Illicit drugs in the midst of Colombia’s armed conflict and within it’s peace treaties: past, present and future

Abstract

Colombia’s recent history has been marked by violence, mainly due to the fact that the country’s political and economic power is held in the hands of less than 20% of the
population, as well as the issues resulting from the presence of the “Lords of War” and their ties with drug-trafficking.

Cocaine processing for export was a business promoted by United States citizens during the seventies and it represented the largest “illegal economic bonanza” experienced in
the country to date. However, this “white gold” can also be considered the “root cause of a long series of deep permanent conflicts embedded in the country’s social and political processes that one way or the other have managed to shake the foundations of our society as well as that of the institutional apparatus which governs it” (Camacho Guizado,
1988). Drug trafficking has been very profitable for many –members of the guerrilla, paramilitary, mafia groups, U.S. mercenaries – but it’s also left behind a numerous trail of
victims that never received any kind of compensation, as well as many an unpunished criminal.

During 2015, Colombia has vigorously pursued signing a peace treaty after which illicit drugs will become a matter for the health authorities, and more than likely, a discussion concerning legalization.

Revista Policía y Seguridad Pública 5(1) 2015: 301-352