Colombia Drug Trafficking PDF

Colombia and Drug Trafficking Colombia has significant natural resources and its diverse culture reflects the indigenous Indian, Spanish and African origins of its people. But it has also been ravaged by a decades-long violent conflict involving outlawed armed groups, drug cartels and gross violat...

Colombia and Drug Trafficking Colombia has significant natural resources and its diverse culture reflects the indigenous Indian, Spanish and African origins of its people. But it has also been ravaged by a decades-long violent conflict involving outlawed armed groups, drug cartels and gross violations of human rights, although since 2002, the country has made some progress towards improving security. The fourth largest country in South America and one of the continent's most populous nations, Colombia has substantial oil reserves and is a major producer of gold, silver, emeralds, platinum and coal. It also has a highly stratified society where the traditionally rich families of Spanish descent have benefited from this wealth to a far greater degree than the majority, mixed-race population. With few avenues for social mobility, this provided a natural constituency for left-wing insurgents. However, the lucrative returns from drugs and kidnapping came to dominate the rebels' agenda, and largely replaced ideological motivations. The conflict has dragged on for decades, and at one point the government effectively lost control of large swathes of Colombian territory to the rebels, especially in the north and east. However, since 2002 the government has managed a string of spectacular successes against the rebels, regaining control of much of their territory and raising hopes that the conflict might be drawing to a close. Farc, the largest rebel group, began talks with the government in earnest in November 2012, and the authorities said the rival ELN was also interested in negotiations. The government has been leading efforts to rebrand the country and shake off its image as a trouble spot associated with drugs and kidnapping. Narco Tourism major advances have been made in security, de-mobilization of illegal armed groups, drug eradication and economic development, and that by early 2012 only 6% of the country was under potential threat from terrorist groups or organized criminal bands. Several foreign governments, however, maintain travel warnings. The US State Department says that security has improved significantly in recent years, but that violence by narco-terrorist groups continues to affect some rural areas and large cities. Britain's travel advisory in early 2012 says that there is a high threat from terrorism, with continued, indiscriminate attacks targeting government buildings, public transport, public spaces, and other areas frequented by foreigners Critics argue that while weakened, the rebels' backbone has not been broken, and that the underlying causes of the conflict have not been tackled. New illegal armed groups have also arisen, and little progress has been made in combating drug- smuggling. Another story entirely is told by the monitoring of “go-fast” boats and other maritime drug trafficking – which accounts for a much higher portion of total drug trafficking. Here, the vast majority of suspect traffic originates from Colombia’s coasts. VICE At the other end of the political spectrum from the left-wing rebels are illegal right-wing paramilitary groups, who are sometimes in the pay of drug cartels and landowners, and have at times been backed by elements in the army and the police. Many of these militias, which have have targeted human-rights workers, peasants suspected of helping guerrillas, street children and other marginal groups, have de-mobilized under a government peace initiative, but there are doubts about how genuine the process is. Woman and child flee fighting between FARC urban militia and armed forces. October 18, 2002. https://apnews.com/article/amazon-deforestation-colombia-farc-armed- dissidents-emc-90db9cef21c2b38fecf68d1d980f897c The US, a key market for Colombian cocaine, has bankrolled the fight against the trade to the tune of billions of dollars. But critics say "Plan Colombia" has had little impact on the supply and price of drugs. Why is the US involved in Colombia? More than 90% of all cocaine on American streets comes from Colombia, so the US administration is keen to tackle the supply at source. Since 2000, Washington has spent several billion dollars on training and equipping Colombian forces, and providing intelligence to help tackle drug traffickers and eliminate coca crops. Human rights groups say the line between the war on drugs and the war on rebels has been increasingly blurred. They say Colombia's rebels have been disproportionately targeted in Plan Colombia, though it is the paramilitaries who have been most involved in drug- trafficking. The US and Colombia signed a controversial deal in October 2009 to allow the US military use of several Colombian airbases. The two countries said this was to counter drug-trafficking and terrorism. But some of Colombia's neighbours expressed concern at what they saw as an increased US military presence in South America. Colombia’s coca wars