NarcoPolitics In Columbia

Research Paper # 6827

African-American Studies > 1950-Present
Criminology > Drugs Enforcement
International Relations > Non-U.S.

It describes about drugs trades in Columbia.Colombia's extensive history of marijuana trafficking demonstrates that law enforcement pressure in a particular cultivation area is compensated by production and trafficking increases elsewhere. Trafficking or

9,100 words () | 27 sources | 1997 Indonesia

Paper Summary:

Despite the anti-drug triumphs of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar's surrender in 1991 and his subsequent death soon thereafter, rumors about the demise of the huge Medellin drug cartel proved false. Although Colombia's economy seemingly improved and is "the best performing in Latin America" (Salloum, 1994), it is still drug-dependent and that dependency seems largely intermingled with the country's political system. As for the power of the government to 'control' the drug cartels and their members, it should be pointed out that even Pablo Escobar was imprisoned in and escaped from a luxurious and supposedly "maximum-security prison" (Smith, 1996). Yet the Colombian government continues to claim that it is in control and, together with the United States, is allegedly "winning the war on drugs." And much like the U.S. government it appears to be overtly hypocritical in making such claims : For Colombia is a country whose twentieth century history is riddled with political corruption, scandal, and government-intertwined drug-trafficking. It is an abundant and obvious problem; one that could be attacked openly-- yet seems to be genuinely assaulted only minimally by its political "enemies"...

From the Paper:

Colombia, the oldest Latin American democracy, lost its independence in 1991, when Gaviria and the assembly changed the constitution to amend currency and extradition policies, among other things, and accepted the business of drug-trafficking as a lesser of two evils. The driving force behind this great change was greed and the tool was cocaine. Armed with enormous financial resources, drug cartels have reportedly penetrated and corrupted the government, subverted commerce and industry, and eroded the individual's trust in government. Despite the anti-drug triumphs of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar's surrender in 1991 and his subsequent death soon thereafter, rumors about the demise of the huge Medellin drug cartel proved false