In the novel Carlito's Way from '75 there's a character Rolando Rivas, who seems to be very obviously based on one or more people. Book came out in 1979.

Rolando had taken part in the Bay of Pigs and worked for the CIA before becoming a heroin guy in the 60s, and then by the time of After Hours (set in 1975) is setting up a network for cocaine in Colombia. Says heroin is dead, the French killed it.

Rolando has a Miami mansion described as akin to Al Capone's, private airfield, degenerate older guy who likes lesbian orgies and coke.

Rolando wants to take on the Mob and Corsicans who have allied for control of the coke trade. Rolando has a set up a network in Bogota, Cali, Medellin, and Cartagena as of 1975, services Baltimore, Philly, Detroit, NYC. He's got generals and newspapers in his pocket in South America.

He wants Carlito down in Colombia as his point man, as a street guy to train his troops in the upcoming fight for South America's coke trade. Carlito only sees rows of "crosses", death, in taking on an alliance of the Mafia and Corsicans, so he politely turns Rolando down.

"'El Commandante'was waiting. That's what Rolando was called in the old days with Batista. Had himself a private army through a couple of presidents....Rolando had been a chief of police, so you know he had a ticket for 'paredon', but he survived. Survived in the Belgian Congo and in the Bay of Pigs. Survived in the knock-around streets of New York. And made it down here (Miami) to live better than King Farouk (who he favored with his dark glasses and porno hang-up, only not so fat) and with hardly no English. Nobody's fool was Rolando Rivas-Barcelo, always liked me."


So question, who would Rolando most closely resemble in real life? Did a coke alliance of the Mob and Corsicans for South America actually happen in the 70s or 80s and who came out on top if so?