Ariel Rios was a 28-year-old Puerto Rican undercover special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assigned to the Vice President’s South Florida Task Force. On December 2, 1982, during a buy-and-bust operation at the Hurricane Motel on West Flagler Street in Miami, Rios was shot in the face while attempting to disarm a suspect who had drawn a gun after other agents moved in. He died at the scene; his partner Alexander D’Atri was seriously wounded and required several surgeries and months of recovery.

A federal investigation led to multiple prosecutions. On April 20, 1983, Augustin D. Alvarez and Mario C. Simon received life plus 50 years for first-degree murder of Ariel Rios, assault on D’Atri, and related drug and firearms charges. Oscar Hernandez, Victoriano Concepcion and Eduardo Portal received lengthy federal prison terms, and two others were sentenced on lesser charges. Rios’s name has been commemorated in federal recognition, including the naming of the federal building at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.