Transcript War on Drugs

The War on Drugs
Successes and Failures of Plan Colombia
Lindsay Chard
Jackie Wheel
Allegra Green
Eric Rothman
Thesis Statement
• Plan Colombia was instituted by the Colombian
and U.S. governments to stop the illegal
production and trafficking of cocaine from
Colombia. Although the government claims that
production of the plant has decreased in
Colombia, the amount of product delivered in the
United States has not changed. Plan Colombia
has not been effective or efficient in disrupting
the drug trade and serious changes need to be
implemented if the government wants to yield
any major results in the future.
Drugs Survey
• Results of In Class Survey
Drug History
• Drug networks have a
long history of
violence that includes
everything from
kidnapping, terrorism,
and Guerilla combat
• Cocaine• FARC-Revolutionary
Armed Forces of
Colombia
Colombia Case Study
• Sine the 1970’s Colombia
has been home to the most
violent drug traffickers. As
the world’s largest cocaine
supplier it works primarily
through small groups within
the network known as cells.
• Production -75% of world’s
raw cocoa and 90% of
finished product
• Trafficking –Primarily trading
routes move through Mexico
and the United States.
• Major Players-Cartels of
Medellin and Cali
Pablo Escobar
King Pin to the Medellin Cartel
Drugs and The World Usage
• World Usage
• Drug Sale Circulation
Drugs and the affect on the US
• "Illicit drug use is associated with suicide,
homicide, motor-vehicle injury, HIV infection,
pneumonia, violence, mental illness, and
hepatitis. An estimated 3 million individuals in
the United States have serious drug problems.
• Studies have shown that there have been
several more death that are due to drugs that
have not been counted.
• Overall, illicit drug use resulted in approximately
17000 deaths in 2000, a reduction of 3000
deaths from the 1990 report."
War on Drugs
• 1969 – President Nixon calls for national antidrug policy at the state and federal level.
• 1971 – President Nixon declares War on Drugs
• 1973 – Nixon creates the D.E.A.
• 1975 – Medellin Massacre
War on Drugs Cont’d
• 1982 – Pablo Escobar elected to
Congress in Colombia
• 1984 – Nancy Regan starts “Just Say No”
campaign
• 1987 – Anti Drug Abuse Act passed; $1.7
toward war on drugs.
• 1993 – Pablo Escobar is killed
Plan Colombia
• August 2000 – President
Clinton gives $1.3 billion
in aid to Plan Colombia,
an effort to decrease the
amount of cocaine
produced in that nation.
• April 2007 – Bush
administration
representative testify that
Plan Colombia has been
a success.
Plan Colombia’s Intentions
• Support for Human
Rights and Judicial
Reform
• Support for Human
Rights and Judicial
Reform
• Alternative
Economic
Development
• Increased
Interdiction
• Assistance for the
Colombian National
Police
Success Statistics
• Cocaine production down
22%
• Seizure of cocaine bound for
US up to 176 metric tons in
2006
• Kidnappings fallen 76%
• Terrorist Attacks down 61%
• 2007 – Approx. 72% of
Colombians approved of
Plan Colombia
Problems with Plan Colombia
(Liberal Perspective)
• From the UN World Drug Report 2007
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The Use of Pesticides
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Kills Crops
Pollutes Water
Unknown effects in the Environment/Rainforest
Agent Orange?
Dispersed by DynoCorp – lack of transparency
and government oversight
Reliance on Military Economy
• Feb. 2002 State Department announced
move from anti-drug to anti-guerrilla
• Guerrilla groups become “terrorists”
• Money goes mostly to military and police
Throwing Money at an Issue
• One large sum of money
• Not much incentive to move away from
illicit trade
• Fair Trade and Competition
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_yY8s
NVuKo - Plan Colombia Video
What about addressing the
demand side???
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Possibilities for Legalization
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GXb7efd4M - Chris Rock