Illegal drug trade in Latin America

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Bricks of cocaine, a form in which it is commonly transported. Drugpackscorpion.png
Bricks of cocaine, a form in which it is commonly transported.
A fully operational submarine built for the primary purpose of transporting multi-ton quantities of cocaine located near a tributary close to the Ecuador/Colombia border that was seized by the Ecuador Anti-Narcotics Police Forces and Ecuador Military authorities with the assistance of the U.S. DEA. Narco submarine seized in Ecuador 2010-07-02 1.jpg
A fully operational submarine built for the primary purpose of transporting multi-ton quantities of cocaine located near a tributary close to the Ecuador/Colombia border that was seized by the Ecuador Anti-Narcotics Police Forces and Ecuador Military authorities with the assistance of the U.S. DEA.

The illegal drug trade in Latin America concerns primarily the production and sale of cocaine and cannabis, including the export of these banned substances to the United States and Europe. The coca cultivation is concentrated in the Andes of South America, particularly in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia; this is the world's only source region for coca. [1]

Contents

Drug consumption in Latin America remains relatively low, but cocaine in particular has increased in recent years in countries along the major smuggling routes. [1] As of 2008, the primary pathway for drugs into the United States is through Mexico and Central America, though crackdowns on drug trafficking by the Mexican government has forced many cartels to operate routes through Guatemala and Honduras instead. [2] This is a shift from the 1980s and early 90s, when the main smuggling route was via the Caribbean into Florida. [1] The United States is the primary destination, but around 25 to 30% of global cocaine production travels from Latin America to Europe, typically via West Africa. [1]

The major drug trafficking organizations (drug cartels) are Mexican and Colombian, and said to generate a total of $18 to $39bn in wholesale drug proceeds per year. [1] Mexican cartels are currently considered the "greatest organized crime threat" to the United States. [1] Since February 2010, the major Mexican cartels have again aligned in two factions, one integrated by the Juárez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel, Los Zetas and the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel; the other faction integrated by the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Cartel. [3]

Prior to the Mexican cartels' rise, the Colombian Cali cartel and Medellín cartel dominated in the late 1980s and early 90s. [1] Following their demise, the Norte del Valle cartel has filled the Colombian vacuum, along with rightwing paramilitaries (e.g. United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, AUC) and leftwing insurgent groups (FARC, ELN). [1]

As a result of the concentration of drug trafficking, Latin America and the Caribbean has the world's highest crime rates, with murder reaching 32.6 per 100,000 of population in 2008. [1] Violence has surged in Mexico since 2006 when Mexican President Felipe Calderón intensified the Mexican Drug War. [1]

United States and Latin American drug control

Starting back with president Richard Nixon the United States declared the war on drugs. [4] This lead to large amounts of funding and manpower and manpower for the United States traveling to Latin America to help stop the production and flow of drugs into the United States. [4] One major milestone in the efforts for both Latin American countries and the United states was the signing of extradition treaties for drug traffickers. [5] This has lead to notable traffickers and kingpins like El Chapo (Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera) being extradited to face real time behind bars in the United States.

Drug Trafficking from Latin America has played a major role in the United States for the past 50 years. Most notably in Miami when cocaine production skyrocketed in the 1970s. [6]

Since 2008, the U.S. Congress has supported the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) with approximately $800 million [7] to "fund programs for narcotics interdiction, strengthening law enforcement and justice institutions and violence prevention through work with at-risk youth". [2] The CARSI offers equipment (vehicles and communication equipment), technical support and guidance to counter drug trade. [7] The program also supports special units that cooperate with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Guatemala and Honduras to investigate drug cartels, share intelligence, and promote regional collaboration. [2]

Colombia

For more than ten years, the U.S. has been funding Plan Colombia, which aims to combat illegal drugs production in the country, especially the growing of coca, the plant from which cocaine is produced. Former President Obama's top drug policy adviser, R. Gil Kerlikowske, announced a drug plan in May 2010 emphasizing prevention and treatment in the United States. [8]

Peru

The administration has left financing for eradication projects in the Andes largely unchanged, despite debate over whether such efforts can sharply restrict the supply of cocaine or significantly increase the price in the United States in the long run. American anti-narcotics aid for Peru stands at $71.7 million this year, slightly higher than last year's $70.7 million. [8] American anti-narcotics officials operate from a newly expanded Peruvian police base in Tingo María, overseeing Peruvian teams that fan out to nearby valleys to cut down coca bushes by hand.

Guatemala

The U.S. has worked with Guatemalan authorities to clamp down on South American cocaine routes, many of which use Guatemala as a landing zone. [2] In October 2013, the US supplied six twin-engine "Super Huey" helicopters to Guatemala in an effort to halt illegal air traffic. [2]

Mexico

Mexico is estimated to be the world's third largest producer of opium with poppy cultivation. It also is a major supplier of heroin and the largest foreign supplier of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine to the U.S. market. [9] [10] These drugs are supplied by Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs). The U.S. government estimates that Mexican DTOs gain tens of billions of dollars each year from drug sales in the U.S. alone. [11]

DTOs are continually battling for control of territory in Mexico used for the cultivation, importation and transportation of illicit drugs. [12] The U.S. government considers groups affiliated with DTOs a significant threat to the safety within the U.S. [10] The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) enforces 'the controlled substances laws and regulations of the US and pursues organizations and members involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the U.S.'. [13] The Mexican DTOs that pose the biggest threat to the US, according to the DEA, are the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Juarez Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas Cartel and the Beltran-Leyva Organization. [12]

In 2007, the U.S. launched the Merida initiative, a bilateral partnership that supports Mexico's law enforcement, helps to counteract the illegal trade in narcotics and strengthens border security. The four main focuses of this initiative are 'disrupting organized criminal groups; institutionalizing the rule of law; creating a 21st-century border, and building strong and resilient communities'. [14] More recently, the initiative focused on improving security around Mexico's southern border and countering the production and trafficking of heroin and fentanyl. Until March 2017, more than $1.6bn has been invested in the Merida initiative, [14] of which almost $900,000 was spent on protective equipment necessary for the secured demolishing of narcotic labs. [15]

In Mexico, the DEA combats operations of DTOs by conducting bilateral investigations with foreign counterparts, providing investigative assistance and leads to DEA domestic offices and other agencies, providing training and technical equipment to 'host nation participants to initiate and carry out complex criminal investigations, providing assistance in developing drug control laws and regulations, and providing training and material support to foreign law enforcement counterparts'. [16]

Puerto Rico

See: Illegal drugs in Puerto Rico

Legalization debate

Latin American leaders, including the presidents of Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico, have called for debate about legalizing and regulating aspects of drug production, trade or use. Some Latin leaders are discussing the need to experiment further with decriminalizing possession of drugs. Lawmakers are also proposing to scrap jail terms for growing coca and cannabis. As some Latin American leaders call for legalization of narcotics, Peru, a leading coca grower, remains opposed. [17]

Drugs and government corruption

A Brazilian cocaine production site in the Amazon rainforest. ABr laboratorio cocaina amazonia - Valter Campanato.jpg
A Brazilian cocaine production site in the Amazon rainforest.

Several Latin American and Caribbean countries have at times seen governments actively involved in the illegal drug trade in the 1970s and 1980s.[ citation needed ] 1978 and 1980 saw "cocaine coups" in Honduras and Bolivia which brought such governments to power (see illegal drug trade in Honduras and illegal drug trade in Bolivia). In Panama, Manuel Noriega, a long-term drug trafficker, was head of the military from 1983 to 1989, with CIA support.

The Colombian parapolitics scandal revealed links between parts of the Colombian establishment and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary group responsible for killing tens of thousands of Colombian civilians, which controls over 75% of the Colombian cocaine trade. The illegal drug trade in Peru was until 2000 shaped by Vladimiro Montesinos's involvement; [18] he had been head of the country's intelligence service since 1990.

In 2010 it was alleged that the Mexican Sinaloa cartel had used bribery to co-opt the federal government and focus the government's anti-drug efforts on its competitors. [19] According to Peter Dale Scott, "The Guadalajara Cartel, Mexico's most powerful drug-trafficking network in the early 1980s, prospered largely because it enjoyed the protection of the DFS, under its chief Miguel Nazar Haro, a CIA asset." [20]

Now, in the 21st century, there are still major issues with government corruption in Latin America. In Latin America 62% of people believe that the level of corruption had risen in the last 12 months according to a study in 2017. [21] People feel this way due to a number of ways in which governments use corruption to gain money and power at the expense of their people. In Venezuela the Maduro regime has been known to allow transnational criminal organizations. [22] This is along with money laundering, or illicit finance [22] , which keeps money in the pockets of criminals and government officials instead of the people.

See also

Related Research Articles

The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. The think tank Global Financial Integrity's Transnational Crime and the Developing World report estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652 billion in 2014 alone. With a world GDP of US$78 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally, and it remains very difficult for local authorities to reduce the rates of drug consumption.

Narcoterrorism, in its original context, is understood to refer to the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by the systematic threat or use of such violence. As with most definitions of terrorism, it typically only refers to non-state actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narco-state</span> Political and economic term

Narco-state is a political and economic term applied to countries where all legitimate institutions become penetrated by the power and wealth of the illegal drug trade. The term was first used to describe Bolivia following the 1980 coup of Luis García Meza which was seen to be primarily financed with the help of narcotics traffickers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War on drugs</span> Campaign against illegal drug use and trade

The war on drugs is the policy of a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, foreign assistance, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the US. The initiative includes a set of drug policies that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of psychoactive drugs that the participating governments, through United Nations treaties, have made illegal.

Juan Ramón Matta-Ballesteros is a Honduran former major narcotics trafficker who has been credited with being one of the first to connect Mexican drug traffickers with the Colombian cocaine cartels. This connection paved the way for a major increase in the amount of cocaine smuggled into the United States during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Matta was indicted for operating several major cocaine smuggling rings in United States in the early 1980s. He was also one of the narcotics traffickers accused of the kidnap and murder of American DEA agent Enrique Camarena in 1985.

The Guadalajara Cartel, also known as The Federation, was a Mexican drug cartel which was formed in the late 1970s by Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Rafael Caro Quintero, and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo in order to ship cocaine and marijuana to the United States. Among the first of the Mexican drug trafficking groups to work with the Colombian cocaine mafias, the Guadalajara Cartel prospered from the cocaine trade. Throughout the 1980s, the cartel controlled much of the drug trafficking in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico–United States border. It had operations in various regions in Mexico which included the states of Jalisco, Baja California, Colima, Sonora, Chihuahua and Sinaloa among others. Multiple modern present day drug cartels such as the Tijuana, Juárez and Sinaloa cartels originally started out as branches or "plazas" of the Guadalajara Cartel before its eventual disintegration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican drug war</span> War between Mexicos government and various drug trafficking syndicates

The Mexican drug war is an ongoing asymmetric armed conflict between the Mexican government and various drug trafficking syndicates. When the Mexican military intervened in 2006, the government's main objective was to reduce drug-related violence. The Mexican government has asserted that their primary focus is dismantling the cartels and preventing drug trafficking. The conflict has been described as the Mexican theater of the global war on drugs, as led by the United States federal government.

A drug policy is the policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances, particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. While drug policies are generally implemented by governments, entities at all levels may have specific policies related to drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal drug trade in Colombia</span> Colombian sale and distribution of illegal narcotics

The illegal drug trade in Colombia has, since the 1970s, centered successively on four major drug trafficking cartels: Medellín, Cali, Norte del Valle, and North Coast, as well as several bandas criminales, or BACRIMs. The trade eventually created a new social class and influenced several aspects of Colombian culture, economics, and politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mérida Initiative</span> Security cooperation agreement

The Mérida Initiative, also called Plan Mexico, is a security cooperation agreement among the United States, the government of Mexico, and the countries of Central America. With the declared aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and money laundering, assistance between the countries includes training, equipment and intelligence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinaloa Cartel</span> Transnational drug-trafficking organization

The Sinaloa Cartel, also known as the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Federation, the Blood Alliance, or the Pacific Cartel, is a large, transnational organized crime syndicate based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico that specializes in illegal drug trafficking and money laundering.

A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin, or lord of drugs is a type of crime boss in charge of a drug trafficking network, organization, or enterprise.

Narcotics in Bolivia, South America, is a subject that primarily involves the coca crop, used in the production of the drug, cocaine. Trafficking and corruption have been two of the most prominent negative side-effects of the illicit narcotics trade in Bolivia and the country's government has engaged in negotiations with the United States (US) as result of the industry's ramifications.

Illegal drug trade in Venezuela is the practice of illegal drug trading in Venezuela. Venezuela has been a path to the United States for cocaine originating in Colombia, through Central America and Mexico and Caribbean countries such as Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. In the 2010s, Venezuela also gradually became a major producer of cocaine.

The illegal drug trade in Guatemala includes trans-shipment of cocaine to the United States. According to some reports, Mexican drug cartels such as Sinaloa have also established poppy growing operations there. There is a reported relationship between the Mexican Los Zetas cartel and the Guatemalan Kaibiles military force.

Drug trafficking organizations are defined by the United States Department of Justice as, "complex organizations with highly defined command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or distribute large quantity "Law enforcement reporting indicates that Mexican DTOs maintain drug distribution networks, or supply drugs to distributors, in at least 230 U.S. cities." The use of weapons and fear are commonplace in trafficking which often lead to other crimes in the process. The structures of many of these organizations are of a para-military nature using armed combatants to protect their stock of illegal drugs from growth to delivery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal drug trade in the United States</span> Sale and distribution of illegal narcotics in the USA

The US federal government is an opponent of the illegal drug trade; however, state laws vary greatly and in some cases contradict federal laws.

<i>Narcosobrinos</i> affair Cocaine smuggling by Venezuelan President Maduros nephews

The Narcosobrinos affair is the situation of events that surrounded two nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores who were arrested for narcotics trafficking. The nephews, Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas, were arrested on 10 November 2015 by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after attempting to transport 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. A year later on 18 November 2016, the two nephews were found guilty, with the cash allegedly destined to "help their family stay in power". On 14 December 2017, the two were sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the drug trade in West Africa rapidly expanded amid dramatic increases in US and European demand for cocaine, cannabis, and other drugs. This resulted in the expansion of two distinct trade routes, both of which went through West Africa. One route exported domestically produced cannabis from West Africa to South Africa, Europe, and Asia. The other trade route moved cocaine from Latin America and heroin from Afghanistan and Southeast Asia to Europe and the United States. In both of these routes, drug traffickers took advantage of trading networks created by Malian and Berber traders in colonial times to move drugs through the region, as well as West Africa's broader geographical location as an intermediate stop from Latin America and Southwest Asia to Europe and the United States. This was due in part to West Africa's badly policed borders, endemic corruption, and economic inequalities.

Organized crimes in Peru refers to the transnational, national, and local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals who engage in illegal activity in the country, including drug trafficking organizations, terrorism, and attempted murder.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ribando Seelke et al (2010), Congressional Research Service, 30 April 2010, Latin America and the Caribbean: Illicit Drug Trafficking and U.S. Counterdrug Programs Archived 2012-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 International Crisis Group. "Corridor of Violence: The Guatemala-Honduras Border". CrisisGroup.org. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  3. ↑ ROEBUCK, JEREMY (March 9, 2010). "Violence the result of fractured arrangement between Zetas and Gulf Cartel, authorities say". The Brownsville Herald. Archived from the original on 2010-03-13. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  4. 1 2 Zirnite, Peter (1998-04-01). "The Militarization of the Drug War in Latin America". Current History. 97 (618): 166–173. doi:10.1525/curh.1998.97.618.166. ISSN   0011-3530.
  5. ↑ Nadelmann, Ethan A. (1987). "The DEA In Latin America: Dealing With Institutionalized Corruption". Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs. 29 (4): 1–40. doi:10.2307/165816. ISSN   0022-1937.
  6. ↑ Hernández, Isabela De los Rios. “How Drug Trafficking Has Kept Its Hold on Latin America.” Harvard International Review, Harvard International Review, 26 June 2024, hir.harvard.edu/knowledge-soil-politics-and-poverty-how-drug-trafficking-has-kept-its-hold-on-latin-america/#:~:text=In%20the%20last%20couple%20of,drug%20trafficking%20groups%20to%20thrive.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 Meyer, Peter J. and Seelke, Clare Ribando. Congressional Research Service. 6 May 2014. "Central America Regional Security Initiative: Background and Policy Issues for Congress". Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  8. 1 2 Romero, Simon (14 June 2010). "Coca Production Makes a Comeback in Peru". New York Times.
  9. ↑ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  10. 1 2 "DEA.gov / Headquarters News Releases, 12/06/16". www.dea.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  11. ↑ "Mexico's Drug War". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  12. 1 2 U.S. department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. "2017 National Drug Threat Assessment" (PDF). dea.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-25.
  13. ↑ "DEA.gov / Mission Statement". www.dea.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  14. 1 2 Ribando Seelke & Finklea, Clare & Kristin. "U.S. - Mexican Security Cooperation: The Mérida Initiative and Beyond" (PDF). fas.org.
  15. ↑ "Merida Initiative Supports Mexican Government in Fight against Clandestine Narcotics Laboratories | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico. 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  16. ↑ "DEA / North and Central America". www.dea.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  17. ↑ Leff, Alex. "Latin America's Drug War Evolution".
  18. ↑ "Former Drug Lord Rips Peru's Fujimoris as He's Released From Prison". VOA News. 13 January 2016.
  19. ↑ Lacey, Marc (2010-05-11). "Mexican Drug Cartel Documents Show Ties to Police". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2018-01-21.
  20. ↑ Peter Dale Scott (2000), Washington and the politics of drugs Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine , Variant, 2(11)
  21. ↑ Pring, Coralie. PEOPLE AND CORRUPTION: LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: Global Corruption Barometer. Transparency International, 2017. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep20517.{{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. 1 2 Office, U. S. Government Accountability (2024-10-16). "Venezuela's Political Unrest Has Made Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Other Crimes Easier | U.S. GAO". www.gao.gov. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
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