For the next three months, he goes into hiding in a small shack near Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami where he only had basic necessities, his trademark 1963 Cadillac Series 62, $1,000, and a M1911 pistol. His mansion is seized by undercover police officers, but he is able to move back in by bribing them with $10,000 that he makes in a single day of selling drugs.

Tony and his friend Manolo "Manny" Ribera are sent to "Freedomtown", a refugee camp that holds Cuban immigrants without green cards. After one month in the camp, Frank Lopez, head of a Miami drug cartel, offers to obtain them green cards in return for murdering Emilio Rebenga. Soon after Rebenga arrives at the camp, Manny and Tony and friend take advantage of the August 11 riot, where Tony stabs Rebenga. Tony and Manny are granted green cards and released, and the two get jobs as dishwashers for a small food stand in Little Havana. In August 1980, Frank sends his right-hand man, Omar Suarez, to offer them a deal smuggling marijuana, offering $500, a small amount of pay but with low risk of arrest or gun battles. Tony demands more pay, and he and Omar quarrel. On the advice of his compatriot, Omar then offers Tony and Manny $5000 to buy cocaine from a new supplier, which is riskier than the marijuana deal but will pay much more, as it is dealing with violent Colombians.

On December 9, 1983 Tony returns to Florida and receives a telephone call from a furious Sosa, who admonishes him for the hit's failure. Tony attempts to locate Manny, and finds him and Gina together, both wearing nothing but bathrobes. Tony shoots and kills him in a cocaine-fueled rage, before Gina reveals that they had just married and were going to announce their matrimony to Tony. Tony and his men take a distraught Gina back to his mansion. Meanwhile, a large group of assassins sent by Sosa surround the mansion. While a distraught Tony sits in his office, snorting vast quantities of cocaine, the gunmen begin killing his guards outside. Gina enters Tony's office wielding a Smith & Wesson Model 36, accusing him of wanting her for himself, before shooting him in the leg. Tony attempts to calm her down, before one of the assassins enters the office through the window and opens fire, killing Gina. Tony immediately kills the Assassin, creating a commotion.

That night, two men attempt to kill Tony. He escapes, and becomes convinced that Frank ordered his death. Armed with silenced pistols, Tony and Manny track Frank down to his car dealership, killing him and Bernstein. Afterward, Tony goes to Frank's house, telling Elvira that her lover is dead and that he wants her. Over the next year-and-a-half, Tony makes $75 million off of 2,000 kilograms of cocaine that he brings to America, and is soon making $10–15 million every month in profits from his Business relationship with Sosa. He marries Elvira and takes over Frank's empire, purchasing a large mansion as well as ornate luxuries such as a pet tiger. Tony also creates many legal businesses as fronts, including a hairdresser's managed by Gina. However, cracks in Tony's "American dream" begin to form as both he and Elvira become addicted to cocaine. Meanwhile, Manny and Gina begin dating behind her brother's back, afraid of Tony's wrath should he find out.