Narcoterrorism

Both terrorism and drug trafficking are dangerous, potentially deadly activities. Yet,
when the two are combined, an entirely new branch of terrorism is created, one much more
complex with different consequences. Narcoterrorism, as the practice is named, is defined to be
the process in which known terrorist organizations engage in drug trafficking in order to fund
their operations; often times, these operations are conducted in order to influence the politics of a
corrupt government.
The strategic use of narcotics has a storied history, dating back to the 1820s, in the
Opium Wars, which featured China and Britain. By controlling the opium supply and smuggling
the drug into closed Chinese markets, Great Britain was successfully flood the Chinese markets
with opium; by 1830, almost all Chinese males had used some form of opium, and an extremely
large proportion of Chinese, including nearly all of the military, was addicted to the drug. In
doing so, Britain essentially made the Chinese dependent on opium. Outraged by the smuggling
of the drug, China declared war on Britain; however, the Chinese military had been debilitated
due to their opium addiction. Thus, Britain was able to coolly defeat the Chinese army, leading
the Great Britains annexation of Hong Kong.
Narcoterrorism, however, has its origins during the late 1980s and early 1990s, gaining
prominence in Colombia as the United States combated the Medellin drug cartel. Although the
fight was initially more about extradition, the United States became concerned with the fact that
drug lord Pablo Escobar was able to hinder anti-drug forces with the use of violence and
intimidation. Furthermore, it was suspected that Escobar, in an attempt to maintain his multi-
million dollar drug trafficking business, had caused the deaths of hundreds of Colombians.
Through this situation President Fernando Belaunde Terry of Peru coined the term
Narcoterrorism, originally meant to refer to acts of terrorism against the anti-narcotics police of a
nation.
After Escobars death, however, narcoterrorism began to take on its modern meaning: the
funding of terrorist operations through the trafficking of narcotics. The practice occurs all over
the world, from Latin America to the Middle East. These areas are generally developing
countries, whose farmers are more willing to cultivate crops such as opium poppies, cannabis,
and coca because they sell for a farm more lucrative price than orthodox crops. In these regions
of the world, specifically areas such as the Golden Crescent, located in the Middle East, Golden
Triangle, located in Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Colombia, growing crops such as these allow
farmers to sustain a living. In fact, the Golden Crescent has a near monopoly on the opium
supply, producing an estimated 9000 tons of opium, and dominates the cannabis market in the
region. Although there have been significant worldwide efforts to try and curb drug trafficking in
the region, only about 24% of total product produced has been seized.
Sensing the enormous bounds of potential, terrorist groups have become heavily invested
in the drug trafficking market, in order to fund their operations. Many organizations of all
regions and of all magnitudes participate in the trade, ranging from the Taliban and Hamas of the
Middle East, both estimated to have operatives in the tens of thousands, to the National
Liberation Army of Colombia, estimated to have just over one thousand operatives. In order to
conduct their trade, groups have been known to either provide financial incentive to farmers or
use violence in order to encourage farmers to grow illegal crops. These drugs are then smuggled
from supplier nations, such as Afghanistan, the worlds largest producer of opium, to consumer
nations, such as Russia and the United States. In total, the illicit drug trade produced over $36
trillion US dollars in 2011.

Questions to Consider
1. How do we stop the illegal consumption of drugs? Is it better to gradually legalize in order to
eliminate the black market, or enforce harsher punishments on illicit drugs, therefore
discouraging consumption all together?
2. Many farmers who grow illegal narcotics are doing so because they provide a much more
substantial income than what conventional crops would. How do we discourage farmers from
growing such crops while also empowering them to stand up to drug lords?
3. How do drug traffickers transport narcotics? How do we stop the smuggling of these goods?
4. Where does narcoterrorism take place? Is there any difference the groups that participate in
narcoterrorism depending on their region?