The us drug war in latin america case study

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:English

Document 1

According to a report by the United Nations, 99. 5% of the total worldwide cultivation of coca; the plant from which cocaine is obtained, is concentrated in Latin America, and specifically in three countries which include Bolivia, Peru and Colombia (Shifter, 2007). Image: Area under Coca Cultivation in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. Source: Google Images As of 2008, Mexico and Central America were the main pathways through which drugs from Latin America were smuggled into the United States (Cook, 2007). However, crackdowns on drugs in Mexico have forced the cartels to seek alternative operation routes through Honduras and Guatemala instead. One year later, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs citing drug abuse as the nation’s biggest threat. The Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement was then founded and the Drug Enforcement Administration established in the US (Frontline PBS, 2012).

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In 1975 the largest cocaine seizure to date was conducted by Colombian police officers. In the seizure, they found 600kgs of cocaine in a small plane in Cali Airport. This caused a vendetta with the drug traffickers from the area and 40 people from the Medellin area were killed in the Medellin Massacre (Research Guides, 2015). The sanctioned drug lords were replaced and new entrants also made their way into the drug trade. New transport routes for the drugs were also established to keep the trade alive (Youngers & Rosin, 2005). The production of the drugs therefore returned to normal in spite of continued efforts by the United States to bring the issue to an end. The war on drugs is still ongoing to date and it is highly likely that the war is not close to being won unless the United States makes some adjustments to its current approach on the war on drugs in Latin America.

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Image: Trafficking of Drugs Source: Google Images Why the US War on Drugs in Latin America is a Fail The United States war on drugs in South America may be looked at as a genuine attempt to curb the pervasive problem of drugs in the region with the aim of promoting the security, wellbeing and development of the people in the region while also guarding the United States from entry of illegal drugs from the region. The Balloon Effect The balloon effect basically entails a situation where when force is exerted on one side of the balloon it bursts from the other end. This has been the case in the war on drugs whereby crack downs on production and trafficking of drugs on a given area in Latin America by the United States only result in the movement of the market to a new area as opposed to coming to an end as is the intention of the US government (Shifter, 2007).

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While short-term successes such as interceptions of shipments, arrest of drug traffickers and eradication of coca crops are often realized with such crack downs, there are no real long term improvements. There is no evidence of significant reduction on the availability of drugs in the US and the total production of coca has remained steady over the years (International Narcotics Control Board, 2008). An illustration of the balloon effect is the Plan Colombia crackdown whereby the United States government invested billions of dollars into combating left-wing insurgent groups and drug cartels in Colombia (Livingstone, 2004). In other instances still, the violation of human rights in the region has been as a result of policies directly made by the United States (Atkins, 2004). As a result of concerns on this, the Congress passed the Leahy Amendment which clearly outlines that the United States should not offer any form of security assistance to foreign police or military units that have been implicated in the violation of human rights unless there are already measures in place to affect justice.

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While this amendment has been cited as being of help as far as advocacy for human rights is concerned, it has unfortunately been invoked in very few cases, which goes to say that human rights are still being violated (Vaicius & Isaacson, 2003). The United States embassies in some countries within the region have failed to have in place even the most basic vetting procedures for persons implicated in the violation of human rights. In Bolivia, for instance, the Leahy Amendment has not been implemented in spite of there being sufficient records on violation of human rights and which warrant such implementation. The US policymakers have been known to turn a blind eye to the negative implications of their policies even when such issues as political instability and social conflict are brought forward as having been caused by their policies (Crandall, 2006).

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This is particularly the case in the Latin American countries which are characterized by highly volatile democracies and which are easily destabilized by such policies. One of the key concerns with this is the use of the rhetoric of narco-terrorism whereby individuals dealing in the production and trafficking of illegal drugs are identified as military threats with suggestions that they may be involved in global terrorist activities even when it is hardly the case. In the recent past, US policy makers have lumped together a wide range of concerns into the narco-terrorism basket and now talk about illegal border activities such as drug production and distribution, illegal immigration; money laundering and arms trafficking as potential terror threats (Vaicius & Isaacson, 2003). This has resulted in the marginalization of persons from these countries which sets the stage for violence and conflict.

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As such, a better approach would involve reducing the demand for the drugs as this would automatically bring the trade to an end. This could be achieved by having in place policies that are aimed at creating public awareness on the damages that the drugs have on their users with special focus being put on areas where drug use is rampant. With changed attitudes towards the use of these drugs, the demand for the same would decrease and so would their production and distribution. ii. Government Assistance and Relief Programs Image: % of Total Population living in poverty in Latin America Source: Google Images Poverty and the resulting desire for upward economic mobility is one of the key reasons why Latin Americans as well as other people often get involved in the production and sale of drugs.

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While the military plays a vital role in the combat, it is evident that the United States government is lacking in transparency, accountability and sufficient civilian control mechanisms and this stands in the way of the success of the operations. Of particular concern is the involvement of the military in the detection and monitoring of the flow of illegal drugs which is not their role. Their involvement in maritime, border and aerial interdiction efforts are however within their legal mandate and if conducted under the guidance of local civilian leaders and with proper oversight, human rights safeguards and transparency, they can be very instrumental in the war against drugs in the region 9Crandall, 2006). The United States government has however failed by involving the Latin American military forces in the internal security and domestic law enforcement operations.

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This has resulted in a confusion of roles and conflict between police and military forces while also making accountability difficult to attain (Atkins, 2004). This will ensure that the security forces uphold human rights at all times even as they dispense their duties. Stringent vetting procedures should also be put in place so as to ensure the effective implementation of the Leahy Amendment. After-training monitoring could also be implemented so as to evaluate the already trained security officers in order to establish whether or not they are still violating human rights or getting involved in corruption and other vices that undermine and jeopardize the success of the war on drugs in the region (Youngers & Rosin, 2005). v. Respect for Civil Liberties To ensure that civil liberties are not restricted even as laws and policies are put in place to advance the war on drugs, the drug laws in both the Latin American countries and the United States should be in compliance with international standards for respect for human rights and due process.

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Conclusion The US war on drugs in Latin America has been going on for the past several decades and yet the production and trafficking of drugs still remains a pervasive issue in the region. This calls for a total change in policies by the United States and the employment of new strategies concerned with more amicable ways to bring the issue of drug production and trafficking to an end especially because the use of force has proven to be highly ineffective. To attain this, the US needs to evaluate its current practices to identify their shortcomings while also looking into the root causes of the drug menace in the region. From here, the US will be better placed to strategize and go into the war again, this time to win.

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