DRUGS AND CRIME

An Overview of the Globalization of the Drug Market and its Related Crimes

Alana IrelandPOLS 24016/3/2012

185 DEA Offices in Foreign Countries

Global Drug Trade is estimated at $300 billion

Belize Antigua and BarbudaCanada ArubaCosta Rica Barbados El Salvador DominicaGuatemala Dominican RepublicHonduras GrenadaMexico GuyanaNicaragua HaitiPanama JamaicaArgentina Netherlands AntillesBolivia St. Kitts & NevisChile St. LuciaColombia St. Vincent & The GrenadinesEcuador SurinameParaguay The BahamasPeru Trinidad & TobagoUruguay Turks & Caicos IslandsVenezuela

DEA IN THE AMERICAS Instrumental in the disintegration

of the Medellin drug cartel of Colombia.

-Killing of Pablo Escobar (1993), an enemy of the US and government of Colombia

-Responsible for innumerable assassinations

Controversial support role of DEA in Honduras -May 2012, DEA agents assisted in mission that left 4 civilians dead. -22 tons of cocaine were seized in 2011 with assistance from DEA, four times more than the

previous year.

Capture and imprisonment of Panama’s leader Manuel Noriega for his involvement in drug trafficking and unrest in Central American countries.

-1989, US Special Operations invaded Panama and removed him from power.

-23 U.S. soldiers were killed in Operation Just Cause.

Australia New Caldeonia

Brunei New Zealand

Burma Niue

Cambodia Papua New Guinea

Cook Islands Philippines

East Timor Singapore

Fiji Solomon Islands

French Polynesia South Korea

Hong Kong Taiwan

Indonesia Thailand

Japan Tokelau

Kiribati Tonga

Laos Tuvalu

Macau Vanuatu

Malaysia Vietnam

Mongolia Wallis & Futuna

Naura Western Samoa

DRUGS AND CRIME IN EASTERN ASIA DEA Agents uncovered CIA assistance

to local drug traffickers in the 1960’s. -Claim CIA flew heroin during Vietnam

war -2010, US gov’t successfully sued by

DEA chief in Burma for wiretapping by CIA

Opium Wars (1839-1842) & (1856-1860) -British insisted on trading with Indian opium instead of silver, despite

China’s stance against the drug -In the process they seized Hong Kong

June 26 is UN Anti-Drug Day -In 2009, China celebrated by burning

opium crops and sentencing twenty drug dealers with the death penalty

-Also isolated 218,000 addicts for rehab in 2008

Afghanistan Jordan

Armenia Kazakstan

Azerbaijan Kuwait

Bahrain Krygyzstan

Bangladesh Lebanon

Bulgaria Libya

Chad Maldives

Cyprus Nepal

Djibouti Oman

Egypt Pakistan

Eritrea Qatar

Ethiopia Romaina

Georgia Russia

Greece Saudi Arabia

India Somalia

Iran Sri Lanka

Iraq Sudan

Israel

DRUGS AND CRIME IN CENTRAL ASIA DEA Foreign Deployed Advisory and Support

FAST Team (FAST) Agents work with US forces to eradicate hashish and opium in Afghanistan

-1990’s Opium was often traded by Taliban or warlords in order to purchase weapons and vehicles

-Illegal for Muslims to use, enforced by Mullahs.

Terrorist organizations are accused of involvement in drug smuggling to fund their activities throughout the Middle East. (Hezbollah, Islamic Brotherhood, etc.)

-Sale of drugs from Colombia or Afghanistan to European market

Algeria Guinea-Bissau Rwanda

Angola Ivory Coast South Africa

Benin Kenya Swaziland

Botswana Lesotho Senegal

Burundi Liberia Sierra Leone

Burkina Faso Madagascar TanzaniaCameroon Malawi TogoCentral African Republic Mali TunisiaComoros Mauritania UgandaCongo Mauritius Western SaharaDemocratic Republic of Congo Morroco Zambia

Gabon Mozambique ZimbabweGhana Namibia

Gibraltar NigerGuinea NigeriaAlgeria Guinea-Bissau Rwanda

Angola Ivory Coast South Africa

Benin Kenya Swaziland

AFRICA AS A DRUG ROUTE West African countries are targeted by drug

cartels in South America -for their proximity to EU, some local market -use weak gov’ts for trafficking routes -use strong gov’ts for money laundering and logistics

Photo from New York Times of a jet from Venezuela containing cocaine unloaded by soldiers in Guinea-Bissau.

“Poverty-ridden countries are the most vulnerable to crime and pay the highest price”, explained African Union Commissioner Bience Gwanas in 2010.

From 2003-2008, Cameroon arrested between 300 and 400 people per year on drug related charges. Near the lowest per capita rate in the world.

Albania GermanyNorthern Ireland

Austria Greenland Norway

Azores Hungary PortugalBelearic Islands Iceland Andorra

Belgium Ireland Poland

Belarus Isle of Man Seychelles

Bosnia Italy San MarinoCanary Islands Latvia Serbia

Cape Verde Liechtenstein SloveniaChennel Islands Luxembourg

Slovak Republic

Croatia Lithuania SpainCzech Republic Malta

Spanish Enclaves

Denmark Moldova Sweden

Estonia Monaco Switzerland

Finland Montengro Ukraine

France NetherelandsUnited Kingdom

EUROPE’S DRUGS AND RELATED CRIMES

The Netherlands decriminalization of “soft drugs”. -Nine times fewer inmates per capita than

U.S. UNODC- United Nations Office of Drugs and

Crime “World Drug Report” Spain: ~30 arrests per 100,000 people Netherlands: ~100 “ ” Germany: ~300 “ ” Norway: ~800 “ ”

STATES WITH MEDICAL CANNABIS

LAWS

STATES WITH DECRIMINALIZATION

LAWS

STATES WITH BOTH

SOURCES

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/international/foreign.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/17/hondurans-protest-dea-

fatal-shootings?newsfeed=true http://www.copi.com/defrauding_america/chp_18.htm http://www.dvb.no/news/us-govt-sued-by-%E2%80%98bugged%E2%8

0%99-burma-drugs-agent/8577 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-06/26/content_454695.

htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR

2007050800981.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/magazine/11Trade-t.html?pagewa

nted=all http://worldfocus.org/blog/2010/02/19/marijuana-laws-loosen-gradually

-around-the-globe/9724/ http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/statistics/crime.html