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Date: April 25, 2024 Thu

Time: 12:10 am

Results for cocaine

63 results found

Author: Hay, Gordon

Title: National and Regional Estimates of the Prevalence of Opiate Use and/or Crack Cocaine Use 2005-2006: A Summary of Key Findings

Summary: This report summarizes the results of the second sweep of a three-year study to estimate the prevalence of problem drug use (defined as use of opiates and/or crack cocaine) nationally (England only), regionally, and locally. An overview of national and government office region estimates are presented as comparisons with the estimates produced by the previous (2004/05) sweep of this study.

Details: London: Home Office, 2007. 91p.

Source: Internet Resource; Home Office Online Report; 21/07

Year: 2007

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 117658

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drug Offenders
Opiates

Author: Laniel, Laurent

Title: Cocaine: A European Union Perspective in the Global Context

Summary: This report provides an overview of what is known about how cocaine is produced and trafficked into the European Union. It aims to provide a better understanding of the actors involved, the routes taken, and the scale of the problem in Europe. It also reviews some of the supply reduction responses already developed at the European level.

Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2010. 42p.

Source: EMCDDA-Europol Joint Publication No. 2

Year: 2010

Country: Europe

URL:

Shelf Number: 118249

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Drug Trafficking Control

Author: Walsh, John

Title: Lowering Expectations: Supply Control and the Resilient Cocaine Market

Summary: Recent data from the Obama administration show that U.S. cocaine prices continued to fall through 2007, while purity remained high. The data undermined claims by Bush administration officials that supply disruptions had achieved unprecedented cocaine shortages in the United States. This report asserts that the U.S. can and should do more to reduce demand for cocaine, but a dramatic reduction in the size of the lucrative U.S. cocaine market should not be expected any time soon. A realistic and humane drug policy should focus on harm reduction - aiming to minimize the harms caused by illicit drug production, distribution and abuse, but also striving to minimize the damage done by policies meant to control drugs.

Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America, 2009. 10p.

Source:

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 117793

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control
Drug Policy
Drug Trafficking Control
Drugs

Author: Youngers, Coletta A.

Title: Development First: A More Humane and Promising Approach to Reducing Cultivation of Crops for Illicit Markets

Summary: This report lays out a more promising approach to reducing the cultivation of coca and poppy crops used in the production of cocaine and heroin. It is based on improving the welfare of poor farmers via comprehensive development strategies that include improving local governance and citizen security, combined with voluntary reductions in cultivation of crops deviated to the illicit market. Implemented in tandem with effective demand reduction strategies to contain and eventually shrink the global cocaine and heroin markets, the "development first" approach has the potential to gradually achieve sustainable reductions in coca and opium poppy cultivation by reducing poor farmers' reliance on such crops.

Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America, 2009. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2009

Country: International

URL:

Shelf Number: 119214

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control
Drug Markets
Drugs
Illegal Drugs
Opium
Poverty

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Title: Cocaine Trafficking in Western Africa: Situation Report

Summary: Although cocaine is not produced in Africa, the rapid increase in seizures suggests that the continent, and in particular its Western region, is growing in importance as a transit area for cocaine trafficking between Latin American countries and Europe. This note reviews recent cocaine seizures in African countries, as well as cocaine seizures originating from African countries and reported by European countries.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2007. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2007

Country: Africa

URL:

Shelf Number: 119238

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking

Author: Meza, Ricardo Vargas

Title: The Security Approach to the Drugs Problem: Perpetuating Drugs and Conflict in Colombia

Summary: The drugs problem in Colombia is intertwined with structural factors at the social, economic, institutional and cultural levels. Moreover, its relationship to the armed conflict has had serious consequences for the socio-economic conditions of peasant and indigenous communities affected by the production of raw materials used to produce cocaine.

Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2009. 8p.

Source: Internet Resource; Drug Policy Briefing No. 31

Year: 2009

Country: Colombia

URL:

Shelf Number: 119212

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control
Drug Trafficking
Drugs

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Home Affairs Committee

Title: The Cocaine Trade: Seventh Reprot of Session 2009-10

Summary: This report examines the trends in cocaine use in the U.K. and the progress to date in tackling the cocaine trade in terms of reducing both supply and demand.

Details: London: Stationery Office, 2010. 2 v.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2010

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 117866

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Abuse and Addition
Drug Control
Drug Trafficking
Drugs

Author: Reuter, Peter H.

Title: Assessing the Operation of the Global Drug Market

Summary: Illicit drugs, predominantly cocaine and heroin, now generate a substantial international and domestic trade. For these two drugs, production is concentrated in poor nations and the bulk of revenues, though not of consumption, is generated by users in wealthy countries. Earnings have an odd shape; most of the money goes to a very large number of low level retailers in wealthy countries while the fortunes are made by a small number of entrepreneurs, many of whom come from the producing countries. Actual producers and refiners receive one or two percent of the total; almost all the rest is payment for distribution labour. The industry is in general competitive, though some sectors in some countries have small numbers of competing organizations. While it is not difficult to explain why cocaine and heroin production occurs primarily in poor countries and only a little harder to understand why the accounting profits are downstream, almost everything else about the trade presents a challenge, both descriptively and analytically. This report is an attempt to address these challenges and reviews what is known about the operation of these various markets. It offers a theoretical account for a number of the features.

Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2009. 31p.

Source: Internet Resource; Report 1

Year: 2009

Country: International

URL:

Shelf Number: 117654

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control
Drugs and Narcotics Control
Heroin
Illicit Drugs

Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

Title: Cocaine and Crack Cocaine: A Growing Public Health Issue

Summary: This report shows that, in some European countries, there has been a marked increase in recent years in the use of cocaine, in treatment demands for cocaine problems and in seizures of the drug. The potential for cocaine use to have a major impact on public health is examined and special attention given to the health consequences of cocaine use, which are often not well recognised in existing reporting systems. Also examined are the challenges to providing effective treatment for cocaine and crack cocaine dependence.

Details: Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2007. 30p.

Source: Internet Resource' EMCDDA 2007 Selected Issue

Year: 2007

Country: Europe

URL:

Shelf Number: 118622

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drug Treatment
Drugs

Author: Brombacher, Daniel

Title: The Transatlantic Cocaine Business: Europe's Options as it Confronts New Drug Trafficking Routes (WP)

Summary: For traffickers, the risk of getting caught increases with the amount of levels of control they must dodge. This increase in risk is reflected in the price of the drug. At the international level, there tends to be intervention at each point in the chain of production, using both penal and legal tools as well as political ones and others based on development: control of chemical precursors, forced eradication of coca crops, alternative development measures and transit control. This Working Paper aims to analyse the intervention measures recently reaffirmed by the CND. Using drug prices as a starting point, we analyse the problem of drug trafficking and assess the efficiency of policies to control supply. But no drug control policy can be based solely on limiting supply. It must also feature measures to reduce demand. However, the goal of this study is to review European foreign policy tools involved in controlling supply, leaving aside domestic policy measures designed to cut demand, the efficiency of which is widely recognised in most countries of the EU.

Details: Madrid: Elcano Royal Institute, 2009. 40p.

Source: Internet Resource; Working Paper 45/2009

Year: 2009

Country: Europe

URL:

Shelf Number: 117635

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control Policy
Drug Trafficking

Author: Brombacher, Daniel

Title: Cocaine Trafficking to Europe: Options of Supply Control

Summary: In 2008, approximately 850 tons of pure cocaine were produced from the coca leaves harvested in the Andean region. About 250 tons of cocaine were imported into Europe in 2008, with an estimated 20 tons reaching the Federal Republic of Germany. This report examines the supply control measures in the Andean drug producing countries and concludes that they have no effect on cocaine consumption in Europe.

Details: Berlin: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik/German Institute for International and Security Affairs, 2009. 37p.

Source: Internet Resource; SWP Research Paper, RP10; Accessed August 10, 2010 at http://www.swp-berlin.org/common/get_document.php?asset_id=6361

Year: 2009

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.swp-berlin.org/common/get_document.php?asset_id=6361

Shelf Number: 116301

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Abuse and Addiction (Germany)
Drug Control
Drug Trafficking (Afghanistan)

Author: Whitworth, Steven Scott

Title: The Untold Story of Mexico's Rise and Eventual Monopoly of the Methamphetamine Trade

Summary: This thesis examines the dominant role of Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) in the multi-billion dollar trade in illegal narcotics between Latin America and the United States since 1995. It assesses the implications of the existence and operation of the four major and thriving, Mexico cartels (or DTOs) for both the United States and Mexico. The story of Mexico’s rise to prominence by the mid- to late-1990s as the primary transshipment route for cocaine entering the United States is well known. However, much less attention has been devoted to how the Mexican cartels, which now control 80 % percent of all illegal drug trafficking into the United States, have become the primary producer and trafficker of methamphetamine for the American market in the past decade.

Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2008. 89p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 28, 2010 at: http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/theses/2008/Jun/08Jun_Whitworth.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: Mexico

URL: http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/theses/2008/Jun/08Jun_Whitworth.pdf

Shelf Number: 119693

Keywords:
Cocaine
Columbian Cartels
Drug Policy
Drug Trafficking
Illegal Drugs
Methamphetamine

Author: O'Regan, Davin

Title: Cocaine and Instability in Africa: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean

Summary: Africa is facing an increasingly menacing threat of cocaine trafficking that risks undermining its security structures, nascent democratic institutions, and development progress. Latin America has long faced similar challenges and its experience provides important lessons that can be applied before this expanding threat becomes more deeply entrenched on the continent - and costly to reverse.

Details: Washington, DC: Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 2010. 8p.

Source: Internet Resource: Africa Security Brief, No. 5: Accessed August 30, 2010 at: http://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/AfricaBriefFinal_5.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/AfricaBriefFinal_5.pdf

Shelf Number: 119704

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Violence

Author: McGuire, Peter L.

Title: Narcotics Trafficking in West Africa: A Governance Challenge

Summary: West Africa is one of the most impoverished, underdeveloped, and instability prone regions in the world. Many of the nation-states in the region are empirically weak: they lack the capacity to deliver public goods and services to their citizens, do not claim effective control over their territories, are marked by high levels of official corruption, and are plagued by political instability and violent conflict. Since 2004 the region has faced an unprecedented surge in illicit narcotics (primarily cocaine) trafficking, raising fears within the international community that foreign (largely South American) trafficking groups would engender escalated corruption and violence across the region. This paper examines the effect that the surge in narcotics trafficking has had on governance and security in the region, paying particular attention to the experience of Guinea-Bissau and neighboring Republic of Guinea (Guinea-Conakry), two West African states that have been particularly affected by the illicit trade. The central argument presented is that narcotics trafficking is only one facet of the overall challenge of state weakness and fragility in the region. The profound weakness of many West African states has enabled foreign trafficking groups to develop West Africa into an entrepôt for cocaine destined for the large and profitable European market, sometimes with the active facilitation of high-level state actors. Thus, simply implementing counter-narcotics initiatives in the region will have a limited impact without a long-term commitment to strengthening state capacity, improving political transparency and accountability, and tackling poverty alleviation and underdevelopment. Without addressing the root issues that allowed for the penetration of trafficking groups into the states of the region in the first place, West Africa will remain susceptible to similar situations in the future, undermining the region’s nascent progress in the realms of governance, security, and development.

Details: Boston: Boston University, The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, 2010. 40p.

Source: Internet Resource: The Pardee Papers, No. 9: Accessed October 13, 2010 at: http://www.bu.edu/pardee/files/2010/03/Pardee_Paper-9-Narcotics-Trafficking.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Africa

URL: http://www.bu.edu/pardee/files/2010/03/Pardee_Paper-9-Narcotics-Trafficking.pdf

Shelf Number: 119953

Keywords:
Cocaine
Corruption
Drug Trafficking
Narcotics
Organized Crime
Poverty

Author: Holmes, Jessie

Title: Trends in Possession and Use of Narcotics and Cocaine

Summary: This brief describes trends in possession and use of narcotics and cocaine, characteristics of these offences and offenders, and court outcomes for those charged with possession and/or use of narcotics or cocaine. Descriptive analyses were conducted on data sourced from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research’s police recorded criminal incident and person of interest databases as well as from the NSW Reoffending Database and NSW Local Criminal Courts. Data from NSW Health on recorded opioid and cocaine overdoses was also analysed. Recorded incidents of narcotics possession and opioid overdoses fell sharply between 1999 and 2006. Since 2006 both narcotics possession and opioid overdoses doubled, however their levels are still much lower than those recorded prior to the heroin shortage. Recorded incidents of cocaine possession and overdoses have been increasing since 2003 and in 2009, both reached their highest levels in 15 years. Narcotics possession incidents were generally detected on streets and footpaths and at residential premises within Sydney’s CBD and in the Fairfield and Liverpool Local Government Areas. Cocaine possession incidents were detected on streets and footpaths, and at licensed and residential premises, located in Sydney’s CBD and the Eastern Suburbs. Narcotics and cocaine possession offenders tended to be males aged 20 to 39 years. Almost all offenders convicted of narcotics possession had prior convictions (93%) compared with less than half of those convicted of cocaine possession (49%). Most offenders convicted of these offences in 2008 were issued with fines averaging $355 for narcotics possession and $406 for cocaine possession. Taking into account data from other sources, these results suggest that actual levels of narcotics and cocaine use are increasing in NSW.

Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2010. 7p.

Source: Internet Resource: Bureau Brief, Issue Paper No. 52: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb52.pdf/$file/bb52.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb52.pdf/$file/bb52.pdf

Shelf Number: 120009

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Offenders
Drug Offenses
Heroin
Illicit Drugs
Narcotics

Author: Missouri. Department of Public Safety and Statistical Analysis Center

Title: Nature and Extent of the Illicit Drug Problem in Missouri

Summary: The study focused on illicit drug use, the societal impact of illicit drugs, and extent of the illicit drug industry in the State of Missouri.

Details: Jefferson City, MO: Missouri Statistical Analysis Center, 2010. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2010 at:http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/SAC/pdf/2010NATUREANDEXTENTREPORT.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/SAC/pdf/2010NATUREANDEXTENTREPORT.pdf

Shelf Number: 120176

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Offenders
Heroin
Illicit Drugs (Missouri)
Methamphetamines
Narcotics

Author: Mejia, Daniel

Title: Cocaine Production and trafficking: What Do We Know?

Summary: The main purpose of this paper is to summarize the information currently available on cocaine production and trafficking. The paper starts by describing the available data on cocaine production and trade, the collection methodologies (if available) used by different sources, the main biases in the data, and the accuracy of different data sources. Next, it states some of the key empirical questions and hypotheses regarding cocaine production and trade and takes a first look at how well the data match these hypotheses. The paper states some of the main puzzles in the cocaine market and studies some of the possible explanations. These puzzles and empirical questions should guide future research on the key determinants of illicit drug production and trafficking. Finally, the paper studies the different policies that producer countries have adopted to fight against cocaine production and the role consumer countries play in the implementation of anti-drug policies.

Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, Development Research Group, Macroeconomics and Growth Team, 2008. 62p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Research Working Paper 4618: Accessed February 9, 2011 at: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/05/13/000158349_20080513084308/Rendered/PDF/wps4618.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: International

URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/05/13/000158349_20080513084308/Rendered/PDF/wps4618.pdf

Shelf Number: 120727

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control Policies
Drug Markets
Drug Trafficking

Author: Bradford, Deborah

Title: An Analysis of Alcohol and Psycho-Stimulant Use from the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey

Summary: The aim of this paper is to examine what proportion of current alcohol consumers are also current consumers of psycho-stimulants in the Australian population. Using population survey data obtained from the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, this brief considers the proportion of alcohol drinkers who report recent consumption of amphetamines and cocaine. Among the sample of survey respondents 18 years and over results showed that the level of psychostimulant use was low among the population of alcohol consumers. This finding was evident even among those drinkers who reported drinking most frequently and in the most risky manner. For those respondents estimated to be at the highest risk for alcohol-related harm, only 12.9 per cent reported use of amphetamines and 8.6 per cent reported use of cocaine in the 12 months prior to the survey. These findings suggest that in the general population, concurrent use of alcohol and psycho-stimulants is likely to be low.

Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2010. 3p.

Source: Internet Resource: Bureau Brief: Issue Paper No. 53: Accessed April 4, 2011 at: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb53.pdf/$file/bb53.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb53.pdf/$file/bb53.pdf

Shelf Number: 121222

Keywords:
Alcohol Abuse (Australia)
Amphetamines
Cocaine
Drug Abuse

Author: Chalk, Peter

Title: The Latin American Drug Trade: Scope, Dimensions, Impact, and Response

Summary: Colombia currently accounts for the vast bulk of cocaine produced in Latin America. In 2009, the country produced 270 metric tons (MT) of cocaine, making it the principal supplier for both the United States and the worldwide market. Besides Colombia, Peru and Bolivia constitute two additional important sources of cocaine in Latin America. In 2009, these two countries generated enough base material to respectively yield 225 and 195 MT of refined product. Between 60 and 65 percent of all Latin American cocaine is trafficked to the United States, the bulk of which is smuggled via the eastern Pacific/Central American corridor. The remainder is sent through the Caribbean island chain, with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti acting as the main transshipment hubs. In both cases, Mexico serves as the main point of entry to mainland America, presently accounting for the vast majority of all illicit drug imports to the United States. Increasing amounts of Latin American cocaine are now also being sent to Europe, reflecting higher street prices than those in the United States and shifting consumer demand patterns toward this particular narcotic (and derivates, such as crack). The majority of the Colombian cocaine that is trafficked to Europe, either directly or via West Africa, is exported from Venezuela. In addition to cocaine, Colombia also represents a relatively important source for North America opiates, historically accounting for around half of the white heroin consumed east of the Mississippi. Although there has been a marked decline in opium-production levels in the past several years —largely due to successful poppy-eradication efforts — shipments still take place, with the main trafficking route running up the eastern Pacific to Mexico.

Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2011. 113p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 27, 2011 at: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2011/RAND_MG1076.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2011/RAND_MG1076.pdf

Shelf Number: 121868

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking (Latin America)
Drug Trafficking Control
Narcotics

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Studies and Threat Analysis Section

Title: The Transatlantic Cocaine Market

Summary: Key Findings of this report include: Global demand for cocaine has shifted. Demand in the United States was more than four times as high as in Europe in 1998, but just over a decade later, the volume and value of the West and Central European cocaine market (US$33 billion) is approaching parity with that of the US (US$37 billion). Two thirds of European cocaine users live in just three countries: the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. With Germany and France, these countries represent 80% of European cocaine consumption.  European cocaine seizures increased rapidly between 1998 and 2006, peaking at some 121 tons. They have dropped off sharply since then, to some 53 tons in 2009, while at most, European demand has stabilized. There have been increases in seizures in South America, but the price of pure cocaine has not increased greatly in Europe, suggesting that traffickers have found new ways of evading law enforcement.  In the last decade, most (about 60%) of the cocaine seized was taken at sea or in ports. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was the most prominent country of origin for direct cocaine shipments to Europe, with the cocaine coming mainly from Colombia.  It appears that most of Europe’s cocaine enters by sea, primarily via Spain. Nearly half the cocaine seized in Europe was taken by Spanish authorities, two-thirds of which was detected in international waters and 11% in containers.  Excluding what is imported for local consumption, it is estimated that about 21 tons of cocaine were trafficked from West Africa to Europe in 2009. This is down sharply from two years before, when the total could have been as high as 47 tons.  Much of the trafficking to West Africa used to be carried out by large ‘mother ships’ that unloaded the drugs on to smaller, local vessels off the West African coasts. Today, large maritime shipments have virtually disappeared, suggesting that traffickers have changed their tactics. There is evidence of shipments in large commercial aircraft purchased second-hand by traffickers for this purpose. There are also indications that containerized shipping is being utilized, but very few of these shipments have been detected.  Most of the recently reported seizures of cocaine from container consignments from South America to West Africa had Nigeria or Ghana as their destination. Most of these containers originated in Peru or the Plurinational State of Bolivia.  Commercial air flights used to be the most common vector for trafficking cocaine from West Africa to West and Central Europe (97% of seizure cases over the last decade, or 58% of all cocaine seized). But the number of detections have declined drastically in recent years, suggesting again that traffickers have changed their tactics.  There appears to be some trafficking of cocaine from West Africa to Europe across the Sahara to countries in northern Africa, although very few seizures have been made. There is some evidence of use of the traditional cannabis resin trafficking routes from Morocco to Spain.  Although it appears that Colombian organized crime groups still dominate trafficking of cocaine to Europe, domestic markets are often in the hands of traffickers of other nationalities.  In addition to the health consequences of cocaine use, the impact of cocaine trafficking includes drug-funded violence, political instability and corruption in many areas.  In line with the principle of shared responsibility and a balanced approach to the drug problem, the expansion of the cocaine market across the Atlantic and, more recently, in South America, highlights the importance of developing strategies on the scale of the cocaine threat. Efforts must be increasingly coordinated and integrated into an international approach that adapts to new developments as quickly as the traffickers. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the capacity of the international community to achieve a significant reduction of the global cocaine market during the present decade.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2011. 66p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2011 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/Transatlantic_cocaine_market.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/Transatlantic_cocaine_market.pdf

Shelf Number: 122077

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Markets
Drug Trafficking
Organized Crime
Transnational Crime

Author: Michel, Kenneth

Title: Mexico and the Cocaine Epidemic: The New Colombia or a New Problem

Summary: Recently, there has been an increasing amount of attention paid to Mexico and its struggle with drug cartels. The drug war in Mexico has cost the lives of 28,000 people since 2006, leading to a growing concern that Mexico may become a narco-state. Although the situation in Mexico seems uncontrollable, this is not the first time drug trafficking organizations (DTO) have threatened the livelihood of a state. Colombia from the 1980s through the mid- 1990s was dominated by cartels that ruled with violence and almost brought Colombia to its knees. Colombia today continues with its fight against DTOs; however, the security of the state is no longer directly threatened by cartels. This thesis will discuss the history of the cocaine trade and explain why Mexico was able to supplant Colombia as the cocaine epicenter. Likewise, we will discuss the U.S. strategy to combat DTOs and identify shortcomings in order to implement a better strategy to defeat the cartels. We have seen an increase in violence in Mexico and it is critical for the U.S. to act in order to prevent the U.S. homeland from coming under siege by the bloody Mexican drug war fueled by the cartels.

Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2010. 109p.

Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed July 22, 2011 at: http://dodreports.com/pdf/ada536473.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Mexico

URL: http://dodreports.com/pdf/ada536473.pdf

Shelf Number: 122142

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Cartels
Drug Trafficking (Mexico and Colombia)
Drugs

Author: U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy

Title: Cocaine Smuggling in 2009

Summary: This report presents statistics and information on cocaine smuggling in 2009. For the second year in a row, the amount of cocaine departing South America continued to decrease. Nonetheless, drug trafficking organizations continued to move large quantities of cocaine. Data from the US Government interagency Consolidated Counterdrug Database that documents the movement of cocaine suggest a 12-20 percent decrease in the amount departing South America toward the US in 2009. However, production-based flow estimates, which calculate the amount of cocaine available to depart South America, showed a more modest 3 percent decrease. Estimates of potential cocaine production in the Andean region, expressed in metric tons, showed a significant decrease of 14.5 percent in 2008—the most recent year for which data was available. Furthermore, the purity of bulk cocaine shipments dropped to a record low of 76 percent, indicating extensive use of cutting agents to bulk up the cocaine in South America prior to departure and mitigating the impact of the decreased production on the gross volume of product available for export.

Details: Washington, DC: Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2010. 14p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 22, 2011 at: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/Cocaine_Smuggling_in_2009.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: South America

URL: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/Cocaine_Smuggling_in_2009.pdf

Shelf Number: 122147

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Drug Trafficking Control

Author: Victor, Kain Sebastian

Title: CIA and the Contras' cocaine connection: Funny Farm and the Coca Cultivation Program - a true story how CIA used cocaine to finance an insurgency

Summary: The evidence shows that the government knew that the Contras’ decided to traffic cocaine to finance themselves. The government participated in the drug trafficking by not interrupting it. CIA ordered the Contras to traffic drugs. Traffickers were protected from prosecution and received government contract. The government knew and sanctioned the drug trafficking into the US to support the Contras. The White House urged lenience for at least one convicted trafficker and terrorist. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) protected major drug traffickers, who diverted drug proceeds to finance the Contras. When former Contra mercenaries accused the CIA run Contras of being involved in drug trafficking the Senate started to investigate. Confidential memos and papers were leaked to the State Department, the Justice Department, the White House and CIA, who in a joined effort tried to sabotage the investigation. Documents were withheld, witnesses labelled as terrorist threats and put under surveillance, and the credibility of the Senatorial subcommittee’s members was questioned in the press. The conclusion of the investigation was that CIA had allowed the Contras to traffic cocaine and had protected them from prosecution. The conclusion went unnoticed in the media. When the drug connection came to the media’s attention a decade later, they focused on how the media covered the news, not news that the government had sanctioned drug trafficking. It were three small articles in San Jose Mercury News that sparked it all, and caused the Senate to force DOJ and CIA to investigate. When the official investigations were finished two years later and the reports release, the media’s attention had turned to Monica Lewinsky affair. All the reporters did was to quote from the conclusions of the reports. The mainstream media reported that the US Government had not sanctioned drug trafficking, but the media missed the scoop. The reports confirmed that the government knew about the Contras involvement in drug trafficking, that the government protected traffickers from prosecution, that the government granted contracts to trafficker whom they knew were drug trafficker, and that the Contras in part was funded by drug proceeds. The conclusions in the official reports denied what their reports confirmed. What evidence does exists, which shows that the government knew about and was involvement in the Contras’ drugs trafficking? This is the report about the evidence.

Details: Denmark: Roskilde University, 2006,

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 17, 2012 at http://rudar.ruc.dk/bitstream/1800/1978/1/CIA%20and%20the%20Contras%E2%80%99%20cocaine%20connection%20(RUB%20version).pdf

Year: 2006

Country: United States

URL: http://rudar.ruc.dk/bitstream/1800/1978/1/CIA%20and%20the%20Contras%E2%80%99%20cocaine%20connection%20(RUB%20version).pdf

Shelf Number: 124165

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Political Corruption

Author: Acevedo, Beatriz

Title: Ten Years of Plan Colombia: An Analytic Assessment

Summary: Over the last decade Plan Colombia has been the principal strategy addressing the complex dynamics of illicit drugs production within that country. It is based on the assumption that a reduction in the illicit drugs market worldwide can be tackled by focusing on supply control measures. Plan Colombia was originally proposed as a peace programme, but soon became a military strategy aimed at weakening the link between illicit drugs and insurgency. The results of this approach in terms of the decline of illegal armies, particularly guerrilla groups, may be considered as a success. In relation to coca cultivation and cocaine trafficking, however, the results show otherwise. The latest United Nations World Drug Report estimates that there has been a 27% increase in the area cultivated with coca in the period 2006-2007(UNODC, 2008), and Colombia remains one of the major producers of cocaine in the world (See Graph and Table 1). This contradiction leads to a number of questions about the effectiveness of a predominantly military approach in tackling the drugs problem and the real impact of the supply control strategy on the international market of illicit drugs. This briefing paper consequently aims to present a critical assessment of Plan Colombia over the past ten years. It is argued that the strategy has failed to address the structural causes of illicit drugs cultivation: poverty, lack of opportunities and on-going conflict. In particular it discusses how the current emphasis on fumigation has a negative impact on the fragile and strategic eco-system of the Amazonian region, as well as potential health problems for people who live in these areas. Moreover, it is also suggested that a militaristic approach to drug trafficking seems to contribute to the development of what can be called the ‘markets of violence.’ These are reflected in the increasing power of warlords, the growth of diverse business associated with security and protection and disputes amongst illegal armies for control of activities related to illegal drugs. Finally, it is argued that while the power of guerrilla groups2 - particularly the 40-year-old FARC group that controls some phases of the drug trafficking business - may be in decline, this situation needs to be analysed as part of their lack of political coherence and popular support. Indeed, as is discussed here, increased attention should be given to the developing power of paramilitary groups3 within Colombian politics and the emergence of a phenomenon that has become to be known as ‘para-politics’.

Details: Oxford, UK: Beckley Foundation, Drug Policy Programme, 2008. 13p.

Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Paper Sixteen: Accessed April 11, 2012 at: http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/pdf/BriefingPaper_16.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: Colombia

URL: http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/pdf/BriefingPaper_16.pdf

Shelf Number: 124922

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Enforcement
Drug Trafficking
Illegal Drugs (Colombia)
Plan Colombia

Author: Duncan, Gustavo

Title: Crime and Power: The Filter of Social Order

Summary: In this paper I advance an explanation of the social origins of cocaine trafficking in Colombia in which two thresholds are distinguish. The first threshold occurs when the knowledge and the willingness for a specific criminal activity reproduce faster than the enforcement capacity of the authorities, and the second one, at a more advanced stage of diffusion of crime in society, when the state is forced to consider the political demands of criminal organizations. This explanation aims to explore an aspect of crime that is usually neglected by the specialized literature: the role of crime in the political structure and eventually in the process of state making. My argument here is that in order to acquire political power crime has to experience a process of diffusion into the social order to the extent of redefining the relationships, the values, and the hierarchies of a large part of the society.

Details: APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper, 2010. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 3, 2012 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1644540

Year: 2010

Country: Colombia

URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1644540

Shelf Number: 125143

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking (Colombia)
Organized Crime

Author: Winter, Brian

Title: Brazil's 'Gringo' Problem: Its Borders

Summary: For the first 500 years of Brazil's history, pretty much anything that wanted to cross its borders could do so in relative peace, whether cattle, Indians or intrepid explorers. That era is now drawing to a close. Brazil's economic rise is forcing it to deal with a problem it long regarded as the sole concern of rich countries like the United States: the need to secure its borders and slow down a flood of drugs, illegal immigrants and other contraband. Brazil's prosperity has created a new consumer class of tens of millions of people who happen to live right next to the world's three biggest producers of cocaine: Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. Brazil is now the world's No. 2 cocaine consumer, behind only the United States, according to U.S. government data. It is also a booming consumer of marijuana, ecstasy, and other narcotics.

Details: New York: Thomson Reuters, 2012. 7p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2012 at: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/12/04/BrazilBorders.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: Brazil

URL: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/12/04/BrazilBorders.pdf

Shelf Number: 125150

Keywords:
Border Security
Cocaine
Drug Smuggling
Drug Trafficking
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Immigrants (Brazil)
Immigration

Author: Caunte, Irina

Title: Dynamics of the Romanian Illegal Drug Markets

Summary: Globalization has led to an increase in commercial activities running on the illegal markets, its dynamics being largely determined by the balance between profitability and the major risks involved. Revenues are significant, one example being those obtained from drug industry. In recent years, illicit drug trafficking has seen in Romania an unprecedented escalation, as a result of market liberalization and the movement of per sons and because of the extending the phenomenon both among producers and consumers. This article examines the size of the Romanian illegal drug markets, the countries of origin and drug transit routes, as well as the profits made by the drug trafficking networks.

Details: Iasi, Romania: University of Iasi, Centre for European Studies, 2011. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: CES Working Papers III, (2), 2011: Accessed July 17, 2012 at: http://www.cse.uaic.ro/WorkingPapers/articles/CESWP2011_III2_CAU.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Romania

URL: http://www.cse.uaic.ro/WorkingPapers/articles/CESWP2011_III2_CAU.pdf

Shelf Number: 125633

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking (Romania)
Heroin
Illegal Markets

Author: Maftei, Loredana

Title: Illegal Drug Markets in Europe: The Negative Consequences of Globalization

Summary: Globalizing processes have profoundly shaped the European drugs situation. The illegal drug markets have reached to evolve and to transform all the advantages of this phenomenon, in their favor. Based on globalization aspects, the paper purpose is to present the main characteristics of illicit drugs market within European countries, from the last years. Furthermore the article is focused on the analysis of theoretical and empirical drugs literature, especially on the current reports and studies of EMCDDA and UNODC, which indicated certain drug sectors. Due to its richness, position and high demand of illegal drugs, Europe is viewed by criminal organizations as a transit area for heroin, cocaine, cannabis and synthetic drugs, and a big customer which continued to sustain this profitable enterprise, over the last decades. Regarding the drug problem, the governance needs to be reframed and to take account of economical, social and moral character. The simple connection of illegal drug markets with globalization, gives the originality note of the paper, which leads to some important new insights for future research and policy.

Details: Romania: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași,, 2012. 13p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 19, 2012 at: http://www.cse.uaic.ro/WorkingPapers/articles/CESWP2012_IV2_MAF.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.cse.uaic.ro/WorkingPapers/articles/CESWP2012_IV2_MAF.pdf

Shelf Number: 125685

Keywords:
Cannabis
Cocaine
Drug Markets
Drug Trafficking
Heroin
Illegal Drugs (Europe)

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Counternarcotics Assistance: U.S. Agencies Have Allotted Billions in Andean Countries, but DOD Should Improve Its Reporting of Results

Summary: Hundreds of metric tons of cocaine flow annually from South America to the United States, threatening the security and well-being of U.S. citizens. South American cocaine production and trafficking is centered in the five countries in the Andean region. State, USAID, DOD, and DEA provide counternarcotics assistance to stem production and trafficking of narcotics in these countries. ONDCP oversees and coordinates this assistance. In this report, GAO (1) describes the U.S. strategic approaches to counter- narcotics assistance in the Andean countries; (2) identifies amounts allotted for such assistance by State, USAID, DOD, and DEA in fiscal years 2006 through 2011; and (3) reviews the agencies’ reporting on their performance. GAO reviewed agency and U.S. strategy documents, analyzed available agency data, and interviewed agency officials. What GAO Recommends -- The Secretary of Defense should ensure that DOD submits performance summary reports to ONDCP including the Inspector General’s attestation that the reported information is reliable to facilitate good management and oversight. DOD concurred with this recommendation.

Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2012. 52p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-12-824: Accessed August 13, 2012 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592241.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: South America

URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592241.pdf

Shelf Number: 126009

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control
Drug Trafficking
Drug Trafficking Control
Narcotics

Author: Yap, Renee

Title: Coca, Bolivia, and the War on Drugs: the Tension between Freedom from Fear and Freedom from Want

Summary: This thesis aims to demonstrate the tension between human security’s core categories of freedom from fear and freedom from want. The two core categories of human security are often held to be complementary to each other. However, by applying a human security analysis to the War on Drugs in Bolivia, particularly with reference to the ideas of freedom from fear and freedom from want, it can be seen that the War on Drugs in Bolivia typifies a freedom from fear approach. This is illustrated through the War on Drugs focus on protecting individuals from physical violence and human rights abuses relating to situations of conflict, as well as its use of coercion strategies, such as sanctions or non-unilateral force; all of these of which are usual to a freedom from fear approach. An examination of how the War on Drugs has impacted upon the individuals of Bolivia reveals that despite the desired outcome of protecting individual safety and well-being, the War on Drugs has actually compromised the safety and well-being of Bolivians. In addition, in typifying freedom from fear, the War on Drugs in Bolivia has also challenged freedom from want by marginalising or threatening economic, community, food and health security, and thus defying claims that freedom from fear and freedom from want are complementary. This thesis concludes that by pursuing political and personal security, freedom from fear marginalises and even contests food, health, environmental and most especially economic and community security – the focal points of freedom from want. Security policies adopted to address transnational threats in developing countries must ensure that they not only account for the freedom from fear and freedom from want components of human security, but that they also account for, and manage, the potential for freedom from fear to undermine the wider goals of freedom from want.

Details: Wellington, NZ: Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. 81p.

Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed October 24, 2012 at: http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10063/1424/thesis.pdf?sequence=1

Year: 2010

Country: Bolivia

URL: http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10063/1424/thesis.pdf?sequence=1

Shelf Number: 126784

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Abuse and Crime
Drug Trafficking
Drug Violence
War on Drugs (Bolivia)

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Title: Transnational Organized Crime in West Africa: A Threat Assessment

Summary: Key Findings • The flow of cocaine through West Africa appears to have declined to about 18 tons, down from a peak of 47 tons in 2007. These 18 tons would be worth US$1.25 billion at wholesale in Europe, providing West African traffickers with substantial income. • Modes of conveyance for cocaine from South America to Europe via West Africa have shifted over time in response to enforcement efforts. Much of the cocaine headed to West Africa today comes from Brazil, where Nigerian crime groups are exporting the drug. Recently, these groups have been moving into containerized consignments and maritime shipping, adopting these methods in addition to their traditional methods of air couriering and postal shipments. From West Africa, an increase in the use of Benin as a departure point for air couriers has been noted. • Methamphetamine production in the region is a growing concern, with two methamphetamine laboratories detected in Nigeria in 2011-2012. The main market for West African-made meth is East Asia, and to a lesser extent, South Africa. The income from trafficking West African-made methamphetamines to East Asia is remarkably high for such a new flow, but the long-term prospects are limited in light of competition from producers located in the destination markets. • Due to the economic downturn, the flow of smuggled migrants from West Africa to Europe has declined in recent years. The prominence of the many routes has shifted significantly, with routes moving eastwards. • Given the number of weapons still circulating from past conflicts in the region, there is very little need to import large numbers of weapons into West Africa. Most of the illicit flow of weapons in the region is diverted or stolen from licit national stocks held by to 20,000 firearms from Libya does represent a serious threat to stability in the region, a threat that appears to have been realized in northern Mali. • The prevalence of fraudulent medicines is highest not in the markets where profits would be the greatest, but in those where chances of detection are lowest. At least 10% of the imported medicines circulating in West Africa are fraudulent, posing a grave threat to public health and safety. • Maritime piracy has generated renewed attention in the Gulf of Guinea, with 22 pirate attacks occurring off the coast of Benin in 2011. In 2012, Togo became the new hotspot for attacks on petroleum tankers. These vessels are attacked because there is a booming black market for fuel in West Africa. • Unless the flows of contraband are addressed, instability and lawlessness will persist, and it will remain difficult to build state capacity and the rule of law in the region. Each of these flows requires a tailored response, because the commodities involved respond to distinct sources of supply and demand.

Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 68p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 27, 2013 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tocta/West_Africa_TOCTA_2013_EN.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Africa

URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tocta/West_Africa_TOCTA_2013_EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 127736

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Firearms Trafficking
Fraudulent Medicines
Human Smuggling
Maritime Crime
Methamphetamines
Organized Crime (West Africa)
Piracy/Pirates

Author: Dun, Mirella van

Title: Between Reality and Abstraction: Guiding Principles and Developing Alternatives for Illicit Crop Producing Regions in Peru

Summary: At the International Conference on Alternative Development (ICAD), held 15-16 November 2012 in Lima, the Peruvian Government continued to insist on the relevance of “Alternative Development (AD),” with particular emphasis on the socalled San Martín “miracle” or “model.” The model, started with the support of international cooperation, is proposed by Peru as a paradigm to be followed worldwide by regions and countries that also deal with problems associated with crops grown for illicit purposes. The goal of the ICAD conference in Lima was to reach a consensus on 'Guiding Principles', based on a draft prepared at the first ICAD meeting in Thailand in November 2011. The principles should facilitate the implementation of effective Alternative Development programs, assessed in two ways: economic development of regions where illicit crops are grown, and the reduction of these crops. The document will be presented for approval at the fifty-sixth session of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) to be held in March 2013. It is seen as the culmination of a long process that can be traced back to the debate that began at the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs in 1998. The supposed world consensus on principles to guide Alternative Development projects appear to be far removed from the reality of the Upper Huallaga Valley, the very zone were Peru's supposedly exemplary model for Alternative Development is being implemented. This briefing exposes the breach between rhetoric and reality by examining the impact of AD projects in Peru, focussing on its impact on peasant families.

Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2013. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Drug Policy Briefing Nr . 39: Accessed March 12, 2013 at: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/brief39_0.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Peru

URL: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/brief39_0.pdf

Shelf Number: 127915

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Policy Reform
Illicit Drugs
Narcotics (Peru)

Author: Abduca, Ricardo

Title: Working Towards a Legal Coca Market: The case of coca leaf chewing in Argentina

Summary: Modern use of the coca leaf in Argentina provides a series of examples that could contribute to dispelling many of the myths that have polarized debate about the subject over the last few years. Argentine coca consumption does not fit commonly held preconceptions on the subject. Furthermore, the social acceptance and legitimacy of the habit has created an absurd situation in which the sale and possession of coca leaf for consumption is legal, but the supply and wholesale purchase of it are prohibited, and therefore part of an illegal circuit. Key points • Argentine coca leaf consumption is definitely traditional but not entirely indigenous. It is rooted in the Northwest of Argentine in every social class, and not only in the poorer sectors. Argentine consumption of coca is legal and very widespread. • The Northwest of Argentina is a choice destination for a significant proportion of the Bolivian crop. This fact was never taken into account by international narcotics control bodies, nor did it ever influence the design of public policy in Argentina. • Attention must be drawn to the sheer scale of Argentine coca imports, and to the border rent which appears to remain forever in the hands of the ‘backyard’ of security forces, and other networks of a similar kind. • It is high time that a new bilateral agreement be established between the two countries with the aim of regulating legal imports of the coca leaf.

Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2013. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies No. 23: Accessed August 8, 2013 at: http://www.druglawreform.info/images/stories/DLR_23_eng_def-1.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Argentina

URL: http://www.druglawreform.info/images/stories/DLR_23_eng_def-1.pdf

Shelf Number: 129587

Keywords:
Coca Leaf
Cocaine
Drug Legalization (Argentina)

Author: Schultze-Kraft, Markus

Title: Getting Real About an Illicit 'External Stressor': Transnational Cocaine Trafficking through West Africa

Summary: Concerns over West Africa's increasingly prominent role as transhipment point of South American cocaine en route to Europe are mounting. Gathering pace in the mid-2000s, large-scale drug trafficking has been associated with recent episodes of political instability and violence in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Mali. It is also perceived as a serious threat to democratic institutions, governance and development in other, more stable countries of the region, such as Ghana; and as potentially contributing to reversing the hard-won end to the armed conflicts that ravaged Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau and Cote d'Ivoire in the 1990s and 2000s. Yet it is crucial to recognise that cocaine trafficking through West Africa has thus far not resulted in levels of violence comparable to those witnessed in several Latin American drug source and transit countries. The big policy challenge for West Africa is therefore not to curb the flow of cocaine through the region in order to reduce trafficking-related violence, but to effectively tackle the negative impacts - both existing and potential - of the illegal trade on governance and development in the region's weak, unstable and impoverished states. Conventional drug control strategies, oriented towards law enforcement, are not well suited to help with this. Bold new policy responses are called for.

Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, 2014. 46p.

Source: Internet Resource: IDS Evidence Report no. 72: Accessed June 18, 2014 at: http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/3966/ER72%20Getting%20Real%20About%20an%20Illicit%20�External%20Stressor�%20Transnational%20Cocaine%20Trafficking%20Through%20West%20Africa.pdf?sequence=1

Year: 2014

Country: Africa

URL: http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/3966/ER72%20Getting%20Real%20About%20an%20Illicit%20�External%20Stressor�%20Transnational%20Cocaine%20Trafficking%20Through%20West%20Africa.pdf?sequence=1

Shelf Number: 132504

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Drug-Related Violence

Author: Morgan, Nick

Title: The heroin epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s and its effect on crime trends - then and now. Research Report 79

Summary: - A variety of factors have been cited to explain the rise and fall in crime that has occurred in many nations since 1980. But as yet, no definitive explanation has been produced. In the UK context, a rise and fall in illicit drug use has not been especially prominent in this debate, perhaps due to a lack of robust data for the whole period. - This paper gathers available evidence and conducts new analysis to try to assess the effect that heroin and crack-cocaine use may have had on acquisitive crime (i.e. theft-type offences) in England and Wales since 1980. It also suggests implications for future crime trends. - Numerous sources of evidence agree that the number of heroin users increased markedly through the 1980s and early 1990s and that many also used crack as their drug-using career developed. This 'epidemic' spread from area to area but the national peak probably occurred between 1993 and 2000. Crime peaked between 1993 and 1995. - Current data, particularly from treatment providers, show that heroin/crack use has declined for at least a decade and that - as with offending - the decline has been most marked amongst younger people. This means those who began using these drugs during the epidemic still dominate the heroin/crack-using population today. - Studies agree that, in aggregate, heroin/crack users commit a large number of offences; large enough, this paper shows, to be an important driver of overall crime trends. - Studies disagree about whether it is illicit drug use that causes the criminality. This is because a sizable proportion of heroin/crack users do not resort to theft. And many were offending before taking these drugs. However, evidence suggests that, for at least some users, heroin/crack was the catalyst for offending, and for others it probably accelerated and extended their criminal career. Thus aggregate-level change in numbers of heroin/crack users is likely to affect crime trends. - An examination of the considerable regional and international variation in crime trends, particularly geographical areas where the crime drop was not marked or the peak occurred at a different time, also points to a possible causal relationship, rather than simple correlation. - Within England and Wales, the starkest example of regional variation was Merseyside, which had a recorded acquisitive crime peak five years before other police force areas. Evidence also suggests that Merseyside was one of the first areas to be hit by the heroin epidemic and the first to mount a concerted treatment response. Acquisitive (and total) recorded crime in Scotland peaked in 1991, which studies suggest is in line with the national peak in heroin/crack use. But in Edinburgh and its surrounding region (Lothian and Borders) recorded acquisitive crime peaked seven years earlier, in 1984. Data show that Lothian and Borders had a severe heroin epidemic at this time, which was not prolonged into the 1990s as in other parts of Scotland. - Like Merseyside and Edinburgh, the Republic of Ireland suffered a short, sharp heroin epidemic in the early 1980s and crime surged at this time. Northern Ireland did not have a heroin epidemic and its crime trend was much flatter over the period. - In the US all types of crime fell from 1991 but the US crime survey shows that property crime peaked over a decade earlier, in line with the US heroin epidemic. Likewise, many east European nations had a heroin epidemic about a decade after those in western Europe. Eastern Europe also had a recorded acquisitive crime peak around a decade after western Europe. - Two approaches were used in this paper to estimate the effect of heroin/crack use on crime. Both suggest that the epidemic may have had a significant impact on acquisitive crime in England and Wales. - The first approach was a police force area-level comparison of the Addicts Index and police recorded crime data from 1981 to 1996, through the crime turning point. This showed that different types of theft generally peaked together within an area. But the timing and size of these peaks varied across areas and was highly correlated with heroin use. Fixed effects regression analysis suggested that about 40 per cent of the national rise in the highest volume crime types (burglary and vehicle crime), from 1981 to the peak, can be attributed to rises in the number of heroin users. - The second approach was to model the number of heroin/crack users over time and their offending. Exploratory model results found that heroin/crack use could account for at least one-half of the rise in acquisitive crime in England and Wales to 1995 and between one-quarter and one-third of the fall to 2012, as the epidemic cohort aged, received treatment, quit illicit drug use or died. - Model results also suggested that the epidemic still affects acquisitive crime today. In the recent recession, crime in England and Wales continued to fall, which correlates with a slowly shrinking heroin/crack user population but not with economic factors. Projecting forwards, a further downward pressure on crime, of a lessening degree, might be expected as the heroin/crack cohort continues to age and get treatment. - The evidence presented shows that detecting and preventing future drug epidemics is paramount, and this requires local as well as national monitoring. Evidence also suggests that, for volume-crime reduction, it is crucial to maintain a focus on heroin/crack, despite the higher prevalence of other illicit drugs like cannabis, powder cocaine and ecstasy, and the emergence of new psychoactive substances. Specifically, it remains important to identify the minority of heroin/crack users who commit large volumes of crime during addiction periods. If that can be done, and those periods of addiction and offending can be shortened or prevented, the potential for further reductions in crime remains significant. However, many of these individuals will have been using heroin/crack intermittently for a decade or more and will have tried most current forms of treatment, so innovative approaches may be needed.

Details: London: Home Office, 2014. 78 p.; Technical Report, 222p.

Source: Internet Resource: Research Report 79: Accessed July 22, 2014 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332952/horr79.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332952/horr79.pdf

Shelf Number: 132733

Keywords:
Cocaine
Crime Rates
Crime Trends
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drug Abuse and Crime
Heroin (U.K.)

Author: Wigell, Mikael

Title: Transatlantic Drug Trade: Europe, Latin America and the Need to Strengthen Anti-Narcotics Cooperation

Summary: - The cocaine business has changed significantly in recent years. Once concentrated in Colombia, it has now expanded to the entire Latin American region with Brazil, Mexico, Central America, and Venezuela having become central corridors for the illegal traffic. - As the market for cocaine has been contracting in North America, Latin American drug networks have switched their attention to Europe, which is now the world's fastest growing market for cocaine. - The cocaine enters Europe mainly by exploiting the legitimate container trade. Most shipments continue to be directed to Western Europe, but recently the illicit trade has been expanding eastward with new entry points opening up in the Black Sea and Balkan area. There are also indications of a possible new entry point in the Eastern Baltic Sea area. - Not only are Latin American criminal organizations expanding their activities on the European drug market, but they are also exploiting the European financial crisis to launder their profits and move into other branches of the economy. - The growing transatlantic cocaine trade calls for improving inter-regional counter-narcotics cooperation. Concrete steps should be taken to promote stronger links between anti-drugs programmes, development cooperation and public security policies on both sides of the Atlantic.

Details: Helsinki: Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 2012. 9p.

Source: Internet Resource: FIIA Briefing Paper 132: Accessed August 11, 2014 at: http://www.fiia.fi/en/publication/343/transatlantic_drug_trade/

Year: 2013

Country: International

URL: http://www.fiia.fi/en/publication/343/transatlantic_drug_trade/

Shelf Number: 132969

Keywords:
Cocaine
Criminal Networks
Drug Enforcement
Drug Policy
Drug Trafficking
Organized Crime

Author: Ralston, Laura

Title: Trafficking and Fragility in West Africa

Summary: Trafficking is an emerging concern in West Africa. In 2011, 17 percent of all cocaine consumed in Europe - 21 tons- passed through the region, for a retail value of US$1.7 billion. This paper discusses the evolution of trafficking in the region and provides estimates of the size and value of trafficking flows to demonstrate the significance of this illegal activity. Although this topic is gaining increasing attention, less attention has been has been paid to how trafficking is perpetuating fragility. This paper contributes to this area of research by identifying five channels through which trafficking is intensifying fragility in the region. The relative importance of each channel is discussed, with specific countries as case-study examples. Possible programmatic responses are then suggested with examples of policy approaches successfully adopted elsewhere in the world.

Details: Washington, DC: World Bank, Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group, 2014.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Research Working Paper 7079: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2014/10/31/000158349_20141031143922/Rendered/PDF/WPS7079.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Africa

URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2014/10/31/000158349_20141031143922/Rendered/PDF/WPS7079.pdf

Shelf Number: 134024

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking (West Africa)
Economics of Crime

Author: Mejia, Daniel

Title: The Economics of the War on Illegal Drug Production and Trafficking

Summary: We model the war on drugs in source countries as a conflict over scarce inputs of successive levels of the production and trafficking chain. We explicitly model the vertical structure of the drug trade as being composed of several stages, and study how different policies aimed at different stages affect the supply, prices and input markets. We use the model to study Plan Colombia, a large scale intervention in Colombia aimed at reducing the supply of cocaine by targeting illicit crops and illegal armed groups' control of the routes used to transport drugs outside of the country - two of the main inputs of the production and trafficking chain. The model fits many of the patterns found in the data and sheds light on certain puzzling findings. For a reasonable set of parameters that match well the data on the war on drugs under Plan Colombia, our model predicts that the marginal cost to the U.S. of reducing the amount of cocaine transacted in retail markets by one kilogram is $1,631.900 if resources are allocated to eradication efforts; and $267.450 per kilogram if resources are allocated to interdiction efforts

Details: Bogota, Colombia: Universidad De Los Andes-Cede, Department of Economics, 2013. 64p.

Source: Internet Resource: Documento CEDE No. 2013-54 : Accessed November 26, 2014 at: http://economia.uniandes.edu.co/publicaciones/dcede2013-54.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://economia.uniandes.edu.co/publicaciones/dcede2013-54.pdf

Shelf Number: 134261

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control
Drug Trafficking
Economics of Crime
Plan Colombia
War on Drugs (U.S.)

Author: Day, Marcus

Title: Making a mountain out of a molehill: myths on youth and crime in Saint Lucia

Summary: This report reflects a short summary of one year (2012) of ethnographic observations and 'informal conversations' with various stakeholders across Saint Lucia, a small Caribbean nation. The effort was undertaken to assess the profile of youth gangs and their members in order to add depth to existing analysis on gangs in the Caribbean by using one country as a model. This summary of the report focuses on the interaction between the cannabis and cocaine markets, and the role of youth in that trade on the one hand, and the increase in violence indicators on the other. The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) and individual member states face shared challenges of youth involvement in crime, violence, gangs and other anti-social activities. It is not uncommonly heard the "drug problem" is to be blamed for this. This briefing wants to show this relation is far more complex and often misunderstood. Saint Lucia is a small island state, one of the fifteen members of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). It became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979, and is situated in the south eastern part of the Caribbean and has a population of around 180 thousand. The Caribbean region, due to its proximity to cocaine producers in the South and its well established trading links with Europe and North America is well positioned as a transit zone, accounting for an estimated 25-30 per cent of cocaine reaching Europe. The main destination for the bulk of cocaine transiting Saint Lucia is Martinique and onward to Paris and beyond. The isolated coast lines and island geography contribute to the popularity of the sub region for the transhipment of cocaine.

Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2014. 8p.

Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Series on Drug Markets and Violence, Nr 3: Accessed April 6, 2015 at: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/dmv3-e.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Caribbean

URL: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/dmv3-e.pdf

Shelf Number: 135160

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Markets
Drug Trafficking
Drug-Related Violence

Author: European Commission

Title: Mid-term review of the Cocaine Route Programme financed by the EU Instrument for Stability

Summary: The present evaluation is a review of the Cocaine Route Programme (CRP) 2009-2013 funded by the European Union (EU) Instrument for Stability (IfS), Long-term component, Global and trans-regional threats, conducted from November 2012 until June 2013. The CRP has a mandate to support law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities in third countries along the so called 'cocaine route', i.e. from the production countries in Latin America to Europe, via Central America, the Caribbean and West Africa. The overall objective is to enhance their capacity for international cooperation in the fight against international criminal networks, while fully respecting human rights. The budget of the CRP totals L34,916,9731 and has been allocated to eight self-standing projects in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC): 1) AIRCOP I, II and III (Airport Communication Programme): to build drug-interdiction capacities via Joint Airport Interdiction Task Forces (JAITFs) at selected international airports in West Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, and promote communication and intelligence sharing through real-time connection to Interpol's I 24/7 and the WCO CENComm. 2) AML-WA (Anti-money laundering activities in West Africa): to develop AML activities in the non-banking financial businesses and professions; to enhance Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Cape Verde and promote liaison with the international community. 3) SEACOP I, II and III (Seaport Cooperation Programme): to set-up Joint Maritime Control Units (JMCU) in seaports in West Africa and develop regional intelligence and maritime cooperation. 4) WAPIS I and II (West African Police Information System): to support collection and analysis of police information in ECOWAS countries and Mauritania, increase police information exchange regionally and with the rest of the world through Interpol tools and services. 5) AMERIPOL I and II (Law Enforcement & Judicial Cooperation in Latin America): to strengthen exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement and judicial authorities at regional level in Latin America and with West Africa and the EU. 6) GAFISUD I, II and III (Support to the fight against money laundering in Latin America): to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of money laundering in the non-banking financial sector of GAFISUD member countries (Latin America) and foster international cooperation. 7) PRELAC I and II (Prevention of the diversion of drugs precursors in the LAC region): to strengthen the capacities of national administrative control authorities to prevent the diversion of chemical precursors in 17 countries in Latin and Central America and the Caribbean. 8) CORMS I and II (Cocaine Route Monitoring and Support): to strengthen the trans-regional coordination, coherence and complementarity effect among the various CRP projects and any other relevant initiative, conducted by the EU, MS or other international organisations. The objectives of the evaluation are: (i) to provide an overall independent assessment of the CRP activities according to the five evaluation criteria endorsed by the OECD-DAC (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact), and to the European Commission (EC) specific evaluation criteria (EC added value and coherence); (ii) to verify, analyse and assess the integration and impact of cross cutting issues in the Programme, with a particular emphasis on human rights and governance aspects; (iii) to assess the overall relevance of the Programme in relation to the objectives of the IfS and the related IfS Strategy and subsequent Multiannual Indicative Programmes (MIPs). In addition, (iv) the review assesses the performance of contractors, (v) the institutional set up of the Programme and (vi) complementarity with other programmes, particularly COPOLAD ("Cooperation Programme between Latin America and the European Union on Anti-drugs policies") funded by the EU under the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI). The review identifies key lessons and proposes practical recommendations for follow-up actions.

Details: Hemel Hempstead, Herts, UK: HTSPE Limited, 2013. 181p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 13, 2015 at: http://www.globalinitiative.net/download/drugs/global/EU%20-%20Mid%20Term%20Review%20of%20the%20Cocaine%20Route%20Programme%202013.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: International

URL: http://www.globalinitiative.net/download/drugs/global/EU%20-%20Mid%20Term%20Review%20of%20the%20Cocaine%20Route%20Programme%202013.pdf

Shelf Number: 136003

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Law Enforcement
Drug Trafficking

Author: Farthing, Linda C.

Title: Habeas Coca: Bolivia's Community Coca Control

Summary: With significant pressure and earmarked funding from the United States and other demand-side countries, the Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru have struggled for decades with the question of how to limit the growth of coca and the export of cocaine and comply with UN drug conventions. Tactics such as forced eradication, criminalization, and marginalization of coca farmers have not only failed to significantly reduce cocaine production, but have had disastrous consequences for the economies and communities in the region. In 2004 the Bolivian government, despite international pressure to maintain the status quo, gathered the political momentum to try something different. Bolivia established the cato accord that allowed farmers to legally grow a limited and regulated quantity of coca leaves, a mainstay of Andean life for 4,000 years. The Bolivian model's simple concept is supported at the local, national, regional, and international levels by a complex network of growers, unions, organizations, government agencies, and police and military forces. Habeas Coca: Bolivia's Community Coca Control explains how the community control system works and shows its effectiveness in decreasing violence, increasing citizen engagement, limiting corruption, stabilizing and diversifying local economies, and reducing coca cultivation. It also explores the areas where the program and its evaluation can be improved. Countries where legal and illegal drug markets coexist, or can be developed, can benefit greatly by exploring and adapting the community control model to their unique circumstances. And, by better understanding the possibilities and constraints placed on those on the supply-side, countries on the demand-side of the global drug market will learn from Habeas Coca how critical their own policies, domestic and foreign, are to the success of limiting cocaine supply.

Details: Open Society Foundations, Global Drug Policy Program, 2015. 84p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2015 at: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/Bolivia%20Report-Habeas%20Coca-US-07-06-2015-corr1.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Bolivia

URL: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/Bolivia%20Report-Habeas%20Coca-US-07-06-2015-corr1.pdf

Shelf Number: 136304

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control
Drug Policy

Author: Felbab-Brown, Vanda

Title: Assessment of the Implementation of the United States Government's Support for Plan Colombia's Illicit Crop Reduction Components

Summary: This study provides an assessment of the success to date of Counter-Narcotics (CN) efforts under Plan Colombia along with a set of recommendations for the United States Government (USG) to strengthen future CN efforts directed at increasing security, decreasing coca cultivation and cocaine, and opium poppy and heroin production in Colombia. Plan Colombia commenced in 1999 as a multi-year effort to stem a decades' long spiral towards domestic violence, fueled by narcotics funding resulting from an increasingly robust drug industry. Plan Colombia provided funding to support increased security and counternarcotics efforts, and to address issues of rural development, rule of law, human rights, and support for displaced persons. The assessment was carried out by a team of specialists in economic policy, alternative development, law and security and comparative drug control. The team reviewed documents and secondary literature, conducted interviews with relevant US and Government of Colombia (GOC), local officials, development workers, representatives of national agencies, farmers, farm association officials and other stakeholders. It undertook three site visits, in South of Bolivar (Sur de Bolivar), in Macarena (Meta) and in Narino. In all three sites, team members conducted focus groups made up of local officials, representatives of national ministries, members of farmer associations and farmers. The team also used economic regressions and simulations to assist its analyses. The team examined the history of Plan Colombia, reviewed performance in areas such as implementation of alternative development, impact of eradication, cost effectiveness, improvements in security, and socio-economic aspects of state presence. The report looks at approaches to adjusting performance measures for CN programs. With a view toward formulating recommendations for the future, the report presents analyses of lessons that could be drawn from the significant reduction in poppy cultivation, the role of alternative development and the involvement of citizens and local governments in coca reduction. The report examines the internal balloon effect as that influences the geographic dispersion of coca cultivation. Finally, the report reviews various elements of rural development and agricultural policy as well as providing an estimation of the extent that families in rural areas are vulnerable to participating in coca cultivation. (Vulnerable families are defined as families in coca growing areas that share the socioeconomic characteristics of existing coca farmers.)

Details: Washington, DC: Management Systems International, 2009. 177p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2015 at: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACN233.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: Colombia

URL: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACN233.pdf

Shelf Number: 136307

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Enforcement
Drug Police
Drug Trafficking
Drugs and Crime
Heroin
Plan Colombia

Author: Santana, Geraldo

Title: Can cocaine production in Colombia be linked to environmental crime?: A case study into the effect of EU legislation on the trade

Summary: This case study highlights the interrelationship between cocaine production, a drug-related criminal activity and environmental pollution and degradation, activities that are considered to be environmental crimes in many parts of the world today. To a lesser extent, this case study also explores the links between cocaine trafficking and organised crime groups, such as the militias in Colombia. There, cocaine production is not just an ordinary illicit activity, it is also a means used by the militias to secure territory, power, finances and weaponry. The European Union represents the second largest market in the world for cocaine. It also exports 20% of the world's chemical precursors, with Germany as the largest European producer with 5.7% share of the global sales. Chemical precursors such as potassium permanganate, an essential ingredient in cocaine production, are highly monitored yet Colombia seized 80% of the global seizure of illicit potassium permanganate for the period of 2007-2012. Criminals have adopted various diversion methods to make up for their losses from tighter controls on chemical precursors trafficking. There is legislation in place that monitor the trade of chemical precursors within and outside the borders of the EU. The case study seeks to examine if the said legislation has been effective in preventing the illicit use of chemical precursors in cocaine production in Colombia and as a consequence help to prevent further environmental pollution and degradation.

Details: The Hague: Institute for Environmental Security, 2015. 30p.

Source: Internet Resource: A study compiled as part of the EFFACE project. Accessed August 21, 2015 at: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20Can%20cocaine%20production%20in%20Colombia%20be%20linked%20to%20environmental%20crime_0.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Colombia

URL: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20Can%20cocaine%20production%20in%20Colombia%20be%20linked%20to%20environmental%20crime_0.pdf

Shelf Number: 136517

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Environmental Crime
Environmental Pollution
Organized Crime

Author: Youngers, Coletta A.

Title: Building on progress: Bolivia consolidates achievements in reducing coca and looks to reform decades-old drug law

Summary: Bolivia's program relies on close monitoring to ensure individual cultivators do not exceed their cato, or measured plot of land for permitted coca cultivation. Farmers participate in a biometric registry to facilitate identification and monitoring of production, transport, and sales, effectively ensuring crops are only used for licit products - not cocaine or its derivatives. At 20,400 hectares of coca under cultivation, Bolivia has nearly reached its goal of 20,000 hectares, the amount considered to be sufficient to supply the traditional and expanding legal markets. Yet while Bolivia's coca policy is worthy of recognition, this report by WOLA/AIN concludes that the country's outdated drug law remains unjust and continues to rely on disproportionate punishment for low-level, non-violent drug offenses.

Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America, 2015. 21p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 28, 2015 at: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64663568/library/WOLA-bolivia-consolidates-achievements-in-reducing-coca-2015.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Bolivia

URL: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64663568/library/WOLA-bolivia-consolidates-achievements-in-reducing-coca-2015.pdf

Shelf Number: 136610

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Abuse and Crime
Drug Offenders
Drug Policy
Drug Reform

Author: Ledebur, Kathryn

Title: Bolivian Drug Control Efforts: Genuine Progress, Daunting Challenges

Summary: Following a landslide victory at the polls, Evo Morales became president of Bolivia in January 2006. Head of the coca-growers' federation, Morales was a long-standing foe of U.S. drug policy, and many observers anticipated a complete break in U.S.-Bolivian relations and hence an end to drug policy cooperation. Instead, both Morales and the George W. Bush administration initially kept the rhetoric at bay and developed an amicable enough bilateral relationship - though one that at times has been fraught with tension. Following Bolivia's expulsion in 2008 of the U.S. Ambassador, Philip Goldberg, for allegedly meddling in the country's internal affairs and encouraging civil unrest, and the subsequent expulsion of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the White House upped its criticism of the Bolivian government and for the past five years has issued a "determination" that Bolivia has "failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to adhere to [its] obligations under international narcotics agreements." U.S. economic assistance for Bolivian drug control programs has slowed to a trickle. Nonetheless, in 2011 the two countries signed a new framework agreement to guide bilateral relations and are pending an exchange of ambassadors. Moreover, cooperation continues between the primary Bolivian drug control agency - the Ministry of Government's Vice Ministry of Social Defense and Controlled Substances - and the Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) of the U.S. embassy. At the international level, Bolivia is seeking to reconcile its new constitution, which recognizes the right to use the coca leaf for traditional and legal purposes and recognizes coca as part of the country's national heritage, with its commitments to international conventions. In June 2011, the country denounced the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended by the 1972 Protocol and announced its intention to re-accede with a reservation allowing for the traditional use of the coca leaf. (The 1961 Convention mistakenly classifies coca as a dangerous narcotic, along with cocaine.) Unless more than one-third of UN member states object by the January 10, 2013 deadline, the Bolivian reservation will be accepted and the country will once again be a full Party to the Single Convention. The approaching date for Bolivia's potential return to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs provides an opportune moment to evaluate the Bolivian government's progress achieving its drug policy objectives. Moreover, the Morales administration has been in office for nearly six years, providing a clear track record to evaluate. Adopting a "coca yes, cocaine no" approach, Bolivia has sought to decrease the cultivation of coca - the raw material used in manufacturing cocaine - while increasing actions against cocaine production and drug trafficking organizations. In 2011, the land area devoted to coca cultivation in Bolivia dropped by 13 percent, according to U.S. government figures, in contrast to net increases in Peru and Colombia. Seizures of coca paste and cocaine and destruction of drug laboratories have steadily increased since President Morales took office. Yet despite the positive results achieved to date, the government faces increasing challenges as the amount of coca paste and cocaine flowing across its borders from Peru has increased, the production of cocaine in Bolivia itself has risen, and drug traffickers have diversified and expanded areas of production and transportation within the country. The Bolivian government has made significant progress facing the ongoing challenges of drug production and trafficking, in part due to the assistance provided by the European Union (EU), the United States, and others. The U.S. government should now recognize this progress in its annual determinations. The string of negative determinations are increasingly disconnected from reality in Bolivia and retain little credibility with the Bolivian government or with other governments in the region, which continue to see the annual U.S. rating as offensive and politically motivated. The signing of the framework agreement marked significant progress in U.S.-Bolivian bilateral relations. Both governments should build on that success by using the accord as a venue to discuss areas of concern, friction, and consensus. While differences will undoubtedly arise, it is in the best interests of both countries to maintain an open dialogue.

Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America, 2012. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2015 at: http://www.wola.org/sites/default/files/AIN-WOLA%20Final%20Bolivia%20Coca%20Memo.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: Bolivia

URL: http://www.wola.org/sites/default/files/AIN-WOLA%20Final%20Bolivia%20Coca%20Memo.pdf

Shelf Number: 136789

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control
Drug Enforcement
Drug Trafficking

Author: Jakobsson, A.

Title: From Gold Coast to Coke Coast: Politicians, Militaries and Large-Scale Trafficking of Cocaine in Guinea-Bissau

Summary: The tiny West African nation of Guinea-Bissau made the news as the first narco-state in Africa during the mid-2000s. Guinea-Bissau had out-of-the-blue become a key transit point for cocaine out of South America on route to Europe. What's more, high-ranking government and military officials were supposedly deeply complicit in the illicit drug trafficking. This master's thesis applies the state crime theory of Penny Green and Tony Ward in order to explain the emergence of Guinea-Bissau as a predatory state. No previous criminological studies have ever revealed the reasons for these dynamics. In this thesis, I illustrate how weak institutions, corruption, unsustainable economy, porous borders, and a lack of military legitimacy have conspired to facilitate the development of the predatory state in this country. State power has become fundamental to individual gain, as state elements fused with crime. Consequently, I demonstrate that the large-scale trade of cocaine has greatly contributed to the rise of Guinea-Bissau as a predatory state.

Details: Stockholm: Stockholm University, Kriminologiska institutionen, 2015. 46p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 7, 2016 at: http://www.criminology.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.257044.1448011357!/menu/standard/file/2015m_15_Jakobsson_Angelina.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Guinea-Bissau

URL: http://www.criminology.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.257044.1448011357!/menu/standard/file/2015m_15_Jakobsson_Angelina.pdf

Shelf Number: 138594

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Narcotics
Political Corruption

Author: Financial Action Task Force of Latin America

Title: Analysis of Regional Threats on Money Laundering

Summary: The XXX GAFILAT Plenary approved the implementation of a regional study of threats on money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) of the member countries of the Financial Action Task Force on Latin America with the financial support of the European Union. The pursued objective is for countries to achieve greater effectiveness in mitigating risks and that the resources allocated for this purpose are used more efficiently.

Details: s.l.: Cocaine Route Program, European Union, 2016. 53p.

Source: Internet Resource: The European Union's Instrument Contributing to Stability and Peace: The Cocaine Route Programme: Accessed August 2, 2016 at: http://www.cocaineroute.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Analysis-of-Regional-Threats-on-Money-Laundering-.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Latin America

URL: http://www.cocaineroute.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Analysis-of-Regional-Threats-on-Money-Laundering-.pdf

Shelf Number: 139951

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Money Laundering
Terrorism
Terrorist Financing

Author: Kruijt, Dirk

Title: Drugs, Democracy and Security: The impact of organized crime on the political system of Latin America

Summary: This study is a comparative analysis about the impacts of organized crime - and specifically drugs related crime - on the Latin American and Caribbean political systems. According to the terms of reference, the focus of the study is on Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and Bolivia. A first draft of this paper was presented at a conference organized by New York University (NYU), International IDEA, the Open Society Institute (OSI) and NIMD and held in Lima from 8 to 11 February 2011. While travelling and collecting data I added information about additional countries in order to facilitate a more general overview of the problem. During previous missions in 2010 I had also accumulated information about organized crime and drugs in Central America and the Andean countries. The result is that in this study comparative data are presented about the three major Andean coca-producing countries and the most affected Meso-American transition countries (namely, Mexico and the northern triangle of Central America). The seven countries analysed in this study have different profiles with respect to their internal stability; the level of crime related violence; the strength of political institutions, security apparatus and the judiciary; and the national policies with respect to coca cultivation, cocaine production and crime prevention. The effects on the political system, key institutions and political parties also differ by country. Colombia and Mexico are heavily affected by crime-related violence. One characteristic of these two countries is the fact that coca cultivation and cocaine production are strictly illegal and penalised. The prevailing strategy in both countries is a militarised countering strategy, with strong financial and intelligence support from the United States' government agencies. By contrast, Peru and Bolivia are substantially more tolerant with respect to the cocaleros, the generally poor peasants who cultivate coca. These two countries are less affected by crime-related violence. While the level of violence directly associated with coca cultivation and cocaine production is extremely high in Colombia, it is remarkably moderate in Peru, and considerably low in Bolivia. Contrary to the opinion of some participants in the debate about organized crime and the state, there are no failed states in Latin America, though areas exist where effective state control is not in place. Even in Colombia and Mexico the core regions and cities are relatively unaffected by the drug wars and the associated violence. In Central America, and in particular Guatemala, the security forces are on the defensive. In all countries the police are the weakest link in the cluster of institutions involved in countering strategies. In all countries the armed forces appear to be less infiltrated by crime. With the exception of Honduras, the armed forces in Latin American or Caribbean countries do not act as political players with ambitions of participating in the political arena. In Guatemala, the national government decided in the mid-2000s that its security institutions and judicial system were so frail and vulnerable that the country was in need of an international commission, the Comision Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG) to supervise the functioning of these vital institutions. No other government has felt the need to request this sort of international assistance or supervision. I also maintain that theses about 'state capture' by organized crime are not based on strong empirical studies. In this study I make a comparison with the former guerrilla organizations and the counterinsurgency strategies that prevailed in Latin America between the 1960s and the late 1980s. Present countering strategies in the region have some resemblance to the more or less classical counterinsurgency strategy and tactics used during the anti-guerrilla campaigns, which were then generally designed and procured by military dictatorships. There are, of course, also fundamental differences: previously, guerrilla movements were 'politico-military' organizations whose ideologies were explicitly aimed at overthrowing dictatorships and establishing more democratic and socialist governments. The criminal organizations of the present day are 'economic-military' rather than 'politico-military' organizations, aiming not for the overthrow of the state but for an uninterrupted and easily obtained economic surplus. This is to be achieved through violence and corruption - either via the easy way (by corrupting authorities) or the hard way (by guns and gangs). Their strategy is to control territories or commercial corridors which act as leeways for production and trafficking and which guarantee uninterrupted profits. Their final objective is surplus, a 'good life' and their incorporation within elite segments of society and politics. Defining 'state capture' as a final objective tends to obscure the perverse effects of organized crime, including long-term corruption of key institutions of law and order and a semi-permanent state of impunity and immunity with respect to law enforcement. More specifically, we can identify four main effects: 1 Impunity has as a long-lasting effect in the form of the de-legitimisation of national security and the judicial and penitentiary system, an avalanche process in which political parties and social movements are also affected. 2 A second perverse effect is the phenomenon of the widespread infiltration, at the local and regional level, of political parties and political representatives. In Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and other countries the corruption and intimidation of 'tame' politicians has been ironically dubbed the system of 'para-politica' or 'para-politicos'. 3 A third perverse effect is the deteriorating reputation of local politicians. Populist presidents, from Menem in Argentina to Fujimori in Peru, have used the stereotype of easy-to-corrupt magistrates and politicians to launch themselves as the 'true defenders of the poor' against parliament and the courts. 4 A fourth perverse effect is the confusion between hard-core crime organizations, operating with military-like enforcers or paramilitary organizations, and the 'normal' but much more visible groupings of criminal youth gangs or maras in Central America and several metropolitan areas in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Central America this has resulted in mano dura (zero tolerance) presidential campaigns, aimed not at a solution to organized crime but at the elimination or imprisonment of the highly visible (and tattooed) mara members. It is my conviction that political parties in particular need to be responsible for adequate security agendas. However, in most Latin American and Caribbean countries, politicians are inclined to delegate this all-important agenda to 'experts': that is, former generals and commanders of specialised police task forces. One recommendation I would therefore make is that donor organizations such as NIMD should provide policy research and assist in the design of integral security agendas and related policies, making them accessible to political parties and civil society in general.

Details: The Hague: Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, 2011. 74p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 28, 2016 at: http://nimd.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Drugs_democracy_and_security_english_-_nimd_june_2011.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Latin America

URL: http://nimd.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Drugs_democracy_and_security_english_-_nimd_june_2011.pdf

Shelf Number: 140490

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug-related Violence
Organized Crime
Political Corruption

Author: Morgan, Nick

Title: New opiate and crack-cocaine users: characteristics and trends

Summary: This paper uses a range of datasets and methodologies to: - obtain working estimates for the number of individuals in England who started using opiates/crack from 2005 to 2013; - examine the characteristics of these individuals. The main findings of the paper are as follows.  It is estimated that around 5,000 to 8,000 individuals started using opiates or crack-cocaine in 2013. There is a high degree of uncertainty around this figure due to the sparse data on this population, but sense-checks based on treatment and criminal justice system data suggest the true figure is unlikely to be much larger than 10,000.  Data also suggest that the number of current opiate/crack initiates involved with crime may be even lower. The number of arrestees testing positive for the first time for opiates (or for both opiates and crack-cocaine) dropped from 14,750 in 2006 to 4,281 in the first 11 months of 2013, a fall of around 70 per cent . Furthermore, of the new positive testers in 2013, only 721 were aged 18-24. Though this arrestee data will capture only a proportion of the true population, it does suggest that the number of new, young initiates involved with crime - those who have the potential to inflict most societal harm - has decreased markedly, probably just to a few thousand per year; and that this group now make up a small minority of the total number of opiate/crack-cocaine users (estimated to be 294,000 in 2011/12), most of whom are older, longer-term users.  In terms of trends in new opiate/crack-cocaine users, all available data suggest that figures have dipped by at least a fifth since 2005 and have dropped hugely since the late 1980s and early 1990s when the opiate/crack-cocaine population in the UK grew very rapidly. The current estimate works out at a rate of 0.18 per 1,000 population. During the epidemic years, published estimates of new opiate/crack-cocaine users in Manchester and Bolton show rates more than 11 times larger.  However, the findings also suggest that between 2011 and early 2014, the number of new opiate/crack-cocaine users stopped decreasing and instead stabilised at a (historically) low level. Further analysis was conducted to try and determine whether this was a precursor to a new rise in initiates. Though the data are not totally conclusive, the results suggest that a marked increase in new opiate/crack-cocaine users in the near future is unlikely. If anything, findings suggested that the downward trend may be set to resume.  Analysis also revealed some possible changes in characteristics of the new opiate/crack- cocaine initiates. There is a trend in the treatment data towards new initiates coming to treatment earlier in their drug-using careers than previous cohorts and also to have initiated use at an older age. Currently it is not possible to determine whether this is a reporting issue or a genuine shift in the age profile of new opiate/crack-cocaine users.  The report has several important policy implications. Even though numbers of new initiates involved with crime have dropped to the low thousands, putting downward pressure on crime, identification and early diversion to treatment remains paramount. Frontier Economics have estimated that the average lifetime crime cost of an injecting drug user is �445,000, so the potential for social harm - even from a small number of individuals - remains large and potentially long-lasting. This means local areas need to manage both the (relatively large) stock of current users, and the (much smaller) flow of new initiates, whose treatment needs may be different. There is no evidence of any new epidemic in this country, but given the impact of the epidemic of the 80s and early 90s on crime, ongoing monitoring of recent trends is required to spot early signs of any emerging problems.

Details: London: Home Office, 2016. 45p.

Source: Internet Resource: Research Report 90: Accessed October 8, 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493524/horr90-opiate-crack-cocaine-users.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493524/horr90-opiate-crack-cocaine-users.pdf

Shelf Number: 145133

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drug Offenders
Opiates

Author: Munoz-Herrera, Manual

Title: Drug Dealing In Bucaramanga: Case Study In A Drug Producing Country

Summary: We present a case study of the market of drug dealing in the context of a drug producing country. A main characteristic of a drug producing country is that illegal drugs are more accessible and have dramatically lower prices in the street market compared to countries that do not produce drugs. We locate our study to the city of Bucaramanga, Colombia; the country with the largest production of cocaine in the world. We make use of two sources of primary information (i) direct interviews to drug dealers, and (ii) media analysis of the local newspaper. Our main finding is that individual dealers exchange drugs, without any incentives to integrate and take control of the distribution in the city. That is, the low prices of drugs reduce profit and deter dealers to fight for monopoly, leading to a decentralized market of multiple uni-personal firms who use no violence.

Details: Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 2014. 33p.

Source: Internet Resource: MPRA Paper No. 58523: Accessed December 7, 2016 at: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/58523/1/MPRA_paper_58523.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Colombia

URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/58523/1/MPRA_paper_58523.pdf

Shelf Number: 147951

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Dealers
Drug Markets
Drug Trafficking
Drug-Related Violence

Author: Mazzitelli, Antonio L.

Title: The New Transatlantic Bonanza: Cocaine on Highway 10

Summary: The 10th Parallel marine and aerial routes linking South America and West Africa harbor a long history of trade between the two continents. More recently, these routes have become one of the preferred routes used by Latin American traffickers for shipping multi-tons of cocaine destined for the growing European market. The Parallel's growing importance in cocaine trafficking has made it known as cocaine "Highway 10" among law enforcement. Latin American cocaine trafficking organizations, particularly the Colombian ones, have established stable bases in West Africa, controlling and developing the route. West African facilitators, Nigerians as well as an increasing number of nationals from all countries where shipments are stocked, have developed a stronger capacity for taking over more ambitious and lucrative role in the business as transporters, partners, and final buyers. In one case (Guinea), the West African partner had already started developing his own trafficking and manufacturing capacity, reproducing the patterns that made Colombia the business model of the drug industry. In this reshaped context, of particular concern is the role played by the Colombian FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) as provider of cocaine shipments to West African cocaine entrepreneurs, as well as the impact of drug trafficking money on the financing of terrorist and rebel groups operating in the Sahel-Saharan belt.

Details: Miami: Florida International University, Western Hemisphere Security Analysis Center, 2011. 57p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 16, 2017 at: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=whemsac

Year: 2011

Country: Latin America

URL: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=whemsac

Shelf Number: 146980

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Terrorist Financing

Author: Beittel, June S.

Title: Colombia's Changing Approach to Drug Policy

Summary: Colombia is one of the largest producers of cocaine globally, and it also produces heroin bound for the United States. Counter-narcotics policy has long been a key component of the U.S.- Colombian relationship, which some analysts have described as "driven by drugs." Now, Colombia is changing its approach to counter-narcotics policy, which may have implications for the U.S.-Colombian relationship. U.S. concerns about illicit drug production and trafficking in Colombia arose in the 1970s but grew significantly when Colombia became the dominant producer of cocaine in the Andean region in the mid-to-late 1990s. The United States has worked closely with Colombia to eradicate drug crops and combat trafficking. Simultaneously, over the past 17 years, the United States has forged a partnership with Colombia - perhaps its closest bilateral relationship in Latin America - centered on helping Colombia recover its stability following a decades-long internal conflict with insurgencies of left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries, whose longevity has been attributed, in part, to their role in the country's illicit drug trade. Between FY2000 and FY2016, the U.S. Congress appropriated more than $10 billion of bilateral foreign assistance to support a Colombian-written strategy known as Plan Colombia and its successor programs. In addition to counter-narcotics, the United States helped support security and development programs designed to stabilize Colombia's security situation and strengthen its democracy. A peace accord between the government of Colombia and the country's main leftist insurgent group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was signed in late November 2016 after four years of formal peace talks. The Colombian Congress unanimously ratified the peace accord, which had been revised following the narrow rejection of an earlier accord in a national referendum in October 2016. The final peace agreement addresses important issues, such as illicit crop cultivation - a major source of FARC income-and rural development. According to President Juan Manuel Santos, the peace accord will draw former FARC members into efforts to counter illicit drug production and trafficking. In 2017, as Colombia begins to implement the final peace accord and demobilize the FARC, the country is facing a large increase in cocaine production. During the protracted peace negotiations with the FARC, the Colombian government altered its approach to drug policy. A major change was the decision to end aerial spraying to eradicate coca crops, which had been a central - albeit controversial - feature of U.S.-Colombian counter-drug cooperation for more than two decades. In addition, Colombia's counter-narcotics policies shifted in 2015 to a public health approach under President Santos. The shift was influenced by broader hemispheric trends to reform traditional anti-drug practices in ways that proponents claim can reduce human rights violations. On the supply side, Colombia's new drug policy gives significant attention to expanding alternative development and licit crop substitution while intensifying interdiction efforts. The revised drug policy approach promotes drug-use prevention and treatment for drug users. According to Colombian officials, the public health and prevention dimensions of the revised strategy will be led by Colombia's Health Ministry, in coordination with other agencies. This report examines how Colombia's drug policies have evolved in light of Colombia's peace agreement with the FARC and its changing counter-narcotics policy. It explores both policy and oversight concerns, such as - prospects for reducing coca and poppy cultivation under Colombia's new drug policy and the peace accord with the FARC; - the role of Colombian drug trafficking organizations, including powerful criminal groups containing former paramilitaries, in a post-peace accord environment; - U.S.-Colombian cooperation on counter-narcotics and Colombia's future role in regional anti-drug efforts; and - shifts in U.S. government assistance to support Colombia's revised drug policy and how Colombia's new policy converges with traditional U.S. priorities.

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2017. 27p.

Source: Internet Resource: R44779: Accessed May 8, 2017 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R44779.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Colombia

URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R44779.pdf

Shelf Number: 145353

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Control Policy
Drug Enforcement
Drug Trafficking
Illicit Drugs

Author: Aziani, Alberto

Title: Shrinking businesses and expanding graveyards: how fluctuations in the value of cocaine markets influence the recourse to lethal violence

Summary: Many scholars have investigated the escalation of violence associated with drug trafficking. Despite the plethora of literature, limited attention has been paid to the consequences of fluctuations in the value of markets. This study addresses this lacuna in extant research by proposing an original estimate of the gross value added of cocaine markets in 151 countries between the period 1998-2013, taking into consideration both national and international dimensions of cocaine trafficking through recourse to a flow/network approach. In conjunction with this, the fluctuation of the gross value added of the cocaine market is examined in terms of an etiological factor in the upsurge of interpersonal lethal violence. The analysis demonstrates how expansions and contractions of the gross value added in cocaine markets are significant determinants of the level of violence within the respective countries that constitute the global cocaine network. Finally, through mobilising innovative methods for estimating drug law enforcement actions, the study problematizes extant methods for disrupting drug trafficking on the basis that they may, paradoxically, engender cycles of violence.

Details: Milan: UNIVERSITA CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE, 2016. 287p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 13, 2017 at: https://tesionline.unicatt.it/bitstream/10280/17473/1/Alberto%20Aziani%20_%20PhD%20Thesis.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: International

URL: https://tesionline.unicatt.it/bitstream/10280/17473/1/Alberto%20Aziani%20_%20PhD%20Thesis.pdf

Shelf Number: 145472

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Markets
Drug Trafficking
Drug-Related Violence
Economics of Crime

Author: Ameripol

Title: Situational Analysis of Drug Trafficking: Police Point of View: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru

Summary: A new study from the Americas regional police association Ameripol explores the shifting dynamics of the global drug trade, as new trafficking routes and criminal networks emerge to meet the demands of evolving consumer markets. The report (pdf), entitled "Situational Analysis of Drug Trafficking - A Police Perspective," is a collaboration between the American Police Community (Ameripol), an association of police from around the region, and the European Union (EU), focusing on the drug trade in the three main coca production countries -- Peru, Colombia and Bolivia -- as well as key transit countries. One of the most notable aspects of the report is its plotting of the rise of new trafficking routes to meet the needs of ever changing drug consumer markets around the globe. Most of these rely on maritime transport, which the report classifies as "the biggest drug trafficking threat." Many of these routes now run through Brazil, which is now the world's second largest consumer of cocaine and a key transit point for shipments destined for Europe. The report examines both the traditional and developing trafficking routes that take cocaine from production countries to the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and the northeast of the country, where it is processed, then either sold locally or exported. At the heart of many of the routes sits Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state and a critical thoroughfare for drugs arriving from Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. The report highlights the cross-pollination of illegal activities in the Amazon region, noting that pilots involved in drug flights are also often involved in the illegal mining that blights the region.

Details: Bogota, Colombia: Ameripol, 2013.

Source: Internet Resource: Available at the Rutgers Criminal Justice Library.

Year: 2013

Country: South America

URL:

Shelf Number: 131271

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Drug-Related Violence
Illegal Mining

Author: Collodi, Jason

Title: External stresses in West Africa: Cross-border Violence and Cocaine Trafficking

Summary: The 2011 World Development Report on conflict, security and development highlights the centrality of 'external stresses' for generating insecurity and increasing the risk of violence in fragile areas. West African states are particularly vulnerable, with serious concerns around cross-border violence and illicit drug-trafficking. Policy responses need to: tackle the region's recent legacy of conflict and violent upheaval; address weak governance and entrenched corruption; improve regional cooperation; and support border and outlying communities that have been marginalised by insecurity, poverty and unemployment.

Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, 2014. 4p.

Source: Internet Resource: IDS Policy Briefing 60: Accessed June 7, 2017 at: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/3858/External%20Stresses%20in%20West%20Africa%20cross-border%20violence%20and%20cocaine%20trafficking.pdf;jsessionid=706100FE21470352417E0571F8249D73?sequence=1

Year: 2014

Country: Africa

URL: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/3858/External%20Stresses%20in%20West%20Africa%20cross-border%20violence%20and%20cocaine%20trafficking.pdf;jsessionid=706100FE21470352417E0571F8249D73?sequence=1

Shelf Number: 145950

Keywords:
Cocaine
Conflict-Related Violence
Drug Trafficking
Drug-Related Violence
Violence

Author: Sviatschi, Maria Micaela

Title: Essays on Human Capital, Labor and Development Economics

Summary: This dissertation contains four essays on human capital, labor and development economics. The first two chapters study how exposure to particular labor markets during childhood determines the formation of industry-specific human capital generating longterm consequences in terms of adult criminal behavior, labor outcomes and state legitimacy. The third chapter explores how criminal capital developed during childhood can be exported to other locations generating spillover effects on human capital accumulation. Finally, the last chapter studies how improving access to justice for women affects children's outcomes. Chapter 1, "Making a Narco: Childhood Exposure to Illegal Labor Markets and Criminal Life Paths", shows that exposing children to illegal labor markets makes them more likely to be criminals as adults. I exploit the timing of a large anti-drug policy in Colombia that shifted cocaine production to locations in Peru that were well-suited to growing coca. In these areas, children harvest coca leaves and transport processed cocaine. Using variation across locations, years, and cohorts, combined with administrative data on the universe of individuals in prison in Peru, affected children are 30% more likely to be incarcerated for violent and drug-related crimes as adults. The biggest impacts on adult criminality are seen among children who experienced high coca prices in their early teens, the age when child labor responds the most. No effect is found for individuals that grow up working in places where the coca produced goes primarily to the legal sector, implying that it is the accumulation of human capital specific to the illegal industry that fosters criminal careers. As children involved in the illegal industry learn how to navigate outside the rule of law, they also lose trust in government institutions. However, consistent with a model of parental incentives for human capital investments in children, the rollout of a conditional cash transfer program that encourages schooling mitigates the ef- fects of exposure to illegal industries. Finally, I show how the program can be targeted by taking into account the geographic distribution of coca suitability and spatial spillovers. Overall, this paper takes a first step towards understanding how criminals are formed by unpacking the way in which crime-specific human capital is developed at the expense of formal human capital in "bad locations." While my first chapter focuses on low-skilled labor and criminal capital, my second chapter studies the expansion of high-skilled labor markets. In Chapter 2, "Long-term Effects of Temporary Labor Demand: Free Trade Zones, Female Education and Marriage Market Outcomes in the Dominican Republic", I exploit the sudden and massive growth of female factory jobs in free trade zones (FTZs) in the Dominican Republic in the 1990s, and subsequent decline in the 2000s, to provide the first evidence that even relatively brief episodes of preferential trade treatments for export industries may have permanent effects on human capital levels and female empowerment. Focusing on a sample of provinces that established FTZs and exploiting variation in the opening of zones and age of women at the time of opening, I show that the FTZs' openings led to a large and very robust increase in girls' education. The effect persists after a decline in FTZs' jobs in the 2000s following the end of a trade agreement with the U.S. and an increase in competition from Asia. The reason appears to be that the increase in some girls' education changed marriage markets: girls whose education increased due to the FTZs' openings married later, had better matches with more stable marriages, gave birth later, and had children who were more likely to survive infancy. In sum, the evidence in this paper indicates that labor markets can improve female outcomes in developing countries through general equilibrium effects in the education and marriage markets. Another question I address in my dissertation is whether criminal capital developed during childhood can be exported to other locations. In the first chapter, I find that individuals take skills related to the illegal drug industry with them when they move to other districts, even when they move to districts without significant illegal industries. Chapter 3, "Exporting Criminal Capital: The Effect of U.S. Deportations on Gang Expansion and Human Capital in Central America", provides new evidence on how an increase in criminal capital due to deportations from the US affects human capital investments in El Salvador. In 1996, the U.S. Illegal Immigration Responsibility Act drastically increased the number of criminal deportations. In particular, the leaders of large gangs in Los Angeles were sent back to their countries. In addition to having a direct effect, the arrival of individuals bringing criminal skills and connections may have generated important spillover effects. We exploit this policy to look at the impact that deportation policies and the subsequent arrival of criminal capital to El Salvador had on several educational and economic outcomes. Using the 1996 policy and geographical variation in the exact location and delimitation of different gang groups, we find that criminal deportations led to large increase in crime and decrease in human capital accumulation for children living in these areas. Overall, this project helps to understand one of the reasons why El Salvador is among the world's most violent peacetime countries. Understanding these effects is crucial for public policy to successfully incorporate deported criminals back into society. While my work in the Dominican Republic and the previous literature has shown that increasing the returns to education for women incentivizes schooling, there is little evidence on how domestic violence affects human capital development and whether improving access to institutions for women can address these issues. During my field work in rural areas of Peru, I found that institutions do not usually address the problems facing women or ethnic and religious minorities. For example, the police do very little to stop domestic violence. Moreover, in many cases, women do not even trust these institutions enough to report these issues. Chapter 4, "Inter-Generational Impacts of Improving Access to Justice for Women: Evidence from Peru", exploits the introduction of women's justice centers (WJCs) in Peru to provide causal estimates on the effects of improving access to justice for women and children. Our empirical approach uses variation over time in the distance from schools and households to the nearest WJC together with province- by-year fixed effects. After the opening of WJC, we find that primary school enrollment increases at schools that are within a 1km radius of a WJC and the effect decreases with distance. In addition, we also find that primary school second graders have better test scores in reading and mathematics. Moreover, we find that children in primary school living in household's located near a WJC are more likely to attend school, to pass a grade and they are also less likely to drop out of school. We also provide some evidence that these improvements might be driven by an increase in the bargaining power of women inside the household and decrease in domestic violence. In sum, the evidence in this paper shows that providing access to justice for women can be a powerful tool to reduce domestic violence and increase education of children, suggesting a positive inter-generational benefit.

Details: New York: Columbia University, 2017. 243p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed September 20, 2017 at: https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:nk98sf7m24

Year: 2017

Country: South America

URL: https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:nk98sf7m24

Shelf Number: 147415

Keywords:
Child Labor
Cocaine
Drug Policy
Economics of Crime
Gangs
Illegal Drugs
Illegal Immigrants
Illegal Industries
Labor Markets
Violence Against Women

Author: Troyano Sanchez, Dora Lucila

Title: Coca Industrialization: A Path to Innovation, Development, and Peace in Colombia

Summary: For decades, Colombia has faced the challenge of promoting economic development and peace in its coca growing regions while quelling the flow of coca for unlawful purposes. During this time, the country has rarely considered promoting economic development with coca, partly because the national and international conversation has written off coca growers as one of the main drivers of the drug trade. Coca Industrialization: A Path to Innovation, Development, and Peace in Colombia seeks to challenge this perspective, primarily by conceiving of coca as an agricultural product with ample industrialization opportunities that fit within the existing national and international legal arrangements. This report explores coca's diverse potential in applications as varied as nutrition, natural medicine, personal care, and agro-industry-as well as coca's historical cultural uses. The report addresses the following questions regarding this controversial plant and its use in economic ventures: What are the benefits of coca leaf for nutrition? What examples are there in Colombia of initiatives that advance coca industrialization? Is there a legal framework for developing enterprises in Colombia based on coca? What would need to be true to expand the horizons for coca industrialization? The report suggests seeing the coca plant (Erythroxylum spp) as an agricultural product. It proposes building a coca leaf industry that, firstly, guarantees a sound income for farmers; secondly, provides good quality, sustainable raw materials for manufacturers; and, thirdly, ensures traceability, and control across the supply chain, with adherence to international laws. The report is divided into four sections. The first chapter, "What Does the Coca Leaf Offer," considers the coca leaf 's value and uses. It describes the results of a recent bromatological study that explores coca's nutritional value, applying the national regulator's standards for food products. This chapter concludes that coca indeed appears to have significant nutritional potential and offers a research agenda to help fully confirm this hypothesis. The second chapter, "Coca Industrialization Experiences," describes Colombian entrepreneurship surrounding coca leaf. It maps the business initiatives that have sprung up in the gray area of the current normative framework. This chapter briefly reviews Bolivia and Peru's coca leaf markets, and examines how these countries facilitated the development of new products across coca's traditional and modern uses. The third chapter, "The Normative Framework for Colombia," outlines and analyzes the laws and regulations relating to coca. Despite Colombia's political changes, industrializing coca leaf for non-drug uses remains challenging. The current policy framework tolerates a gray area where small businesses can operate, but has failed to define norms that would promote industry growth from farmer to end user. We scan the laws passed since colonial times right up to the State Council ruling issued in the first half of 2015, which widened the narrow legal window that allows coca manufacturing and distribution. The final chapter, "Horizons for Coca Industrialization," offers approaches for building a coca leaf industry around non-narcotic uses. We describe the experience of the National Training Service (SENA) partnership with the southern Cauca village of Lerma. This state-community partnership (which we call the Lerma Model) offers a process to incrementally build the coca leaf industry and gradually reform Colombia's coca control framework. The Lerma Model focuses on advancing community well-being via technological innovations that benefit the entire supply chain. Drawing from experiences in Lerma and the Andean region, we conclude with a proposal that reinforces the Colombian state's rural development policy stemming from the 2016 Peace Agreement framework. This proposal scales the Lerma Model into a social and technology innovation program based on sectoral pilots that accelerate coca industrialization while building a system of local social control. This strategy contributes to a more legitimate and effective drug and rural development policy via a process based on science, innovation, and mutual benefit, which invites all social and political sectors of a polarized country.

Details: New York: Open Society Foundations, 2018. 70p.

Source: Internet Resource: Lessons for Drug Policy Series: Accessed May 25, 2018 at: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/path-to-innovation-evelopment-and-peace-in-colombia-en-20180521.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Colombia

URL: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/path-to-innovation-evelopment-and-peace-in-colombia-en-20180521.pdf

Shelf Number: 150368

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Markets
Drug Policy Reform
Drug Trafficking
Economic Development
Illicit Drugs

Author: Munoz-Mora, J.C

Title: Does Land Titling Matter? The Role of Land Property Rights in Colombia's War on Drugs

Summary: The 'war on drugs' has failed. Despite an increase in law enforcement, production levels of coca - the crop used to make cocaine - have hardly altered in the last decade. A 2017 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that coca cultivation in Colombia had increased by 52 per cent; thus, there is an urgent need to find alternative policies to counter illicit behaviour. Research by the Institute of Development Studies found that regions in Colombia with a higher level of land titling, where people who have worked land for many years are given formal ownership of it, witnessed a greater reduction in the area of land used to grow coca

Details: London: Institute of Development Studies, 2018. 2p.

Source: Internet Resource: IDS Policy Briefing Issue 156: Accessed September 20, 2018 at: https://www.ids.ac.uk/publications/does-land-titling-matter-the-role-of-land-property-rights-in-colombias-war-on-drugs/

Year: 2018

Country: Colombia

URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2539032

Shelf Number: 151594

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Policy
War on Drugs

Author: Harris, Katharine Neill

Title: The Drug Overdose Epidemic: Not Just about Opioids

Summary: The rise in opioid-related overdose deaths in the last two decades is widely regarded as an epidemic that originated with the overprescribing of prescription pain relievers in the late 1990s. But a research study published in the September issue of Science suggests that the opioid overdose crisis is actually part of a larger trend that started 40 years ago. In the study, researchers mapped drug overdose deaths in the U.S. from 1979 through 2016. The authors analyzed data from the National Vital Statistics System on 599,255 deaths in which the main cause of death was listed as accidental drug poisoning. The authors found that drug overdose fatalities have been increasing dramatically since 1979, stating that "this exponentially increasing mortality rate has tracked along a remarkably smooth trajectory for at least 38 years," suggesting that "the current wave of opioid overdose deaths may just be the latest manifestation of a more fundamental longer term process." Within this broad trend of steady growth, there is significant variation in terms of the specific drugs involved and the populations most affected by drug overdose deaths. Currently, the population most at risk for cocaine overdose is aging black males living in urban counties, while methamphetamine-related deaths skew toward white and rural male populations. For opioid-related deaths, age is a defining feature of variation in risk patterns. Deaths involving heroin and synthetic opioids are higher for people between the ages of 20 and 40, especially white males living in urban counties. In contrast, prescription opioid deaths are higher among those 40 to 60 years old, especially white females living in rural counties. Nearly every region of the country, except for the northern Midwest, has been a "hot spot" for drug overdose deaths in the last few years. Despite some limitations, this analysis provides strong evidence for the existence of a protracted drug epidemic that requires both immediate and long-term interventions. The finding that the relatively recent increase in opioid-specific overdoses may be a particularly intense manifestation of a more persistent problem implies that a major feature of the government response to opioid-involved overdoses - restricting the supply of prescription painkillers - does little to stem the overall uptick in drug-related fatalities. The fact that the increase in overdose deaths has remained constant despite varying trends for specific drugs also suggests that factors often thought to drive the overdose epidemic, such as a rise in drug use or an overabundant drug supply, are not sufficient explanations.

Details: Houston, TX: Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, 2018. 5p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 17, 2018 at: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/dc464f15/bi-brief-110118-drug-overdoseepidemic.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: United States

URL: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/dc464f15/bi-brief-110118-drug-overdoseepidemic.pdf

Shelf Number: 153877

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Overdose
Drug Use
Methamphetamine
Opioid Epidemic
Opioids
Prescription Drug Abuse
Rural Crime
Substance Abuse

Author: Stone, Katie

Title: The Global State of Harm Reduction 2018

Summary: In 2008, Harm Reduction International (HRI) released the first Global State of Harm Reduction, a report that mapped responses to drug-related HIV, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis (TB) around the world for the first time. The data gathered for the report provided a critical baseline against which progress could be measured in terms of the international, regional and national recognition of harm reduction in policy and practice. Since 2008, the biennial report has become a key publication for researchers, policymakers, civil society organisations, UN agencies and advocates, mapping harm reduction policy adoption and programme implementation globally. Over the last decade, reports of injecting drug use and the harm reduction response have increased; harm reduction programmes are currently operating at some level in almost half of the 179 countries in the world where injecting drug use has been documented. With patterns of drug use globally continuing to evolve, Harm Reduction International reached out in 2017 to civil society networks across the world to ask what they wanted to see in this report. The 2018 Global State of Harm Reduction report has a broader scope, containing information on: - The number of people who inject drugs and the number of people imprisoned for drug use (where data is available). - Needle and syringe programmes (NSP), opioid substitution therapy (OST), HIV and hepatitis C and TB testing and treatment for people who use drugs, in both the community and in prisons. - The harm reduction response for people who use amphetamine-type stimulants, cocaine and its derivatives, and new psychoactive substances. - Drug-checking in nightlife settings. - Harm reduction for women who use drugs. - Drug consumption rooms. - Drug-related mortality and morbidity and the overdose response, as well as naloxone peer distribution in the community and naloxone provision in prisons. - Developments and regressions in funding for harm reduction. This report and other Global State of Harm Reduction resources can be found at www.hri.global.

Details: London: Harm Reduction International, 2018. 176p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 18, 2018 at: https://www.hri.global/files/2018/12/11/global-state-harm-reduction-2018.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: International

URL: https://www.hri.global/files/2018/12/11/global-state-harm-reduction-2018.pdf

Shelf Number: 154070

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drug Consumption Facilities
Drug Use
Harm Reduction
HIV
Methamphetamine
Naloxone
Substance Abuse

Author: Intergovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa

Title: Typologies Report on Laundering the Proceeds of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances in West Africa

Summary: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I Drug trafficking is the largest source of illicit funds globally. This is largely due to the wide gap between production cost and the final price the consumer pays, especially in Western Europe and North America. For the trafficker, profit is the motive and is largely determined by the risk they are willing to take to deliver the drugs to the highest paying consumer. Locally, massive cannabis cultivation and consumption has been a source of major concern in the not only because of the illegal money it generates but also due to the associated health hazards. In recent years, West Africa has been targeted by drug traffickers from Latin America with large consignment of cocaine which is warehoused in the region and mostly shipped in small quantities to Europe and other destinations using local couriers. The problem has attracted attention at the highest level in the region as well as globally. There are ongoing regional initiatives to address the problem. II As a contribution to that initiative, and in order to have a good understanding of the relationship between money laundering and drug trafficking in the region, this typologies exercise was conducted. The study analyses various facets of the legal and enforcement environment of AML and Drug trafficking in ECOWAS member States. It looked at the vulnerabilities of the region and why West Africa has become a target for drug traffickers. It also looked at the techniques, methods, mechanisms and instruments used by drug traffickers to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking by reviewing relevant case studies and identifying typologies. III Twelve out of fifteen ECOWAS countries were involved in the study. One expert was identified in each of the 12 countries who helped to administer the two questionnaires developed for the study and produced a country report. A typologies workshop was held where country reports were reviewed, including case studies. IV The findings of the study indicates that drug traffickers employ complex means to launder money generated from drug trafficking including the use of lawyers, bureau de change, trade, cash couriers,, front companies, purchase of real estate, etc. V With regard to legal framework, most of the AML laws are quite recent compared to the drug trafficking laws. In some countries, the penalty for drug offences is not proportionate and dissuasive. There is general lack of effectiveness with regard to the enforcement of AML laws across board. Capacity to carry out effective AML investigation is generally low and many ML predicate offences are not investigated for ML. The domination of the informal sector and cash transaction of the economy of the region are obstacles to effective enforcement/implementation of AML measures. The disparity in AML capacity among member States is a source of concern and need to be urgently addressed. VI A number of recommendations were made which, if implemented will help to improve the overall implementation of AML measures both at the member States and at the regional levels. Summary of Findings VII The following is the summary of the major findings of the exercise: A. All countries in West Africa are extremely vulnerable to drug trafficking and related money laundering. The vulnerability is related to geographical, political, legal, institutional, economic and social factors. The large sea coast is either partly or completely unmanned in most parts of the region. Generally, inland borders are porous and not effectively manned across the region. B. Most of the countries have AML laws that were enacted not more than 4 years earlier, and the necessary infrastructure and human capacity to support the execution of the law are still being put in place. In a number of the countries, this process has been stalled by lack of resources. C. The trafficking tends to concentrate in countries with unstable political, social and economical situation and weak controls (legal, enforcement, prosecutorial and judicial). D. The laundering of the money generated from drug trafficking tend to be carried out in stable countries with relatively fair economy in the region where cash dominates transactions and is difficult for authorities to monitor cash inflows and outflows, as well as some in countries outside the region (largely countries where the heads of the networks operate from and the countries of some of the drug couriers from outside of the region). E. Corruption appears to play an important part in the cross-border movement of proceeds of crime as cash or when converted into goods. F. The general lack of capacity to interdict illicit drugs especially cocaine and heroin, makes money laundering almost inevitable due to the prevailing opportunities for money laundering in the informal sector. G. There is general lack of capacity for money laundering investigation in most of the countries coupled with the fact that money laundering investigation has not been fully integrated in drug trafficking investigation in most of the countries. Investigating money laundering during drug investigation does not appear to be a top priority as indicated by the apparent absence of asset seizure and confiscation despite convictions obtained of drug traffickers in most of the countries and the significant drug seizures made. H. Coordination between the investigating agencies and FIUs during drug trafficking related money laundering investigation is very week. The trust factor remains an important element in this lack of coordination. I. Over emphasis of money laundering through the formal financial system undermines overall AML/CFT efforts especially in West Africa where the cash dominated informal sector is the preferred channel for laundering the proceeds of crime, including drug trafficking. J. Reporting entities do not appear to be providing STRs commensurate with the level of the drug trafficking problems in most of the countries. This may be as a result of lack of expertise in ML risk analysis or lack of interest in providing such information. K. Most of the FIUs do not have sufficient analytical expertise to detect drug trafficking related money laundering. Emphasis appears to be placed more on corruption related ML by the FIUs. L. Cross border information sharing both in the control of drug trafficking and related money laundering is virtually absent except where there is a public incidence that affect countries.

Details: Dakar, Senegal: GIABA, 2010. 82p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 14, 2019 at: https://www.giaba.org/media/f/118_final-drugs-typologies-report-dev071811---english.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Africa

URL: https://www.giaba.org/media/f/118_final-drugs-typologies-report-dev071811---english.pdf

Shelf Number: 154138

Keywords:
Anti-Money Laundering
Cocaine
Corruption
Drug Traffickers
Drug Trafficking
Drug Typologies
ECOWAS
FIU
Illicit Drugs
Money Laundering
West Africa

Author: InSight Crime

Title: Criminal Game Changers 2018

Summary: Welcome to InSight Crime's Criminal GameChangers 2018, where we highlight the most important trends in organized crime in the Americas over the course of the year. From a rise in illicit drug availability and resurgence of monolithic criminal groups to the weakening of anti-corruption efforts and a swell in militarized responses to crime, 2018 was a year in which political issues were still often framed as left or right, but the only ideology that mattered was organized crime. Some of the worst news came from Colombia, where coca and cocaine production reached record highs amidst another year of bad news regarding the historic peace agreement with the region's oldest political insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC). The demobilization of ex-FARC members has been plagued by government ineptitude, corruption, human rights violations, and accusations of top guerrilla leaders' involvement in the drug trade. And it may have contributed directly and indirectly to the surge in coca and cocaine production. It was during this tumult that Colombia elected right wing politician Ivan Duque in May. Duque is the protege of former president and current Senator Alvaro Uribe. Their alliance could impact not just what's left of the peace agreement but the entire structure of the underworld where, during 2018, ex-FARC dissidents reestablished criminal fiefdoms or allied themselves with other criminal factions; and the last remaining rebel group, the National Liberation Army (Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional - ELN), filled power vacuums in Colombia and neighboring Venezuela, making it one of our three criminal winners this year. Meanwhile, a new generation of traffickers emerged, one that prefers anonymity to the large, highly visible armies of yesteryear. Also of note in 2018 was a surge in synthetic drugs, most notably fentanyl. The synthetic opioid powered a scourge that led to more overdose deaths in the United States than any other drug. Fentanyl is no longer consumed as a replacement for heroin. It is now hidden in counterfeit prescription pills and mixed into cocaine and other legacy drugs. It is produced in Communist-ruled China and while much of it moves through the US postal system, some of it travels through Mexico on its way to the United States. During 2018, the criminal groups in Mexico seemed to be shifting their operations increasingly around it, especially given its increasing popularity, availability, and profitability. The result is some new possibly game changing alliances, most notably between Mexican and Dominican criminal organizations. Among these Mexican criminal groups is the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion - CJNG), another of our three criminal winners for 2018. The CJNG has avoided efforts to weaken it with a mix of sophisticated public relations, military tactics and the luck of circumstance - the government has simply been distracted. That is not the say it is invulnerable. The group took some big hits in its epicenter in 2018, and the US authorities put it on its radar, unleashing a series of sealed indictments against the group. Mexico's cartels battled each other even as they took advantage of booming criminal economies. The result was manifest in the record high in homicides this year. The deterioration in security opened the door to the July election of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. AMLO, as he is affectionately known, did not necessary run on security issues, but he may have won on them, and in the process, inherited a poisoned security chalice from his predecessor. While Pena Nieto can claim to have arrested or killed 110 of 122 criminal heads, AMLO faces closer to a thousand would-be leaders and hundreds of criminal groups....

Details: s.l.: Insight Crime, 2019.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 25, 2019 at: https://www.insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CRIMINAL-GAMECHANGERS-2018-InSight-Crime.pdf

Year: 2019

Country: Latin America

URL: https://www.insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CRIMINAL-GAMECHANGERS-2018-InSight-Crime.pdf

Shelf Number: 155157

Keywords:
Cocaine
Criminal Networks
Drug Cartels
Drug Trafficking
Fentanyl
Illicit Drugs
Opioids
Organized Crime
War on Drugs

Author: Magliocca, Nicholas R.

Title: Modeling Cocaine Traffickers and Counterdrug Interdiction Forces as a Complex Adaptive System

Summary: Abstract: Counterdrug interdiction efforts designed to seize or disrupt cocaine shipments between South American source zones and US markets remain a core US "supply side" drug policy and national security strategy. However, despite a long history of US-led interdiction efforts in the Western Hemisphere, cocaine movements to the United States through Central America, or "narco-trafficking," continue to rise. Here, we developed a spatially explicit agent-based model (ABM), called "NarcoLogic," of narco-trafficker operational decision making in response to interdiction forces to investigate the root causes of interdiction ineffectiveness across space and time. The central premise tested was that spatial proliferation and resiliency of narco-trafficking are not a consequence of ineffective interdiction, but rather part and natural consequence of interdiction itself. Model development relied on multiple theoretical perspectives, empirical studies, media reports, and the authors' own years of field research in the region. Parameterization and validation used the best available, authoritative data source for illicit cocaine flows. Despite inherently biased, unreliable, and/or incomplete data of a clandestine phenomenon, the model compellingly reproduced the "cat-and-mouse" dynamic between narco-traffickers and interdiction forces others have qualitatively described. The model produced qualitatively accurate and quantitatively realistic spatial and temporal patterns of cocaine trafficking in response to interdiction events. The NarcoLogic model offers a much-needed, evidence-based tool for the robust assessment of different drug policy scenarios, and their likely impact on trafficker behavior and the many collateral damages associated with the militarized war on drugs.

Details: S.L.: Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018. 9p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 27, 2019 at: https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/116/16/7784.full.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: International

URL: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/16/7784

Shelf Number: 157047

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trade
Drug Traffickers
Drug Trafficking
Illegal Trade
Illicit Trade
Narcotics
War on Drugs

Rutgers - School of Law, Newark

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