Drug trafficking in Latin America

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant facts and figures related to the issue of Drug Trafficking in Latin America. The above analysis points to the main aspects and effects of drug trafficking in Latin America. This research has examined the History of Drug Trafficking in Latin America along with the effectiveness of previous and existing drug trafficking policies. On the basis of literature analysis, this paper also proposes a set of policies to eliminate the problem of Drug Trafficking in Latin America. Finally, the paper also presents policy recommendation for addressing this issue in Interamerican politics.

Drug trafficking in Latin America

Introduction

Drug trafficking is the system of buying and selling illegal drugs. Rules and restrictions relating to the use and trading of illicit drug are usually determined by the law of the state. Apart from specified registered pharmaceutical products, trading in drugs in most countries is almost completely prohibited. Drug trafficking involves many trades: agriculture, chemistry, trading, logistics and transport, import, inventory management, distribution, marketing, money laundering etc. It generally functions as the other markets of raw materials except for two characteristics: the prohibition and the inelastic demand to prices, which help to maintain high prices and therefore higher profits in other markets, making it an attractive activity. It should be noted that drug trafficking is part of a set of illegal practice (arms trafficking, trafficking for labor, etc.) to finance organized crime. The peasant producers receive only a small percentage of income generated by this traffic, yet despite this low percentage, these crops are more profitable than legal crops. They are exposed to detection by satellites or in military operations to eradicate. Some farmers have also specialized in the first stage of the chemical extraction, in order to increase their profit goals. The profits made by producers are returned directly into the economy without going through whitening procedures (Van, 2008).

The name drug, in a generic sense, is designated to any mineral substance, that is used in the in medicine and has stimulant effects, as established by the World Health Organization (WHO), any substance which, when inserted in a living organism may modify one or more of its functions. In Latin America, drug trafficking issues are specifically regulated by the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction. This act control the trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and activities related to their manufacture and distribution, as well as criminal sanctions for violations of statutory prohibitions. This activity is considered as a major source of revenue of the so-called drug cartels of ' Central America and of the ' Latin America (Stephen, 1998).

The smuggling of drugs and narcotics is universal and reflects increasingly accentuated forms of abuse. Latin America has become one of the most critical regions of Drug Trafficking in the world, through which drug dealers distribute drugs, using these countries as major drug trafficking routes. The most highlighted regions for Drug Trafficking in Latin America are Colombia ...