The Cocaine Cowboys era in Miami began in the early 1970s, as Colombian cocaine traffickers, led by figures such as Pablo Escobar and Carlos Lehder, began to smuggle large quantities of cocaine into the city. The traffickers used a variety of methods to bring the cocaine into the country, including smuggling it in on boats and planes, and using networks of corrupt officials and law enforcement officers to avoid detection. As the cocaine trade grew, so did the violence, with the traffickers using brutal tactics to eliminate their competitors and maintain control of the trade. The era was marked by a series of high-profile murders, including the killing of drug dealer and smuggler, Alberto San Pedro, and the assassination of Miami Police Lieutenant, Martin Barreto. The investigation into the cocaine trade was led by the Miami-Dade Police Department, with assistance from the FBI and other federal agencies. The case against the Cocaine Cowboys was built on a combination of undercover operations, wiretaps, and informants, and ultimately led to the conviction of many of the top figures in the trade. The Cocaine Cowboys era had a lasting impact on Miami, contributing to a sense of lawlessness and corruption that persisted for decades. The era also had a significant impact on the city's culture, with the cocaine trade and the violence that surrounded it becoming a major theme in Miami's music, film, and literature.