The International
Drug Trade
Area Case Studies
Types of Security
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Military
Economic
Political
Environmental
THE INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRADE
HAS A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON ALL
OF THESE!!!!
The drug trade and
Military Security
Traffickers in some countries have often owned
larger and more sophisticated military resources
than the police or the military
Examples:
Caribbean/ Central & South America/ Areas of Asia and the Middle
East
Fact:
During 1994 Columbian authorities discovered an advanced IBM
computer used by traffickers to analyze calls to the police
The drug trade and
Economic Security
Drug abuse contributes to loss of productivity
due to addiction, rehabilitation, and
incarceration.
Fact: In 1991, Jamaica’s adult male inmate population
was 33% above capacity
The drug trade and
Political Security
Drug operations generate a significant
amount of crime and violence around the
world
Examples: Kidnapping/ Bribery/ Tax Evasion/ Theft/
Money Laundering/ Murder/ Extortion/ Narcoterrorism
Fact: Caribbean homicide rates are 34% higher and
robbery rates are 26% higher than in countries with
similar economic conditions.
The drug trade and
Environmental Security
Drug production, specifically cocaine and heroine
production, result in enormous amounts of
pollution and deforestation.
Fact: Production of cocaine involves
(Andean Region)
1. dumping 10million liters of sulfuric acid
2. 16 million liters of ethyl ether
3. 600 million liters of kerosene
4. slash and burn planting
Almost all of this is dumped into
rivers or end up in the water table
The International Drug Trade
Some Basic Facts
1. Over 600 Billion Dollar a year industry
2. Over 100 countries have direct involvement in the
trade somehow
3. Supply of drugs come from all countries participating
a. notable areas are Latin America / golden Triangle
(South East Asia)/ Golden Crescent (Pakistan/
Afghanistan/ Iran/ Turkey)
4. Many governments hardest hit by the trade do not have
the resources to properly fight it.
The United States as a Drug
Consumer
The US spends
1. 64-65 billion dollars annually
The US economy
1. drained of 67 billion dollars a year
US Demand for illegal drugs
1. Going down
International demand for illegal drugs
1. Going up
Drug Trafficking into the US
Only about 15-20% of narcotics are seized
Why?
1. Enormous amount of entry points
a. Thousands of inlets and roads
2. All Caribbean Islands are less than
2,000 miles from Miami
a. most are less than 2,000 miles
from Washington DC
3. “Go Fast” Traffickers
Latin American
Columbia
(A Case Study)
Columbia
1. One of the world’s largest suppliers of cocaine,
and now unfortunately heroine
2. Columbia is home to two of the world’s largest
cartels
a.Cali and Medellin
* buy off politicians
* assassinate political leaders (peaked
during the drug wars of 1989 -1990)
Early Cartels
International Distribution in Columbia starts in the
1970s
1. Was unorganized
2. Human traffickers “Mules”
a. many in the business were mules
Demand for Cocaine in the United States increases
in the 1980s
1. higher demand = more organization
2. Cali and Medellin Cartels made 5-6 billion a year
Cartels in the 1990s
Traffickers Used
1. Merchant Vessels/ Aircraft/ Semi
Submersible Vessels
2. Laboratories (large industrial complexes)
a. remote jungle regions
3. International relationships with other criminal
organizations
a. Columbian Cartels & Sicilian Mob
The Medellin Cartel
1980s – Early 1990s
1. Named After Columbian City
2. Lead by Pablo Escobar
3. Known For
a. ruthlessness
b. violence (declares war against the gov’t)
* US extradition
4. Self Destructs
a. Escobar killed by Columbian Police
* 1993
Cali Cartel
Cali Cartel (1990s)
1. Subtle & Less flashy than the Medellin
a. businessmen who mastered money
laundering & paying off officials
2. US demand drops (1990s- Present)
a. exploit a new European market
3. Many leaders tracked down
a. dominance ends in late 1990s
Cartels Today
Late 1990s –Present
1. Industry fragments
2. Small Cells
a. 300 active organizations in
Columbia alone
Colombian Guerillas
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
1. Collected protection taxes
a. could not
2. Narco-Terrorism
Plan Colombia
Andres Pastrana
1. President (1998-2002)
2. Plan Colombia
a. destroy coca planting
b. 7.5 billion
c. A lot from the United States (1.3 Billion)
* good and bad
* “spill over”
d. (2006) 213, 724 hectares eradicated
Problems with Crop Substitution
NO EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT ILLEGAL DRUGS BROUGHT
AN ECONOMIC BOOM TO ANY ANDEAN COUNTRY
1980s when cocaine spiked in the Andean Area
1. GDP Fell 28%
Problems with Crop Substitution
The Vast Majority of Farmers Want to Move to Legitimate Crops
WHY IS THERE NO MOVEMENT ?
1. Environmental
a. soil in the Andean region is acidic and damp
* favors Coca and not other plants
2. Structural
a. There is no way to bring crops to far away legal markets
* In Peru until 1994 it took 14 hours to go from the rural
Andean region to Lima
* guerillas made it twice as long
b. Political Instability
Problems with Crop Substitution
2.Economic
a. Coca gives a quicker return as an
investment then other crops
b. No local markets to sustain farmers