Republic of the Philippines

Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology

College of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Graduate Studies
Tibanga, Iligan City, Philippines

The U.S Supply-Side Tactics/Policies in Latin America

Term Paper

Presented to:

Prof. Cecilia B. Tangian, PhD.

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements

for the Course of History 210: Issues on Contemporary North American History

Presented By:

Brecht A. Tampus
 Introduction

For four decades, the US-led international drug control efforts prioritize eradication of

production, interdiction of traffic, and criminalization of consumption, but overall drug

production, trafficking, and consumption have remained consistently steady.

Latin America is a crucial geographic zone for drug production and trafficking. The Andean

countries of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia are the world’s main cocaine producers, while Central

America, Mexico and the Caribbean have become the principal corridors for transporting drugs

into the United States and Europe. Drug production, trafficking and consumption affects every

country in the world.

The U.S spent over $1 trillion on interdiction policies that causes the U.S taxpayers over $5

billion annually.1 Costly supply-side policies present the conundrums that begs resolution. Albert

Einstein is credited with defining insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and based

on this definition, the U.S war on drugs in Latin America is insane.

Statement of the Problem

1. How did the U.S anti-drug policy started?

2. What are the policies the U.S implemented on their anti-drug campaign in Latin

America?

3. What were the result of the U.S supply-side policies/tactics?

Significance of the study

1
Coyne, C. & Hall, R. “Four Decades and Counting: The Continued Failure of the War on Drugs”. CATO Institute
Policy Analysis No. 811. 2013. Date Accessed September 17, 2021. Retrieved from
https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/four-decades-counting-continuedfailure-war-drugs?
gclid=CjwKCAiAo9_QBRACEiwASknDwa5hpr0SB-
Mrgxk41kvIbIQmloFacDDcTyNDXWLdpzsEHQ5PdRNchoC_J0QAvD_BwE.
 This paper will 1.) Provide an understanding on the U.S War on Drugs, 2.) Describe the key

policies and strategies about the supply-side tactics, and, 3.) Address the result of the U.S anti-

drug policy in Latin America.

Methodology

This paper analyzed the available articles, research, journals, and statistical data relating to the

U.S anti-drug campaign on Latin America. After analyzing the available sources, each were

categorized in their themes. After bringing all these together then the study was established.

Findings of the Study

The Beginning of “War on Drugs”

When former President Richard Nixon launched a "War on Drugs" in 1971, the United States

embarked on an anti-drug campaign. Nixon considered illegal narcotics to be the “public enemy

number two.” The surge in recreational drug use in the 1960s is thought to be the reason for this.

Nonetheless, the War on Drugs may have begun as a political retaliation against specific groups,

African Americans and hippies, According to John Ehrlichman, a prominent Nixon adviser. 2

Concerns about the detrimental impacts of domestic drug use on society and the economy began

to grow, regardless of genuine motivation. Internationally powerful drug organizations, most

notably the Medellin cartel, posed a threat at that time. Because of them, the Former President

Ronald Reagan designated drug trafficking a national security problem in 1986 as a result of

2
LoBianco, T. “Report: Aide says Nixon’s war on drugs targeted blacks, hippies”. CNN. 2016. Date Accessed
September 17, 2021. Retrieved From https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichmanrichard-nixon-
drug-war-blacks-hippie/index.html.
these concerns.3 This announcement kicked off the securitization process in the United States of

pharmaceuticals.4

The Office of National Drug Control Policy was established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of

1988. (ONDCP). The Office of the National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is commonly known

as the "drug czar" office and serves as a drug control advisor to the president. It drafts the annual

“National Drug Control Strategy,” which summarizes the current administration's goals to reduce

illicit drug use. use, manufacture, trafficking, narcotics-related violence and criminality, and the

health hazards that come with it (Office of National Drug Control Policy, White House). The

“National Drug Control Strategy 1989” reinforced U.S. securitization efforts, by maintaining that

most American citizens agreed that drugs were the most pressing national security threat at the

time.5

In the mid-1980s, the crack cocaine epidemic and attendant violence played a key role in the

development of several hard-line anti-drug measures in the United States.6 Because narcotics

trafficking was identified as a national security threat, stricter drug laws were enacted.

regulations, increased military engagement, and increased border and international interdiction

measures, and broader anti-drug measures in Latin American and other source and transit

countries.7 Latin America and the Caribbean provided almost all of the cocaine and marijuana, as

well as 40 percent of the heroin, smuggled into the U.S. on an annual basis, which heightened

concerns for national security.8 Thus, the War on Drugs developed a supply-side focus.

3
Bagley, B. & Tokatlian, J. “Dope and Dogma: Explaining the Failure of U.S.-Latin American Drug Policies”. North
Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press. 1992.
4
Vorobyeya, Y. “Illegal Drugs as a National Security Threat”. Florida: The University Press of Florida. 2015.
5
Ibid., p. 48.
6
Younger, C.& Rosin, E. “The U.S. “War on Drugs”: Its Impact in Latin America and the Caribbean”. Boulder, CO:
Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. 2005. p. 2.
7
Bagley & Tokatlian., p. 216.
8
Ibid.
The War on Narcotics is a United States government effort intended at drastically lowering the

production and supply of illicit drugs through prohibition policies. 9 In the domestic market, the

predominant tactics against production are Strict regulations, improved law enforcement, and

increasing enforcement are all factors in the sale and use of illicit narcotics. 10 The majority of

federal financing has gone toward the supply side, based on the economic idea that reducing

supply makes narcotics trafficking more expensive, thus raising prices for American customers

and making it more difficult to maintain a drug habit. “Advocates for drug use prohibitionists

argue that such policies diminish drug-related crime, sickness, and violence overdose, and they're

a good way to break up and dismantle organized criminal enterprises”. 11 In reality, however,

prohibition policies do not achieve the intended goals both domestically and overseas.

U.S. Supply-Side Tactics/Policies

Interdiction

Interdiction is part of US policy to decrease supply. Interdiction of drugs entails a number of

steps. Attempts to stop illegal substances from being trafficked from one location to another

through land, air, or water into the United States from developing countries. 12 The Army, Navy,

and Air Force of the United States of America Counternarcotics teams from the Air Force and

Navy, as well as the Coast Guard, are deployed on a regular basis to track down illegal drugs.

Drug smugglers must be tracked down and apprehended. 13 Their efforts are aided by modern
9
Younger & Rosin., p. 1
10
Ibid., p. 3.
11
Coyne & Hall., p. 1
12
Joint Chiefs of Staff. Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and 55 Associated Terms: Joint Publication.
2010. Date Accessed September 17, 2021. Retrieved from
http://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/dictionary.pdf?ver=20 18-02-21-153603-643.
13
The Associated Press. U.S. military expands its drug war in Latin America. USA Today. 2013. Date Accessed
September 17, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/03/usexpands-drug-
technology efforts. The Coast Guard, for example, utilizes drones to track down drug-

transporting vessels.14 The US military also educates Latin American militaries and law

enforcement personnel in order to create a sizable, well-equipped force in the region to stem the

flow of illicit drugs coming into the U.S. from Latin America.15

The goal of interdiction is to make the drug trade more expensive for traffickers. Increased costs

for drug traffickers translate into higher retail pricing, which should reduce American usage.

Interdiction activities also aim to make smuggling more difficult and dangerous suitably punish

the wrongdoers.16 These initiatives provide intelligence that is used to track down, target, and

eventually dismantle drug trafficking organization (DTOs).

Eradication

In Latin America and the Caribbean, US strategy tries to reduce supply by putting a stop to illicit

drug production. The United States uses crop eradication, or physical devastation, as a technique

to reduce illicit drug production in source countries. Eradication can take place in a variety of

ways. The following three approaches can be used to force or induce voluntary plant removal:

manual plant removal, the Herbicides or biological control (pathogens or predators) are both

options.17 The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) provides

assistance to Colombia, Peru, and Guatemala for their own aerial and manual eradication

war-latin-america/1887481/.
14
Lopez, D. & Goodman, J. US Brings in More Technology to Fight Drug Smuggling at Sea. 2010. Date Accessed
September 17, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2017-05-
10/us-brings-inmore-technology-to-fight-drug-smuggling-at-sea.
15
Associated Press. 2013.
16
Drug Interdiction. “Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior”. Encyclopedia.com. 2001. Date
Accessed July 2021. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-
andmaps/drug-interdiction.
17
Crop Control Policies (Drugs). “Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior”. Encyclopedia.com. 2001.
Date Accessed September 17, 2021. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-
almanacs-transcripts-andmaps/crop-control-policies-drugs.
programs.18 The coca leaf and opium poppy, used to produce cocaine and heroin respectively,

have been prime targets.19 Marijuana has also been a target of crop control measures.20

Manual or herbicidal eradication activities, crop substitution, alternative income choices, and

developmental projects that raise living conditions and generate money are all recommended in

the “National Drug Control Strategy 1991”.21 Officials from the US government claim that

removing drugs at the source is the best way to go. The most cost-effective supply-side solution

is elimination. The source of illegal narcotics is seen as a threat. Crop Control Policies are the

most commercially sensitive link in the grower-to-user chain.22 “Our international

counternarcotics programs target the first three links of the grower-to-user chain: cultivation,

processing, and transit”.23

Dismantling Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs)

The US military got more involved in interdiction activities in the early 1980s to assist law

enforcement agencies in combating the threat of strong DTOs.24 There have been numerous

arrests and extraditions, as well as the confiscation of drugs, firearms, and cash. The United

States' efforts to destroy these sophisticated organizations have resulted in the following

outcomes. U.S. federal agencies and allies share intel and investigatory leads to exploit the

18
U.S. Department of State. Eradication and Interdiction. Date Accessed September 17, 2021. Retrieved from
https://www.state.gov/j/inl/focus/counternarcotics/eradication/.
19
Youngers & Rosin., p. 3.
20
Ibid.
21
Crop Control Policies (Drugs). “Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior”. Encyclopedia.com. 2001.
Date Accessed September 17, 2021. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-
almanacs-transcripts-andmaps/crop-control-policies-drugs.
22
Ibid.
23
Youngers & Rosin., p. 3.
24
Seelke, C.R., Wyler, L.S., Beittel, J.S., & Sullivan, M.P. Latin American and the Caribbean: Illicit Drug Trafficking
and U.S. Counterdrug Programs. CRS Report R41215. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Congressional Research
Service. 2011. Date Accessed September 17, 2021. Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41215.pdf.
vulnerabilities of DTOs.25 Furthermore, the United States has channelled help, so Latin American

countries can assist in the fight by giving training and equipment. U.S. efforts to dismantle DTOs

include attacking their financial infrastructures. According to the “National Drug Control

Strategy 2015,” U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies identify and target illicit

financial activities and money laundering networks utilized by 6 DTOs. 26 Indeed, many

governmental agencies work to identify and trace illicit drug proceeds in order to uncover money

laundering activities to help dismantle DTOs.

Andean Initiative

Federal anti-drug measures, such as the Andean Initiative, subsidize supply-side methods like the

ones outlined above. Former President George H. W. Bush is credited with introducing the

Andean Initiative in 1989 as part of his administration's national policy to strengthen the

relationship between the United States and South America. A campaign against illegal drugs,

Bush's national strategy was developed in reaction to the expanding might of Colombian drug

trafficking organizations, including the Medellin and Cali cartels.27 Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia,

the world's major cocaine producers, had been receiving anti-drug help from the United States of

America since the early 1970s, but producers have increased their output, domestic cocaine

usage has increased as well and the powerful DTOs in the 1980s elicited more aid to these

countries.28

The Andean Initiative set aside $2.2 billion over five years to reduce drug production in the

Andean region. Its primary purpose was to equip Latin American military and police forces to
25
Executive Office of the President of the United States. National Drug Control Strategy. 2015. Date Accessed
September 17, 2021. Retrieved from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policyand-
research/2015_national_drug_control_strategy_0.pdf. p. 74.
26
Ibid.
27
Vorobyeya., p. 48.
28
Ibid.
carry out anti-drug operations by offering US training and support to those who were ready to

participate. to accomplish this.29 The Andean Initiative document refers to the real and

widespread damage and violence connected to the illicit drug trade, thus providing justification

for U.S. foreign actions and policies in Latin America.30

Plan Columbia

Throughout the 1990s, the militarization of anti-drug efforts, which began with the Andean

Initiative, grew considerably. The Medellin and Cali cartels were demolished by joint US-

Colombia efforts, but lesser DTOs arose, and insurgents became more active in the drug trade. 31

As a result, there was a major increase in coca cultivation and production in Colombia, despite a

large-scale herbicide spraying program implemented at the request of the United States.32

Colombia's drug and security crises served as the inspiration for Plan Colombia, a plan revealed

by Colombian President Andrés Pastrana in 1999. Plan Colombia was a six-year aid package

worth $7.5 billion, with the international community contributing $3.5 billion.33 Bill Clinton, the

former president, advocated for shared responsibility. Colombia is embroiled in a drug war.

Contributions to Plan Colombia, he asserted, would benefit the country. In Colombia, drug

interdiction and democratic development are both important goals. 34 The adopted version of Plan

Colombia, on the other hand, suggested growing militarization. Even though President Pastrana

offered a comprehensive strategy for national rehabilitation, US assistance was mostly in the

29
Youngers & Rosin., p. 3.
30
Vorobyeya., p. 48.
31
Ibid., p. 51
32
Isacson, A. Cocaine and Latin America: Stubborn Persistence. The Cipher Brief. 2016. Date Accessed September
17, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.thecipherbrief.com/column_article/cocaine-and-latinamerica-stubborn-
persistence
33
Vorobyeya., p. 51
34
Ibid., p. 53.
form of military training and equipment.35 The administration of former President George W.

Bush continued to grant funds under Plan Colombia. It repackaged military and economic

assistance for Colombia and its neighbours under the Andean Regional Initiative (ARI), so

continuing Clinton's work.36

Plan Colombia's focus evolved after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Anti-drug aid

from the United States has been shifted to “narco-guerrilla” and “narco-terrorism” initiatives. 37

The danger of terrorism produced an environment that made it easier to secure illicit narcotics.

the United States of America Plan Colombia existed until 2015 in its original form. Peace

discussions are taking place between the two countries. The Colombian government and the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla group, have reached an

agreement. Despite the fact that a new initiative dubbed Peace Colombia has emerged as a result

of the movement, the United States maintains a strong presence in Colombia.

Merida Initiative

The collapse of major drug cartels in Colombia increased the significance of Mexican DTOs as a

national security threat because Mexico became the main transit location for cocaine exported

from the Andean Region.38 Former President George W. Bush agreed with Mexico’s President

Felipe Calderón’s hard-line approach to drug trafficking, which was funding extensive military

and law enforcement efforts.39 In 2007, both presidents agreed to the development of the Mérida

Initiative, a cooperative security initiative with Mexico and Central America designed to combat

35
Ibid.
36
Isacson. p. 46.
37
Vorobyeya., p. 54.
38
Ibid., p. 55.
39
Ibid.
drug trafficking, transnational crime, and terrorist threats in the Western Hemisphere. 40 This

initiative continued the trend of a supply-side focus for foreign drug control policies in Latin

America, as the majority of U.S. aid was designated for law enforcement and military

equipment.41

Other Initiatives and Programs

Congress divided the portion of the Mérida Effort earmarked for Central America into a distinct

initiative in 2010 under former President Barack Obama's administration.42 The Central America

Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) supplies training and equipment to combat security threats

to the seven Central American countries of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,

Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

Also in 2010, Obama designated the following Caribbean nations as prominent drug producer

and transit countries for illicit drugs coming into the United States: the Bahamas, the Dominican

Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica.43 The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) extends increased

military and economic aid to the region to fight transnational crime and narcotics trafficking, as

well as for social justice and education programs.44

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for a wide array of

counternarcotics assistance programs for Latin America and the Caribbean. The DOD provides

training and equipment to security forces participating in anti-drug efforts through the U.S.

40
U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman. The Merida Initiative: United StatesMexico- Central America
Security Cooperation. 2007. Date Accessed September 17, 2021. Retrieved from https://2001-
2009.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/oct/93800.htm
41
Vorobyeya., p. 56.
42
Seelke, Wyler, Beitel, & Sullivan., 2011.
43
Ibid.
44
Ibid.
Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), which

are regional combatant commands.45

Result of the U.S. Supply-Side Tactics/Policies

For decades, US anti-drug operations has centered on attacking illicit substances at their source,

therefore it's critical to assess the efficacy of supply-side methods and the policies that fund

them. Efforts at eradication and interdiction, as well as efforts to destroy DTOs in the Andean

area, efforts to stop money laundering have generated some favorable results. For Crop-control

initiatives and successful interdiction attempts, for example, began in the late 1980s in the United

States. Coca cultivation has dropped to historic lows in Peru and Bolivia. Furthermore, anti-drug

efforts in the United States have succeeded in dismantling DTOs, such as the Medellin and Cali

cartels in Colombia.

However, “partial victories” of the drug war have caused negative consequences, like the

“balloon effect”.46 Scholars and policy experts define the “balloon effect” as a government’s

effort to impede drug cultivation or trafficking in one country, triggering it to “balloon out” to

other countries or regions.47 Figure 1 below provides evidence of the “balloon effect.”

45
Ibid.
46
Bagley, B.M. Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Twenty-First
Century: Challenges to Democracy. Gainesville, FL: The University Press of Florida. 2015. P.8
47
Bagley, B.M. & Rosen, J.D. Analytical Conclusions: The Search for Alternative Drug Policies in the Americas.
Gainesville, FL: The University Press of Florida. 2015. p. 412.
 Figure 1: Total Coca production and Coca production by country
Source: Analytical Conclusions: The Search for Alternative Drug Policies in the Americas. p.
412.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the graph depicts coca production in Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia

as a whole, as well as a breakdown by nation. In the mid-1990s, coca planting shifted abruptly

from Peru and Bolivia to Colombia, although total coca production remained stable. The region's

production has been essentially stable with a progressive growth. 48 Anti-drug measures by the

United States in Peru and Bolivia resulted in a decrease in cultivation but Colombia is being

“ballooned out”.49 Colombia's drug industry successfully revamped its operations and began

cultivating more coca. Furthermore, due to "partial triumphs" in eradication efforts, coca

cultivation statistics differ by country. These are on the rise. Efforts initially result in

considerable declines in coca cultivation, but growers adjust with time replanting, spreading

48
Rouse, S.M. & Arce, M. The Drug-Laden Balloon: U.S. Military Assistance and Coca Production in the Central
Andes. Social Science Quarterly. 2006. Date Accessed September 17, 2021. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary-
wileycom.ezproxy.umw.edu/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2006.00395.x
49
Ibid.
plots, or growing in uncontrolled regions, causing cultivation to fail to get back on track. 50

Overall, coca cultivation is shifting from one location to the next within a country and also

“balloons out” to other countries, which undermines any gains accomplished resulting from

government activities.

The "cockroach impact," or the "fragmentation of illicit drug-trafficking groups in a way

analogous to turning on the lights in a kitchen and watching the cockroaches disperse," is another

detrimental result.51 When the larger cartels fled, DTOs were ready to take advantage of the drug

business that was left behind. Colombia was demolished. In addition, the Medellin and Bogota

smuggling routes are well-established. The Cali cartels, which had been mostly dismantled by

law enforcement and military efforts, were resurrected. New routes across Panama and Central

America have been abandoned.52 With the passage of time, smuggling routes just shift from one

area to another and new personnel fill the void when DTOs are demolished.

Drug-related money laundering is also a problem for government entities in the United States.

According to the DEA, only around $1 billion of the estimated $65 billion spent yearly on illicit

drugs is seized each year through the combined efforts of all federal agencies. 53 As a result,

confiscation's utility as a deterrent is limited. Reducing the amount of money laundered as a

result of drug trafficking. Overall, U.S. anti-drug policies in Latin America and the Caribbean are

failing to make a serious dent in illicit drug production or narcotics trafficking.

Most crucially, since 1990, despite increased investment in supply-reduction initiatives based on

enforcement and targeted at disrupting global drug supply, illicit drug prices have declined

50
Isacson. 2016.
51
Bagley, & Rosen., p. 415.
52
Bagley., p. 8.
53
Ibid.
overall while drug purity has increased. 54 Data from the DEA’s System To Retrieve Information

from Drug Evidence (STRIDE) surveillance system reveal that the retail street prices of heroin,

cocaine, and cannabis declined between 1990 and 2007, when adjusted for inflation and purity.55

The statistics are detailed in the Figures below.

Figure 2: Estimated Price and Purity of Heroin in the United States, 1990-2009
Source: Werb, Kerr, Nosyk, 2013

54
Werb D., Kerr T., Nosyk B., et al. The temporal relationship between drug supply indicators: an audit of
international government surveillance systems. BMJ Open. 2013. Date Accessed September 18, 2021. Retrieved
from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3787412/pdf/bmjopen-2013-003077.pdf. p. 1.
55
Ibid., p.2.
 Figure 3: Estimated Price and Purity of Powder Cocaine in the United States, 1990-2009
Source: Werb, Kerr, Nosyk, 2013

Figure 4: Estimated Price and Purity of Cannabis in the United States, 1990-2009
Source: Werb, Kerr, Nosyk, 2013

In the United States, the retail prices of heroin, cocaine, and cannabis fell by 81 percent, 80

percent, and 86 percent, respectively.56 In the same time period, the purity of heroin and cocaine,

56
Ibid., p. 4.
as well as the potency of cannabis, grew by 60% in the United States. 11 percent, 161 percent,

and 11 percent, respectively.57

Furthermore, a growing number of illicit drug seizures has failed to restrict supply over time.

According to STRIDE data, the amount of cannabis confiscated by the 14 states increased from

1990 to 2010. The amount of cocaine seized by the DEA in and bound for the United States

surged by 465 percent. Overall, the amount of heroin confiscated declined by 49%, while the

amount of cocaine seized climbed by 29% percent.58 From 1990 until 2007, According to the

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), cocaine seizures in the Andean area have

plummeted by 81 percent. Seizures of coca leaf, on the other hand, soared by 188 percent. 59

Longitudinal illegal drug surveillance systems show a global pattern of lowering drug costs and

rising drug purity and potency, as well as a somewhat consistent pattern of rising illicit drug

seizures”.60 It is obvious because illicit drug prices are so high, eradication and interdiction

attempts are failing, according to this data are not rising, and supply is plenty.

Conclusion

For decades, the United States has maintained its position as the country with the highest rate of

consumption. Bagley estimates that the annual worth of illicit narcotics might be as high as $150

billion.61 Increased police enforcement in an effort to make narcotics more expensive and

difficult to obtain has not succeeded.62

The number of drug traffickers incarcerated in the United States has climbed by a factor of 15

during the last four decades. In 2014, more than half of inmates in American jails were
57
Ibid.
58
Ibid.
59
Ibid., p. 5.
60
Ibid., p. 7.
61
Bagley., p. 2.
62
Ibid.
incarcerated for drug-related charges, a ratio that has steadily risen over decades, from 16 percent

in 1970 to more than 50 percent in 2014 (Miles, 2014). 63 It has not been easy to apprehend

important actors in order to destroy DTOs. It is effective, but it has resulted in "bloody control

battles".

Human rights violations continue to be an issue. 15 nations in Latin America are source and

transit countries. Law enforcement has committed major human rights crimes as a result of the

militarization of the drug war over the years, as well as the military forces. Extrajudicial killings,

as well as forced labor, are examples of these transgressions. vanishing people and violent

clashes with farms over elimination. In addition, law enforcement officials frequently target

young people, immigrants, minorities, and sex workers, leading in the region's over-

incarceration.64

The drug war in Latin America has undermined institutions as well. Drug-related corruption has

weakened national and local government institutions, judiciaries, and law enforcement in the

region. Furthermore, research case studies have found that “U.S. drug control policies have

contributed to confusing military and law enforcement functions, militarizing local police forces,

and bringing the military into a domestic law enforcement role”. 65 Concerns about the United

States' drug-control failure, The United States' policies in Latin America have sparked a lot of

scholarly discussion about why States have persisted with pursuing such costly strategies.

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Griggs, H. & Zamora, A. In Latin America, Drug Policy Is a Human Rights Issue. Open Society Foundations. 2014.
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