Colombia: More Than Just a Drug Problem
Abstract
Americans consumed approximately 260 metric tons of cocaine and 13 metric tons of heroin at a cost of $45 billion in the year 2000. While estimates vary, most experts agree between 80-90 percent of the cocaine and more than 50 percent of the heroin used in the United States comes from Colombia. In terms of the total drug picture, it is estimated illegal drugs cost America approximately 52,000 lives and $110 billion a year. But America is not alone in feeling the pain brought on by the illicit Colombia drug trade. In Colombia, the $4 billion narcotics industry has heightened the effect of nearly 40 years of civil war, bringing with it overwhelming violence, a crisis in government, full-scale military battles between nonstate actors, and the potential for terrorists to use large portions of the country as a training and operational base in the Western Hemisphere. With approximately one million internally displaced persons within Colombia and an undetermined number more seeking refuge in Panama, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, the issue is no longer local in scope. A drug trade "marriage of convenience" between the narcotics traffickers, insurgents, and paramilitaries is threatening the Colombian government, impacting regional stability, and testing America's resolve to ensure hemispheric security and fight terrorism.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA442515
Entities
People
- Charles E. Wynne
Organizations
- National War College