Cocaine explosion contributes to rise in violence in Latin America

Cocaine production has tripled in the last decade, with unprecedented impact in Latin America. The explosion of drug trafficking has intensified violence, endangering the stability of countries, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2024 indicated.

In 2022, cocaine production reached a record high of 2,757 tonnes, up 20 percent from 2021 and three times the volumes recorded in 2013 and 2014. At the same time, global coca cultivation grew by 12 percent between 2021 and 2022, reaching 355,000 hectares, the report said.

The increased supply and demand for cocaine, driven by its low cost, is leading to an escalation of violence on transit routes such as Ecuador and the Caribbean, according to UNODC. It is also causing serious public health problems in consumer countries, particularly in Western and Central Europe.

“The UNODC report is bad news: cocaine and cocaine production has tripled in the last decade,” Jorge Serrano, a member of the team of advisers to Peru’s Congressional Intelligence Commission, told Dialogue on August 10. “This escalation far exceeds the worst predictions and requires an immediate and coordinated response.”

The increase in cocaine and coca production not only fuels organized crime, but also undermines the foundations of democracy in the region. “The increase in violence and corruption linked to drug trafficking undermines citizens’ trust in their governments, weakens institutions and endangers the rule of law,” Serrano said.

“Producing countries like Peru, Colombia and Bolivia could face an unprecedented crisis that threatens their stability and future and that of transit countries,” he added. “Ecuador is a tangible example of this. In the last decade, it went from being one of the quietest and relatively safe countries to being unmanageable, without producing a single gram of cocaine.”

Drug trafficking center

UNODC indicates that Ecuador is the epicenter of drug trafficking. The presence of transnational and local criminal groups intensifies disputes over the control of drug trafficking routes, leading to an exponential increase in homicides, especially in coastal areas, from where drugs are exported to North America and Europe.

In 2023, the country recorded 7,600 homicides related to organized crime, one of the highest rates in the region. The seizure of more than 220 tons of drugs in 2023 and another 77.5 tons in the first months of 2024 confirms Ecuador’s position as a key point on drug trafficking routes, Voice of America (VOA) reported on May 6.

Faced with this crisis, the international community took action. The UNODC announced in May the opening of a new office in Ecuador to combat cocaine trafficking, the Ecuadorian newspaper reported The shop. Meanwhile, Ecuador and the United States have stepped up cooperation to strengthen the capabilities of the South American country’s security sector. Agreements include increased cooperation on technical matters, best practices, lessons learned, and equipment, including capacity building of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces and the acquisition of key resources.

VOA said Ecuador’s geographic location has made it a key link in the international drug trafficking chain. The drugs, which arrive from its northern neighbors (Colombia and Peru), are stored in the country before being exported through ports such as Guayaquil to the world’s major consumer markets. “It’s a business like no other,” Serrano said.

The Caribbean, an important point

“Caribbean countries are extremely vulnerable to drug trafficking. The shortest route for cocaine from Colombia to the United States passes through Venezuela, making this region a strategic corridor for drug trafficking,” Serrano said. “This situation exposes Caribbean countries to a series of threats such as violence, corruption and money laundering.”

The rise in violence in the region is largely attributed to disputes between criminal groups over control of drug trafficking routes, the UNODC said. Countries such as Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Dutch Caribbean have become major transit points for large quantities of cocaine, marijuana and other drugs, it said. InSight Crimean organization that studies organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Caribbean’s vast and poorly patrolled coastline, combined with heavy maritime and air traffic, makes it easier to conceal illicit shipments, InSight Crime said. Remote areas like Mosquitia, a tropical rainforest stretching from northern Honduras to Nicaragua, have become strategic hubs for the shipping and transshipment of drugs, as well as the distribution of illicit firearms, driven by transnational criminal organizations.

The United States, committed to regional security and partnership, has stepped up its support in the fight against this scourge. Through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative and US Southern Command operations, it has invested more than $900 million since 2010 to strengthen maritime and port security in 13 countries in the region. Understanding Crime indicated.

Comprehensive reformulation

This scenario is further exacerbated by the spread of other drugs, such as fentanyl, entering the United States from Mexico, causing an unprecedented wave of deaths and crime, Serrano said.

“It is crucial to adopt a new global approach to combat illicit drug trafficking. We are at a tipping point, which calls for a comprehensive reformulation of strategy at all levels, as drug trafficking and other related crimes increase throughout the Americas,” Serrano said. “The United States must convene Latin American democracies to design and strengthen a joint strategy in the face of these threats.”