For thousands of years, Colombian residents have benefitted by the growing, manufacturing and trading of cocaine. Its main ingredient, the coca plant, has been cultivated on the slopes of the Andes since before the time of the Incas when it was attributed magical powers. The cultivation of coca has continued into the modern era because of Colombia’s ideal climate and terrain for the plant (Carroll). As Rory Carroll writes in his article for The Guardian, poor Colombian farmers have the option to “grow corn, rice, potatoes and vegetables for prices that fluctuate and sometimes barely make it worthwhile, or grow coca, safe in the knowledge of a handsome return.”
However, the factors that perpetuate the drug trade in Colombia are not solely based on its convenient geography. A civil war has been raging in Colombia, albeit with several breaks in action but consistent violence throughout. La Violencia (“The Violence”) started in 1948 after the assassination of Liberal leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan. After several unsuccessful attempts at governmental control of the conflict between liberal and conservative groups, an alliance between former Conservative President Laureano Gomez and former Liberal President Alberto Lleras Camargo led to the creation of the National Front, an initiative to end partisan violence, in July 1957 (US State Department). This measure was eventually phased out in 1978. Numerous post- National Front administrations have tried to end the violence between the left-wing guerilla groups that follow Marxist ideologies and the conservative right-wing paramilitary groups. Most prominent among these guerrilla groups are the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the ELN (National Liberation Army), which are both heavily involved in drug trafficking and are key players in the crime that plagues current day Colombia (Insight on Conflict).
Knowledge of the current political situation sets the scene of how the drug trade has become so huge in Colombia. The war itself and the drug trade perpetuate each other symbiotically, because both sides of the war invest in drug trafficking to finance their combat needs, thus increasing the demand for cocaine. Douglas Farah explains the situation in his article for the Crimes of War Project, “The drug traffickers have shown themselves willing to work with and finance both sides…Guerrillas and paramilitaries alike have grown rich off the war, and the profits that the war has engendered make the prospect of peace that much more elusive.” In addition, the guerilla groups aid the cocaine trade by protecting their fields and labs, in exchange for a large tax that the traffickers pay the organization (PBS). The paramilitary groups also help by guarding smuggling routes, also receiving large sums of money in exchange for their service (Mendez). Thus, as PBS puts it in their “Colombian Cartels” article, both sides “are able to reap huge profits from the drug industry which are then turned into guns for further fighting.”
Colombia’s geographic features are perfect for the cultivation of the coca plant, thus catapulting Colombia into center stage of the drug trafficking world. Any attempts to stop the trade by the Colombian government as well as the governments of other countries (i.e., Nixon’s “War of Drugs”) have been thus far unsuccessful because the drug trade is tightly sewn into the fabric of Colombian partisan conflict. Set into motion by Colombia’s unfortunately ideal geographic features, drug trade in Colombia continues to exist not only due to the immense profitability it awards cultivators, but the partisan groups that continue to support and be supported by the trafficking.
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ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with your arguments about geographic features as well as the strong groups of FARC and ELN as being the top contributors of the rapid growth of drug trade in Colombia. I would like to add though, that even though as you have said, that any attempts to stop the trade by the Colombian government and governments of other countries have failed, a huge amount of money is poured annually into the stopping of this trade. An estimated 3 billion dollars has been spent in the last five years by the U.S, to train local prosecutors and police, help get ride of fields of coca, operate surveillance equipment and otherwise battle the widening drug trade in Latin America. Surveillance must be kept on all exports and imports leaving Colombia, which costs extreme amounts of money. The U.S involvement in this drug war, is in my opinion a waste of money, because cartels have found ways to exports cocaine in ways undetectable to the police. Instead of trying to catch exports one by one, the government of Colombia and other countries should work together, and hit the main source of this trade, which are the farmers growing the crops, due to the lack of jobs, forcing them to rely on the growth of Coca plants to support themselves and their families.
ReplyDeleteBennett, Brian. "U.S. Can't Justify Its Drug War Spending, Reports Say." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 09 June 2011. Web. 08 May 2012.
Although your argument is sound and very true I think that you are missing a few aspects. Though it is true that FARC and ELN are what helped expand the rapid demand for the drug trade, they were created originally with good intentions of people jut trying to protect themselves from the violence going on. Also, even though the climate and other geographic aspects that are perfect for growing the coca plant is part of the reason why Colombians grow it, it is not the sole reason. As your quote said, they grew it because they knew they could make a profit after the 'civil war' between the liberal and conservative groups made many drop into poverty. Lastly, there are also different types of paramilitary groups that have very different goals. On the one hand are the original, Death to Kidnappers (MAS), which were the drug lords who were sick of their families being kidnapped by FARC. On the other hand however, there are also the paramilitary groups, like the Colombian Armed Forces, who were either part of or hired by the government.
ReplyDeleteLeech, Garry. "Fifty Years of Violence." History. Colombia Journal. Columbia Journal, May 1999. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.
Although this post highlights the ideal geographic aspects of Colombia that allowed for the production of cocaine in the country, it fails to discuss the major cartel groups that predominantly existed around the 1970s, which played a huge role in the drug trade. This post discusses the involvement of rebel groups, like the FARC, and paramilitary groups, like the ELN, in the drug trade. A major point made here is that these two groups played a huge role in the success of illegal drug trade for decades, for, as stated, their contributions made to protect and facilitate this industry were significant. However, although this post highlighted that, it failed to discuss some of the other major groups that contributed to the rise of drug trade in Colombia, like the Medellin and Cali Cartels.
ReplyDeleteThe Medellin and Cali Cartels were two of the most involved groups in the drug trade, for their advanced methods and technologies proved significant in the spread of the drug trade. The Medellin Cartel made use of small airplanes to smuggle cocaine into different areas and countries, thus increasing demand for the cultivation of the coca plant (The Colombian Cartel). This new technology made cocaine more accessible and prevalent in areas throughout the country and even the United States. The Cali cartel also used technology to facilitate drug trade, for their technology made it more difficult for the government to end illegal drug trade. Engineers were hired to develop technologies that prevented such illegal activities from getting picked up by the government and other anti-narcotic agencies (The Colombian Cartel).
Therefore, although this post discussed the FARC and ELN’s contribution in the drug trade, in order to make a profit, it failed to discuss the actual groups that were responsible for the increase of this trade throughout Colombia and its spread to other countries.
“The Colombian Cartels.” PBS. Web. 28 April 2012. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/business/inside/colombian.html
After reading everyone’s comments I have learned of a few more aspects that would serve to enhance my argument. Diandra’s comment as well of further research of my own has enlightened me to the fact that Colombia’s geography, although a huge factor in the cultivation of coca, is not the sole reason that farmers began to grow the plant. The group FARC originated from the dissatisfactions of peasants and farmers, and many farmers left their land to join other FARC members on their bases in the mountains. Unable to reproduce their old crops, many turned to coca because it does not require pesticides or fertilizer and provides an economically safe alternative. Also, as Danielle stated, more emphasis needs to be placed on the drug cartels such as the Medillin and Cali. The revolutionary and paramilitary forces are involved in furthering the drug trade, but these cartels are the catalysts that made the drug trade so profitable in Colombia. In addition, the mass expenditures and general failure of the United States and other countries to put an end to the drug war have only intensified the conflict and forced cartels to find more creative methods of smuggling drugs such as submarines and small planes. These are all major factors that contribute to the drug trade in Colombia.
ReplyDelete