went on trial. When they were acquitted, the Liberty City area of Miami erupted in massive riots. Dozens of people were killed, including random tourists who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The riots had barely subsided in the spring of 1980 when Castro announced that he would allow Cubans to leave from port of Mariel. Hordes of people descended on Key West and attempted to charter boats to go to Mariel to pick up relatives. President Jimmy Carter waffled on what the US response should be, but private boats, many unsuited for open ocean transport, began transporting Cubans from Mariel. Not infrequently boats ran into trouble, capsized, and a fair number of refugees died. Nevertheless, over the next several weeks, upwards of 120,000 Cuban refugees arrived at Key West, most to be transported to Miami and absorbed into the Cuban community there. It was later revealed that Castro had released criminals from prison and mental health patients from institutions and transported them to Mariel to be "exported" to the US. Almost all of these refugees, forever known as "Marielistas", became Miami's problem

And, about the same time, on top of the race and immigration problems, Colombian drug lords were beginning to take over the streets of Miami. One drug lord, for example, had 25 hit men in Miami, and 5 or 6 murders a day was not uncommon, many of them blatant, daylight, in plain sight hits. The drug lords also generated massive amounts of cash, which was good for Miami's economy (though bad in so many other ways). We follow one of the money launderers for the drug lords, who made the rounds every day with suitcases full of cash to several banks.

With all this going on, we also get glimpses of the mayor of Miami, who at the time was attempting to place Miami as an international power and financial center for South America and the Caribbean.

This was a fascinating and engrossing book. It is nonfiction, but reads like a thriller. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. It is one I highly recommend.

4 stars ( )