International Connections #1

When you compare the farmers who grow the supply, and the cartels who produce/distribute
the drugs, there is no fair comparison to the power the cartels have. These farmers, ordinary
people who are trying their hardest to protect and provide for their family are almost forced
into working for the cartels if they want to live. The cartels are their own form of government
within the society. If you do not join the cartel, you are against the cartel and that can have life
threatening consequences. Specifically looking into the Medellin Cartel in Colombia. The people
of Medellin knew only what the cartel wanted them to know. Pablo Escobar had such an
enormous amount of power over the town, that no one questioned him or doubted that
anything he was doing was but good. Despite the cultivated image of Robin Hood, however, he
was a man intent on using violence and assassination to maintain his power and the cartel’s
domination over the life of Colombia. [ CITATION Lev10 \l 1033 ]
Pablo Escobar was one of the wealthiest men of his time. At one point, he held more power
than the entirety of the Colombian government. He even controlled some of those in the
government. He struck fear in the lives of the policemen, and military. This allowed him to
control literally anything he wanted. With the pace he set forward for the production of cocaine
in Colombia, he set a path of destruction in the rainforests and other rich/fertile lands.
In contrast, we look at the farmers in rural Colombia, specifically Medellin. They needed money
to provide for their family. They needed shelter, protection, food, clothing and other
necessities. The cocaine industry had taken over their town and they were left without a choice.
The freedom they knew was taken away almost overnight. They joined the cartel to farm for
coca and gained everything they once needed, and more, but their freedom was still gone. They
didn’t have a choice in their gender role. They didn’t have a choice about how to make money
or how to interact with one another. The cartel held all power.
The comparison is hard to believe. One person gave so much to a village yet took so much
away. Everything about the outside was limited to them. Patrols from the cartel were always
watching and, if it wasn’t the cartel, it was the DEA or the Colombian National Police. The had
no power.

Works Cited
Handwerk, Brian. "Cocaine to Blame for Rain Forest Loss, Study Says." National Geographic (2011).

Levinthal, Charles F. Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc,
2010.