Cocaine In Colombia And Its Effects On The Country
Latin American countries such as Colombia, Peru, and Brazil have always been seen as leaders in illegal goods movement and, more specifically, cocaine. As of today, about 4% of the world population, almost 300 million people, has consumed cocaine in their lifetime. From the 1970s to present day, Colombia has been a major producer and distributor of cocaine to the United States, Asia, and Europe. Although the United States and Europe are where the main markets for the drug are, South America also has a steadily growing consumer market. Colombia produces about 43% of the global production of cocaine, which is worth about $10 billion a year. The United States of America, being the largest consumer of cocaine, needs about 196 tons in order to satisfy the growing demand for the drug.
The cocaine market moved to Colombia in 1973 when Brazil and Peru, leading cocaine producers at the time, had higher risks in shipping the drug. By 1975, Colombia was producing and exporting 4,000 kilograms of cocaine to the United States a year. In order to transport cocaine across borders, small amounts have to be taken by air, car, or boat. Most of the cocaine that is transported is put into fair trade items in order to make it across the border. Usually, the product will pass through the hands of several organizations in order to reach its intended markets. In Colombia’s case, this includes transnational crime organizations, guerillas, and drug mules. Bribes are normally used to secure the trading routes. This can include paying large amounts of money, up to 500 million dollars a year, to politicians, police, and judges to protect trading routes and docks. By land, the drugs will be transported by truck or car and delivered to the coast of Colombia. From there, the drugs are loaded onto small boats and submarines that transport them to the intended countries. Only small amounts of the drug are trafficked through the airplane, by “drug mule”, due to the extensive security checks required in order to fly commercial. Otherwise, the drugs may also be flown in a small private plane. Due to the rising rate of drug use in Europe, there become new transshipment point in Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela.
Cocaine has had a positive effect on Colombia through the solidification of their economy. Since the cocaine trade market has a diverse amount of jobs, families who are seeking financial help can work for some of the drug trafficking cartels by transporting or growing coca. By providing work for these families, Colombia’s GDP and standard of living have risen. Some of the profits made by the cocaine trade has also helped keep U. S. and European banks open during the recession, through money laundering, and caused an increase in employment in the private security sector where large coca farmers and transporters are located in Central America.
There is also a large negative effect that the cocaine trade has left. Surges of violence, corruption, and human rights violations caused by drug cartels have caused Colombia to have the second largest population of displaced people. Cocaine production has also caused a large amount of deforestation for fields to grow coca as well as a surge in sexually transmitted diseases. Prostitutes for employees.
Coca is a commonly used plant for chewing and making tea in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. Major drug cartels in Colombia can import large amounts of coca from Brazil or Peru, who have similar climates to Colombia, or grow their own in remote parts that are not controlled by the Colombian government. Generally, about 69,000-188,000 hectares of land are needed for coca farms due to the large amount needed to produce cocaine. About 1 kilo of cocaine can equal up to 125 kilos of coca. Coca plants are fairly cheap to produce and, due to the high demand, it allows coca farmers to make about $1,200 a year. In 2016, the United Nations estimated that about 106,000 Colombian farmers relied on coca as their main source of income. When the coca plant is processed it changes into a paste and then taken to a facility where it is made into cocaine.
The Medellin Cartel and the Cali Cartel are the two main rival cocaine producers in Colombia. In 1996, together the cartels controlled about 80% of the cocaine traffic in the Andean regions, as well as a part of the United States consumer market. The Medellin Cartel are the better know cocaine producer because of Pablo Escobar. Escobar is one of the most famous drug lords in history due to his immense wealth and power over the drug trafficking community. He began his cocaine operation in 1975 by flying a plane himself in order to smuggle the drug into the United States. He eventually was able to grow his operation and bought small airplanes and helicopters to transport his good. He also about a small island in the Bahamas called Norman Clay for his aircrafts to refuel before dropping off the cocaine in Miami and surrounding areas. In the 1980s, they supplied about 80% of the global cocaine market and earned about $4 billion a year for each of its members.
The Cali Cartel, although not as famous, made its way through the cocaine consumer market after Pablo Escobar died and the Medellin Cartel began to become a smaller and looser organization. This cartel started drug trafficking marijuana until they branched out to cocaine in the 1980s after Escobar’s control on the market began to loosen. The cartel is based out of southern Colombia in the city of Cali. They make about 7 billion a year in the drug trade. Some of the newer and smaller cartels that also tried their hand in the cocaine consumer market are Norte del Valle Cartel and the North Coast Cartel. Today the shift in the drug trafficking of cocaine in Colombia is no longer as prominent as it was in the 1990s.
