|
Colombian Drug Trafficking
Cocaine consumption in the US spiked in the late 1970s, and stayed up through the 1980s. Previously, the United States DEA saw cocaine as less dangerous and less problematic than heroin and marijuana, but suddenly coke was a cool and trendy drug; and its increased use and visibility caused the DEA to re-evaluate its stance on cocaine. US law enforcement grew more aggressive in its pursuit and prosecution of cocaine use and possession, causing the street price of the drug to rise.
Coca suddenly became a far more profitable cash crop. Most coca growth had been left to small combines of local farmers, but Colombia’s criminal and paramilitary organizations swiftly conquered the cocaine trade. By the middle of 1980s, a few massive criminal conglomerates wrestled for control of territory and shipping lines, and most coca growers had become tenant farmers on their own land. In the last decade of the 20th century, most of the cartels collapsed or splintered under heavy pressure from US and Colombian military and law enforcement.
|
