4. Paramilitarization of Organized Crime and a “War on Drugs”

En este artículo se presenta el estado actual de las cuestiones relacionadas con la producción, comercialización y consumo de cocaína en el panorama americano. Según las cifras publicada por organizaciones internacionales gubernamentales y no gubernamentales, la producción total de cocaína no ha disminuido significativamente en los últimos 4 décadas, las tasas de homicidio y de violencia vinculados al crimen organizado aumentaron en los países con mayor flujo de cocaína y, en la última década, ha incrementado el porcentaje de consumidores en América Latina. Existe un interés creciente de los Estados Americanos en la evaluación de las estrategias de la lucha contra las drogas y en discutir nuevas estrategias que se aparten o sean alternativa al discurso de criminalización que ha caracterizado hasta ahora la guerra contra las drogas y que no ha lograr un cambio significativo. Basándose en un estudio exploratorio del informe presentado por la OEA en mayo de 2013, y en un análisis de los posicionamientos de los gobernantes del continente acerca de las drogas, se sugiere que las organizaciones gubernamentales regionales, como UNASUR son el lugar ideal para proponer, debatir e implementar nuevas estrategias que corresponden a los problemas sociales del contexto regional.Abstract: This article describes the current status of issues related to production, marketing and consumption of cocaine in the Americas. According to figures published by international governmental and non-governmental organizations, the total cocaine production has not decreased significantly over the last four decades, rates of homicide and violence linked to organized crime have increased in countries with greater flow of cocaine, and in the last decade the percentage of consumers in Latin America has increased. There is a growing interest of American States in assessing strategies to combat drugs and to discuss new strategies that depart or become an alternative to the discourse of criminalization that has characterized the war on drugs and without achieving a significant change. Based on an exploratory study of the report of the OAS in May 2013, and on the analysis of the positions of the rulers of the continent about drugs, this paper suggests that regional governmental organizations such as UNASUR are the ideal locus to propose, debate and implement new strategies to respond the production, commercialization and use of drugs, linked to social, politic and economic problems of the regional context.

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The “War on Drugs” in Mexico: (Official) Database of Events between December 2006 and November 2011

Journal of Conflict Resolution ◽

10.1177/0022002718817093 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 63 (7) ◽

pp. 1765-1789 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Laura H. Atuesta ◽

Oscar S. Siordia ◽

Alejandro Madrazo Lajous

Keyword(s):

Organized Crime ◽

Drug Policy ◽

Preliminary Analysis ◽

War On Drugs ◽

Illegal Drug ◽

Public Records ◽

Teaching And Research ◽

Drug Production ◽

Policy Program

The objective of this text is to describe the three categories that the Drug Policy Program at the Center for Teaching and Research in Economics (CIDE-PPD) database comprises, their limitations, and their main features. Additionally, we explain what we believe to be the source of the database we originally received and analyze its accuracy by comparing it with public records. We describe the validation and codification processes the database was subjected to, as well as the main biases and limitations the database may have. Additionally, we offer a preliminary analysis of the type of research that the CIDE-PPD Database can support. This analysis is not only relevant to those interested in studying the “war on drugs” in Mexico but also to those studying conflict in other countries involved in illegal drug production and trafficking, as well as countries experiencing conflicts related to organized crime.

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The evolution of drug trafficking and organized crime in Latin America

Sociologia Problemas e Práticas ◽

10.7458/spp2013712333 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bruce Bagley

Keyword(s):

Organized Crime ◽

Drug Trafficking ◽

Crime Control ◽

War On Drugs ◽

Unintended Consequences ◽

Control Policies ◽

The Past ◽

Criminal Groups ◽

Drug Economy ◽

Illicit Drug Trafficking

This article analyses the evolution of illegal drug economy in the Americas over the past two decades. It identifies eight key trends that have characterized illicit drug trafficking and organized crime as of mid-2011. They are: (1) The increasing globalization of drug consumption; (2) The limited victories and unintended consequences of the U. S. -led ‘War on Drugs’; (3) The proliferation of cultivation areas and of drug smuggling routes; (4) The dispersion and fragmentation of organized criminal groups; (5) The failure of political reform and state-building efforts; (6) The inadequacies U. S. domestic drug and crime control policies; (7) The ineffectiveness of regional and international drug control policies; (8) The growing support for legalization debate.

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The ‘War on Drugs’ Concept as the Basis for Combating Drugs in the Western Hemisphere

Central European Journal of International and Security Studies ◽

10.51870/cejiss.a130204 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 31-47

Author(s):

Arkadiy Alekseevich Eremin ◽

Oleg Konstantinovich Petrovich-Belkin

Keyword(s):

Organized Crime ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

War On Drugs ◽

Western Hemisphere ◽

Drug Trade ◽

Political Elites ◽

Academic Knowledge ◽

Richard Nixon ◽

Essential Question ◽

Drug Policies

The article attempts to critically evaluate a controversial transnational phenomenon in the Western hemisphere, known as the ‘War on Drugs’. Started by Richard Nixon to regain the support of his electorate, it has continued to dominate anti-drug policies in the Americas until now. In this article, the authors conduct a thorough analysis of all the traits of this concept in relation to the effectiveness and capability of limiting drug production and supply as well as countering drug-related organized crime. It also describes the role and place of the ‘War on Drugs’ in the structure of modern academic knowledge. In the attempt to assess the outcomes of the implementation of coercive tactics typical for the ‘War on Drugs’, the article also tries to answer the essential question of whether traditionally harsh methods of this concept were truly meant to be aimed at suppressing transnational drug trade or were merely a way for political elites to meet certain personal agenda. The paper recommends several potential changes that are necessary to be introduced to successfully relaunch and reestablish the system of combating illicit drug trade in the Western hemisphere.

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Pecuniary Punishments

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.352 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Patricia Faraldo-Cabana

Keyword(s):

Early Modern ◽

21St Century ◽

Criminal Law ◽

Organized Crime ◽

War On Drugs ◽

The Other ◽

Unequal Distribution ◽

Modern Times ◽

Early Modern Times ◽

The 19Th Century

The genealogy of pecuniary punishments is a story of constant reformulation in response to shifting political pressures, changes in institutional and administrative arrangements, and intellectual developments that changed ideological commitments of legislators and practitioners. Within this chronicle of reformulation, broad transformations since the late 17th century are discernible. These legal transformations, most of which have been widely discussed and debated, help delimitate old and new forms of punishment and, to some degree, different modes of constructing punishment inside the criminal law. Based on the notion that the legal discussions during the 19th century set the stage for the profound reforms initiated by the emergence of consumer societies, the discourses that unfolded from around the end of early modern times until now are analyzed, even though few could have predicted the increase in the use of fines and confiscation that would occur throughout the 20th century. For the fine to reach such a state of ubiquity, one of its most criticized characteristics derived from its monetary nature had to undergo a severe scrutiny: the unequal impact on offenders caused by the unequal distribution of money between individuals in society. Confiscation, on the other hand, after having being extensively used by the Nazi, fascist, and Francoist regimes against “people’s enemies” and political opponents, was rediscovered as one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against organized crime during the war on drugs in the 1980s. In the 21st century it has become increasingly important for countries to be able to freeze and confiscate property related to the committing of an offense, thus depriving criminals of their illicitly obtained assets.

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