Why The Illegal Drugs Industry Grow In Colombia Case Study
1.3. Why the Illegal Drugs Industry grew in Colombia
The exponential growth of the illegal drugs industry in this country raises several questions: why is Colombia so much involved in this illegal drug market? Why is this country the main importer of cocaine in the United States and in Europe? Why the production is located in Colombia and not in another country?
Many analysts tried to answer these questions, and the answers cannot be so obvious since the drug can be produced in many other countries.
Some Colombian politicians stated that the main advantage is the geographical location of this country as it is located in the middle, close to the countries in which the drug is produced, but also close to the main markets in which the drug is exported such as the United States.
The importance of Colombia’s geographical location has also been stressed by others foreign analysts. Indeed, MacDonald in 1998 stated that: “first and foremost , the South American country benefits from its geopolitical location. It is strategically located between the coca producing nations of Peru and Bolivia and the routes through the Caribbean and Central America that lead to the lucrative North American and European markets”. But MacDonald is not the only researcher who …show more content…
Arango and Child in the year 1987 mentionedother elements associated to the economic culture and environment: if Medellin- a municipality in the Antioquia department- is the city in which the drug has its centre in Colombia is because of the failure of the textile industry. When the textile industry failed, the rate of unemployment soared and, as a consequence, the contraband increased as the unemployed people started being part of this industry. In addition to this, the long tradition of contraband in Antioquia implied a social acceptance of contraband and an easier participation in
The exponential growth of the illegal drugs industry in this country raises several questions: why is Colombia so much involved in this illegal drug market? Why is this country the main importer of cocaine in the United States and in Europe? Why the production is located in Colombia and not in another country?
Many analysts tried to answer these questions, and the answers cannot be so obvious since the drug can be produced in many other countries.
Some Colombian politicians stated that the main advantage is the geographical location of this country as it is located in the middle, close to the countries in which the drug is produced, but also close to the main markets in which the drug is exported such as the United States.
The importance of Colombia’s geographical location has also been stressed by others foreign analysts. Indeed, MacDonald in 1998 stated that: “first and foremost , the South American country benefits from its geopolitical location. It is strategically located between the coca producing nations of Peru and Bolivia and the routes through the Caribbean and Central America that lead to the lucrative North American and European markets”. But MacDonald is not the only researcher who …show more content…
Arango and Child in the year 1987 mentionedother elements associated to the economic culture and environment: if Medellin- a municipality in the Antioquia department- is the city in which the drug has its centre in Colombia is because of the failure of the textile industry. When the textile industry failed, the rate of unemployment soared and, as a consequence, the contraband increased as the unemployed people started being part of this industry. In addition to this, the long tradition of contraband in Antioquia implied a social acceptance of contraband and an easier participation in