Human trafficking in the 1980s
Setting: 1985 - 1989 in Miami, FL
Research done: Wikipedia (page: FBI); Google, search terms included various combinations of "1980s", "Miami", "human trafficking", "FBI", "history", "undercover".
My main character is an undercover FBI agent in Miami, Florida. He's undercover in a criminal organization of some kind that is trafficking drugs up the east coast to the Italian mafia in New York City. At the same time, he stumbles upon the fact that the same organization that he has infiltrated is also trafficking in illegal immigrants.
So... how prevalent was human trafficking in the 1980s? Was it primarily for the sex trade or for cheap labor? If people were being trafficked into Miami, where would they be most likely coming from? (South/Central America, most probably, but what country(ies)?) How aware was law enforcement of the crime of human trafficking at the time, and did the FBI have any special task forces/departments/work groups at the time to deal with and investigate the issue?
(Finding information about the history of human trafficking during a specific period in time in a specific place is harder than it seems. And while an interesting show, I don't generally think of Miami Vice as a reliable source....)
Research done: Wikipedia (page: FBI); Google, search terms included various combinations of "1980s", "Miami", "human trafficking", "FBI", "history", "undercover".
My main character is an undercover FBI agent in Miami, Florida. He's undercover in a criminal organization of some kind that is trafficking drugs up the east coast to the Italian mafia in New York City. At the same time, he stumbles upon the fact that the same organization that he has infiltrated is also trafficking in illegal immigrants.
So... how prevalent was human trafficking in the 1980s? Was it primarily for the sex trade or for cheap labor? If people were being trafficked into Miami, where would they be most likely coming from? (South/Central America, most probably, but what country(ies)?) How aware was law enforcement of the crime of human trafficking at the time, and did the FBI have any special task forces/departments/work groups at the time to deal with and investigate the issue?
(Finding information about the history of human trafficking during a specific period in time in a specific place is harder than it seems. And while an interesting show, I don't generally think of Miami Vice as a reliable source....)