In 1982, U.S. Vice-President George H.W. Bush combined agents from multiple agencies and military branches to form the South Florida Drug Task Force, recognizing Miami as the main entry point for cocaine into the United States. This task force marked a significant escalation in federal drug enforcement efforts and led to increased interdiction of drug shipments, pushing trafficking routes to the Mexican border.

The South Florida Drug Task Force is a key episode in the history of the U.S. drug war, and its impact on Miami and the Caribbean has been chronicled in literature. Writers like Carl Hiaasen and other Florida-based authors have used the task force and the drug trade as a backdrop for crime fiction and satire, exploring the corruption and violence that accompanied the crackdown.