War Information
10 sectionsWar History and Conflicts in Miami
Colonization and Native Genocide — From Tequesta to Seminole (1513–1858)
The Miami region was inhabited by the Tequesta people for over 4,000 years. In 1567, the Spanish established a Catholic mission at the mouth of the Miami River. The Tequesta were destroyed by European diseases and enslavement — by 1700 their population had collapsed from 10,000 to a few hundred. During the Second Seminole War (1835–1842), the US Army built Fort Dallas on the banks of the Miami River. The fort was used as a base for attacks against Seminoles and their Black allies. After the war, the fort was abandoned and the land sold to plantation owners.
City Foundation and Racial Terror Era (1896–1920)
Miami was officially founded in 1896. Julia Tuttle, a white female landowner, convinced Henry Flagler to extend his railroad to Miami. However, Miami's founding was marked by racial violence — 162 Black men who had helped build the railroad were barred from participating in the city's founding parade. In the 1910s and 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was active in Miami. Lynchings and terror against Black people in Dade County were common. White businessmen forced Black communities off prime land following the 1926 hurricane.
Cold War — Bay of Pigs and Operation Mongoose (1960s)
After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, Miami became the center of CIA operations against Fidel Castro. The Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 was organized by the CIA from Miami — a failed invasion of Cuba involving 1,500 Cuban exiles. In 1962, Operation Mongoose, a covert CIA project to assassinate Castro and overthrow the Cuban government, was directed from Miami. Front companies and arms traffickers operated out of Miami. These operations transformed Miami — intelligence agencies and Cuban exiles created a paramilitary culture in the city.
Drug War — Medellín Cartel and Miami (1980s)
In the 1980s, Miami was the center of cocaine trafficking from Colombia to the United States. The Medellín Cartel, led by Pablo Escobar, used Miami as a distribution hub. In 1981, Miami recorded the highest murder rate in American history — 621 homicides in a single year (rate of 35.5 per 100,000). The television show 'Miami Vice' depicted the drug violence and corruption.
Miami Riots (1980) and Modern Police Violence
On May 17, 1980, four white Dade County police officers were acquitted for killing Arthur McDuffie, a 33-year-old Black businessman. McDuffie had been beaten to death with 12 police baton blows after a motorcycle chase. The acquittal led to three days of rioting — 18 killed, 350 arrested, and $38 million in damage. Miami also saw the police shooting of unarmed Black people including Trayvon Davis (1995, acquitted) and continued protests against police violence in the 21st century.
