With
a low economy and not enough jobs to support the citizens,a large
part of Colombia's population turned to agriculture. The farmers
would grow things like corn, rice, potatoes, and other
vegetables.(Guardian) They would soon find out that even this would
turn out to either make them little money or even cause them to loose
some.
Coca plants
have been cultivated on the slopes of the Andes since before the
Incas. When chewed, its leaves act as a mild stimulant and help
overcome hunger, thirst and fatigue.(Guardian) As the world's drug
trade grew, Coca's value increased. This meant that Columbia's ideal,
humid and tropical, climate would be great for production of large
amounts of Coca. Farmers would now turn to growing Coca plants, which
they knew was a safe and very profitable business. Peasant farmers
now found themselves making more money then they could have imagined
to make from simple crops. The wealthy were now loosing their power
due to the increase of importance of the farmers who were now the
ones growing what would turn out to be the most profitable crop of
Colombia. The growth of the drug trade in Colombia is often discussed
and argued over by the government, but they all forget that this is
not a religious, political, or moral issue, but a public issue all
kept going by the low employment level.( Guardian)
The growth
of Coca plans continued to grow and law enforcement tried to stop it.
For many years, Colombia lacked a political leader who would put an
end to this. With no central authority, police force was weakened and
divided. This division made it harder to organize and coordinate the
officers, and sometimes even caused corruption. Weak enforcement lead
to growth in power of the cartels.
Cartels
trade their drugs around the world, smuggling them in planes, boats,
cars, and even go as far as making their own submarines. With this
much power and wealth, cartels became dangerous people. The drug war
increased the killing and human suffering in Colombia. The cartels
provoke military responses by murdering civilians and other cartels,
which only lead to more terrorist campaigns of their own. Groups such
as Farc, and a smaller rebel group called the ELN, are trafficking
cocaine. Although fought against, Farc has made a military comeback,
ambushing troops and kidnapping and killing a provincial governor. By
starting to fight back, organized crime tends to weaken the moral of
people, further weakening the nation.(KPBS)
Poor
farmers, stuck with the possibility of not having a job, turned to
farming of Coca plants. Colombia's ideal weather proved to be perfect
for its growth. Cartels now used these farmers to increase their
wealth and sales of cocaine. A weak law enforcement could not stop
these cartels, and over years they gained power, wealth, and respect
amongst the drug world. Governments try to stop this global Colombian
drug trade, but fail to do so, blaming political or moral issues,
instead of the social and economic issues the people faced, which
started the growth of Coca in the first place.
Although this post highlights the importance of Colombia’s geographic factors that encourage the cultivation of the coca plant, it fails to put emphasis on the military and governmental support that allows the drug trafficking to perpetuate. It is good that the fact Colombia’s climate and terrain are ideal for the coca plant is stressed. Farming coca is a safe bet for farmers, unlike other crops that fluctuate in value and may produce less than the desired yield (Carroll). However, any attempts to put an end to the drug trade by the Colombian government, or any other country for that matter, have been futile due to the immense profits of drug trafficking reaped from both sides of the Colombian political conflict. Since as early as before the 1980s, left-wing Marxist guerrilla groups have rebelled against the government, which has responded with the use paramilitary forces (which are similar to a professional military but not formally considered part of the government’s armed forces). Both groups assist the drug trade by protecting fields and labs, in exchange for a stake in the drug trafficking profits (PBS).
ReplyDelete"The Colombian Cartels." PBS. PBS. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. .
Carroll, Rory. "Why the War on Drugs in Colombia May Never Be Won." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Feb. 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.
While putting emphasis on the geographic aspect of columbias drug trade is important, the biggest issue would be the lack of power that officials in columbia have over the issue. Columbias climate is perfect for growing coca plant, columbias main export, and the people grow it because they are poor and need a way to survive. But one must also remember that soon after it was realized that drugs were a way to gain wealth, the organization of FARC came about. There needs to be a little more emphasis on their existence because they are primarily a military group that have gained a tremendous amount of power within columbia since their creation in 1964. Not only are they into drug trafficking, but they instill a great amount of fear into the people of columbia. They also kidnap, murder, bomb and they haven't been stopped. One of the worst parts is that in order to even make an attempt to stop FARC and other groups like it, the paramilitaries must take out people who they think is involved, meaning many innocents are also killed. If the government of columbia could enforce their power over the people and stop FARC, the issue of drug trafficking would not have exploded in the 70's like it did.
ReplyDelete"Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - Terrorist Groups." Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - Terrorist Groups. National CounterTerrorism Center. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.
Leech, Garry. "Fifty Years of Violence." History Colombia Journal. Columbia Journal, May 1999. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.
While this post clearly illustrates the involvement of geography in the rise of the drug trade in Colombia, it does not place a heavy enough emphasis on the role of the economic and political state of the country in its growth.
ReplyDeleteThis post was accurate in highlighting the transformation that occurred as farmers strayed from producing traditional commodities and turned toward the more profitable coca plant, however, it failed to discuss to a further extent why conditions within Colombia allowed for this to happen. Cocaine production increased as farmers experienced a reduction in revenue obtained from growing other popular crops, like bananas, cotton, and coffee (The Absurdity of the Drug War in Colombia). This reduction in crop prices, a result of overproduction, was especially unfavorable to farmers around this time, the late 1900s, for Colombia experienced “the worst economic recession it has seen in decades,” (The Absurdity of the Drug War in Colombia). This amplified the importance of making a living for farmers, which caused them to turn toward the valuable coca plant as the next major export.
This post touched upon an important political point in determining the factors that contributed to the spread of the influence of the drug trade in Colombia: the government within Colombia was weak, and many internal conflicts arose and advanced divisions throughout the country. As mentioned, the leftist rebel group, the FARC, and the paramilitary groups were constantly experiencing a power struggle. However, both groups aided in the spread of drug trafficking, for their conflicts hindered the governments ability to put down illegal drug trade as a united nation (The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the Illicit Drug Trade).
Therefore, while this post was accurate in its facts on the rise of the drug trade in Colombia, it failed to extensively analyze the conditions within the country, especially with its economy, that allowed for such trade to continue existing.
“The Absurdity of the Drug War in Columbia." MIT. Web. 29 April 2012. .
Vargas, Ricardo. "The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Illicit Drug Trade." Transnational Institute. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. .
I see the arguments you guys have posted and I agree that I have left out much information about FARC, the weak government, and the influence of other countries on Colombian drug trade. I believe that the drug trade all began due to the lack of jobs, a bad economy, and due to the profit that could be made off the growth of Coca, which Colombia has the perfect climate for. The government has been to divided and weak over the years to be able to stop this drug trade that Colombia has been involved in. The government isn't to blame. Even with a stronger political body, drugs will still be secretly made and transported throughout and out of Colombia. In my opinion, FARC is not a large enough organisation to be controlling all of Colombia. The U.S spends billions of dollars, in support of stopping this drug trade. If Colombia can't stop a local drug group with a military and that much money in aid, than how can government officials do anything to help? If the economy rises and new jobs are created, then there is a possibility the local peasant farmers will turn to other jobs besides growing Coca plants for the cartels. Instead of paying so much money for surveillance and equipment to stop these dealers, why not use it to create more jobs and replenish the Colombian economy?
ReplyDelete