The US War on Drugs in Latin America Essay

For many years, drugs have been the center of crime and the criminal justice system in the United States. Due to this widespread epidemic, President Richard Nixon declared the “War on Drugs” in 1971 with a campaign that promoted the prohibition of illicit substances and implemented policies to discourage the overall production, distribution, and consumption. The War on Drugs and the U.S. drug policy has experienced the most significant and complex challenges between criminal law and the values of today’s society. With implemented drug polices becoming much harsher over the years in order to reduce the overall misuse and abuse of drugs and a expanded federal budget, it has sparked a nation wide debate whether or not they have created more harm than good. When looking at the negative consequences of these policies not only has billions of dollars gone to waste, but the United States has also seen public health issues, mass incarceration, and violent drug related crime within the black market in which feeds our global demands and economy. With this failed approach for drug prohibition, there continues to be an increase in the overall production of illicit substances, high rate of violence, and an unfavorable impact to our nation.

In the essay “America’s Unjust Drug War” by Michael Huemer, Huemer discusses the facts and opinions around the subject on whether or not the recreational use of drugs should be banned by law. Huemer believes that the American government should not prohibit the use of drugs. He brings up the point on drugs and how they harm the users and the people in the user’s life; he proves that the prohibition on drugs in unjust. Huemer believes that drug prohibition is an injustice to Americans’ natural rights and questions why people can persucute those who do drugs.

In the past forty years, the United States has spent over $2.5 trillion dollars funding enforcement and prevention in the fight against drug use in America (Suddath). Despite the efforts made towards cracking down on drug smugglers, growers, and suppliers, statistics show that addiction rates have remained unchanged and the number of people using illegal drugs is increasing daily (Sledge). Regardless of attempts to stem the supply of drugs, the measure and quality of drugs goes up while the price goes down (Koebler). Now with the world’s highest incarceration rates and greatest illegal drug consumption (Sledge), the United States proves that the “war on drugs” is a war that is not being won.

This U.S. support was part of an amplified foreign assistance policy in a shared effort with the government of Colombia to improve local security and combat the rising narcotics market. After a visit to Bogotá in 2000, former director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy General Barry McCaffrey, affirmed in a speech to the Atlantic Council of the United States that “with international solidarity and support for Colombia’s broad-based long-term strategy (i.e., Plan Colombia), drug traffickers and terrorist groups can be deprived of their income, drug production will be crippled, and Colombia’s long-suffering people might secure their basic right to earn a legitimate income without fearing for their lives” (McCaffrey, 2000). Plan Colombia bound the government of Colombia to an encompassing goal: “to strengthen the State in order to regain the citizens’ confidence and recuperate the basic norms of peaceful coexistence” (Plan Colombia, 1999: 3).

The War on Drugs, like the war on Terrorism, is a war that America may not be able to afford to win. For over forty years the United States has been fighting the War on Drugs and there is no end in sight. It has turned into a war that is about politics and economics rather than about drugs and criminals. The victims of this war are numerous; but perhaps they are not as numerous as those who benefit from the war itself.

In 2006, Mexico began to crack down on drug trafficking operations in union with the United States. Why all of the sudden? In regard to that question, my paper will include a history of events leading up to this sudden crack down on drug trafficking, from its start in the 1960’s until today. After the history of the drug war, I will discuss the main states involved like the United States and Mexico itself. Along with their main goal of eliminating drug trafficking all together, although it is a very high expectation. Mexico has sent out 50,000 soldiers that are being paid less than a burrito vendor, in attempt to lessen the

This refers to the elimination of drug crops while they are still being grown. The U.S. has used this policy in several South American countries as a means to limit drug trafficking before it has a chance to develop. However, significantly reducing crops has not always led to decreasing drug trafficking. Reduction of drug crops in one country may lead to increased production in another. This is likely to happen when one country becomes the focus of an eradication effort, while another country can increase its production to fill in the void. If there is one thing that the world market can produce, it is its high demand of illegal drugs. The Drug Policy Alliance gives cites a specific instance verifying the problems that can be associated with eradication procedures. During the mid 1990s, “eradication efforts in Bolivia and Peru created incentives to grow coca in Columbia. While Peru experienced a 66% reduction in coca cultivation and Bolivia experienced a 53% reduction, coca cultivation in Columbia doubled. In addition, more potent strains of coca have been developed, leading to higher yielding coca crops.” This example shows the adverse effects of the policy of eradication.

The international drug trade from Latin American states is having an impact on a global scale. The trafficking of drugs along with corruptness and murder is an international conflict that is being fought daily. There are many aspects of the drug war from Mexico and other Latin American states which have effects on United States policy as well as policies from other countries that participate in the global suppression of illegal drugs.

During the early 1990’s Colombia being one of the biggest exporters of narcotics in history, led by Pablo Escobar, who had a wide range of organized crime affiliations throughout Latin America. Pablo Escobar was a Colombian drug lord and he smuggled narcotics all the way to South Florida as when authorities tried to capture him. One of Pablo Escobar’s most important alliances was that of the Mexican-based traffickers. Escobar knew that this was an important trade route because of its geography and how it would be easier to smuggle the narcotics into the United States. This allowed a smuggling partnership between both countries and Mexico was to eventually lead their own drug based trafficking system with the help of Pablo Escobar. From the distributed drugs, cartels would take a certain amount of profit, and would use that money to bribe Mexican officials. By bribing Mexican officials it was insured that if smugglers were to be arrested they would either be let go, the case would be dropped or taking action against a rival smuggling group by giving away information about the rival’s plan to carry

Nowadays, when someone thinks of Colombia, they unfortunately almost always think of two things, coffee and cocaine (with its associated guerilla warfare). It is true that during the last 50 years these two products, one legal, and the other not, have been great monetary contributors to the Colombian economy. Coffee is Colombia’s principal agricultural product, and it is also the country’s second largest export. The production of coffee uses 300,000 farms and employs almost one million people (Steiner 6). Conversely, cocaine is a completely illegal product, but it earns almost twice as much money as coffee (Steiner 6). Also, in contrast with the production of coffee, cocaine uses fewer employees but earns

Films often depict the trade and use of drugs in Latin America as an extremely violent situation. Countries like Columbia or Mexico are usually where the drugs come from while the United States are the destination. More times than not, Latin America plays the role of an antagonist while the United States plays the protagonist. A film about Latin America, when pertaining to the United States, can fall into one of three categories: fully Latin American, a joint effort between Latin American countries and the United States, or a film by the United States. Gerado Naranjo’s Miss Bala (2011), is a Mexican film that is set in Tijuana, Mexico, and follows a young Mexican pageant girl as she becomes mixed up in the Mexican drug cartels. Maria Full

Latin America has had a long history of drug use, which contributes to its stereotype as a drug infested region. Beginning in the 1970’s, the United States has been trying to eliminate drug cartels, trafficking, and use in Latin America (Bogota). The influence of drugs in Latin America has led to violence and death over the many years.

Drug trafficking has become an increasingly growing problem in the world today. Illegal drug trade is a worldwide black market consisting of production, distribution, packaging, and sale of illegal substances. Although today’s "War on Drugs" is a modern phenomenon, drug problems have been a common problem throughout history. The market for illegal drugs is massive, when we consider the estimated global drug trade value is worth $321 billion (Vulliamy). The most drug trafficking happens on the border between Mexico and the United States. Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, “Our neighbor is the largest consumer of drugs in the world. And everybody wants to sell him drugs through our door and our window”

Research Question: How has the internationalization of the drug trade lessened the FARC’s actions towards their original pledge of helping poor Colombian peasants?

In 1970’s, the Colombian poor farmers began planting Marijuana in purpose of an alternative to legal crops to survive producing. In the 1970’s the Colombian organized crime had been accelerated when criminal groups tried to cash in on the obsession for cocaine in the United States by importing coca leaf from Bolivia and Peru into cocaine hydrochloride (HCL) then trafficking it to the United States. (InSight Crime, n.d.). During the time of Pablo Escobar in 1980’s the first major cocaine cartels emerged in Medellin cartel and Cali cartel in southwest. (PBS.org, n.d.).