Considering that this is a blog about Latin America it will no doubt come as a surprise to you that this is the first time I am writing solely about drugs. When asked about Latin America, the first thing that comes to many people’s minds is drugs; whilst I aim to dispel the myth of Latin America being a continent which gives the rest of the world nothing but drugs, there is no doubt that drugs are still a huge problem and thus need to be discussed in this blog.
One of the countries which has been tarnished most by its image as a drug exporter is Colombia. Much of this is due to the bloody conflict that has been raging on between the left wing militia group FARC and the US-backed government. Whilst the conflict began as a battle between two opposing factions with different ideas for Colombia’s future, over the years it has degenerated into nothing more than power wars, both sides have been accused of attacking civilians and there is evidence of FARC exporting drugs and exploiting peasants in order to achieve their goals. However, over recent years the fighting has decreased as Colombia has gotten more stable and democratic. The recent death of FARC’s leader, Alfonso Cano, should also mean that the fighting decreases and will be a real blow to the Colombian drugs industry. Colombia has long strove to disassociate itself from the image of drugs capital of the world. Indeed, anyone who boards an airplane in Colombia must check in with the anti-narcotics police and all planes are tracked by radar; if drugs are found the government are entitled to shoot at the plane. The people are broadly behind these measures too; a recent BBC survey found that only 3% of Colombians have any sympathy for FARC. It would seem that Shakira, and not cocaine, is now Colombia’s greatest export! This is not to say that Colombia’s battles with drugs are over. Just a few weeks ago former model Angie Saclamente was detained on drug smuggling charges. It transpires that she recruited poor young women throughout Colombia and Latin America to smuggle drugs to Europe via Mexico. This shows that there is significant money to be made from drugs and that the government faces a huge task to stamp them out.
Bolivia has taken a very different route to Colombia. In 2009, the world’s first Cocaine bar was opened on Bolivia’s route 36 and in 2008 coca purification went up 28%, whether legally or illegally is unknown. These are worrying signs that Bolivia may be overtaking Colombia (whose coca purification was down 10 in 2008) as cocaine capital! Bolivia’s president is well-known for resenting the United States and thus refuses allow the US drug agency DEA in the country. Indeed, Morales has long championed the rights of indigenous people to chew the coca leaf (in its non-purified state) for social purposes, however, it would appear that this has made its purification easier. Indeed, the US and Bolivian views on Coca and Cocaine differ so greatly that three years ago Bolivia expelled the US ambassador and drug enforcement agencies from the country. However, positive steps are being taken now as full diplomatic ties have now been restored. President Morales insists, however, that the DEA and other US drug agencies will not be welcome in Bolivia as the days of ‘subjugation’ are over. Despite the worrying trend of Bolivia’s increasing cocaine output this move should be welcomed as it is an example of a Latin American leader standing up against US bullying and this will prevent US enforcers from destroying Bolivian crops.
Whilst indigenous Bolivians have been accused of helping the trade in cocaine by refusing to give up coca, the story in Brazil is a very different one. Here drug smugglers have been encroaching on, and threatening, the land of indigenous peoples. The Panoan Indians who have had no contact with the outside world and were only discovered in 2008 when they were filmed from the air have had their lands attacked by smugglers wishing to traffic drugs from Peru to Brazil. The Brazilian government has set up guard posts to protect these people; however, heavy fighting between the smugglers and government forces could seriously impact upon them. A smuggler’s rucksack containing a tribesman’s broken arrow was found by the government forces. This is a very worrying sign as it shows that the smugglers are already attempting to intimidate and threaten the tribe and could even be attempted to eradicate them.
Elsewhere in Brazil, the police’s attempt to gain control of the cities favelas (slums) before the 2014 Fifa World Cup and 2016 Olympics has intensified. Many of Brazil’s, and Latin America’s, slums are controlled by drugs gangs with little or no federal intervention. However, this has started to change in Brazil as the police have been sent in to many of the favelas to clear out the drug dealers. Last night it was reported that civil authority has been returned to Rochina, one of Rio’s largest slums. Indeed, Nem, one of Brazil’s most notorious drug barons was caught and arrested trying to escape the area as well. This must be seen as a step forwards as it allows civil authorities to move in and provide services such as health care and electricity; residents in slums which have already been cleared of drug gangs have also reported a fall in crime rates and have generally seen their lives improve. Questions must be asked of the Brazilian government however. If they have the ability to eradicate these gangs from the country’s slums why are they only doing it now when the world is watching them rather than in the past for their own people?
These snippets of news show that drugs still present a huge problem to Latin American societies, especially as the drug lords can exert huge power over and threaten entire populations. The US led eradication programmes have largely failed, Colombia’s decrease in drug production is largely due to internal governance rather than American interference. Indeed, the USA has led policies of destroying coca which has also led to the destruction of crops which rather than push peasants away from cultivating coca for drugs barons has pushed them towards that option. It is clear that these policies will not work. The legalisation and regulation of drugs by governments is an idea which is frowned upon, largely due to Western propaganda, however it might present the best option for Latin America and the world. This would ensure that drug barons could not wield influence over government or society, peasants could be better protected by the government, drug users could be monitored by the government and the government could plough the proceeds of this enterprise into anti-drugs propaganda.
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