LONDON (Realist English). In Latin America, 18 of the 21 countries of the continent are currently the “main countries of origin or transit” of cocaine. The exceptions were tiny states — Guyana, Belize and El Salvador. Such appalling statistics are provided by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
“The litany of depressing statistics from the failed drug war and its ghastly human toll have prompted an increasing number of politicians in Latin America to call for the legalisation of cocaine.” writes Financial Times Latin America editor Michael Stott.
The British journalist emphasizes that after the five decades of the US-led war on drugs and billions of dollars spent on suppressing and prosecuting cartel bosses, the trade has never been so large-scale. According to the UN, the total volume of cocaine production in 2020 reached a new record of 1982 tons, which is more than twice as much as in 2014.
“What we’re seeing now is the culmination of the globalisation of the drugs trade,” said Jimena Blanco, head of Americas political research at Verisk Maplecroft. “This is a trend which began five to ten years ago but has been accelerating in the past couple of years.”
Large cartels have gone far beyond drug trafficking. Now they are trafficing refugees, extorting money from businesses, kidnapping the rich and trading illegal Amazonian timber or gold. According to Blanco, Chilean organized crime has engaged in illegal fishing, and one of the last businesses of Mexican gangs has became the smuggling of abortion pills across the border into the United States.
Shannon O’Neil, vice-president at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, points out:
“These are no longer really drug cartels. They are organised crime groups. Even if you get rid of the drugs, you still have extortion, robberies, human trafficking, gold smuggling.”
