Pablo Escobar was born in Medelln, Colombia, 1949. He was the founder and leader of the Medelln Cartel. Courtesy Colombian National Police
I was a child in Colombia when Pablo Escobar carried out terrorist attacks throughout my hometown, Bogot. I shopped a couple times at a mall where he blew up a car bomb and killed eight people.
Thirty years ago, I began to consider that the legalization of the cocaine business would be the best strategy to reduce bloodshed in my country. I have not changed my mind, but I think people should learn to distinguish between a war on drugs and a war on the mafia because the latter does not end with legalization alone.
Former U.S. President Richard Nixon officially declared a War on Drugs in June 1971. Since this policy took hold in the United States, the Colombian authorities have been fighting drug traffickers for the last 50 years. More than 262,000 people were killed in the Colombia conflict from 1958 to 2018. The main killers in this conflict have been criminal organizations that were initially motivated by political ideals and later became drug cartels.
It is rumored that mafias have been trying to get power over Colombia since 1974 when drug traffickers would have offered to pay the foreign debt. In 1982, Escobar had managed to get a seat in Congress, and he showed intentions to stay in politics to run for president.
Escobar posed as a philanthropist, as a rich man who loves to share his money with the poor. He was fooling everyone until 1983 when some publications of Guillermo Cano in the newspaper El Espectador and direct accusations from the Minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara Bonilla revealed that this rich man was a criminal.
After that, Escobar would leave his comfortable status as a politician to hide for the rest of his life, and he never stopped ordering murders. He paid assassins to kill Lara in 1984 and Cano in 1986.
In 2015, the administration of former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos claimed that people could suffer cancer when using the pesticide Roundup, and later the Constitutional Court of this country banned the use of it over the coca leaf. Since then, cultivation of this plant has boomed, increasing the production of cocaine in Colombia. It happened during conversations about the peace agreement in Havana, Cuba, between Santos and Farc, a Colombian communist drug cartel. This prohibition seemed like a concession Santos made to Farc because it changed the way Colombian authorities fight against drug cartels.
Santos announced the end of the war in Colombia after signing the agreement with Farc in 2016. The Norwegian Nobel Committee spread this misconception worldwide, giving the Peace Nobel to Santos and announcing that he had brought one of the longest civil wars in modern history to a peaceful solution.
It was a huge lie. Colombians have seen several peace agreements between our government and rebel groups like M19 and Auc, but in the end we have never seen peace because the main driver for this bloodshed, far from a civil war, is the drug trafficking. Farc was the biggest group, but it was just one among many others that committed crimes throughout Colombia. Also there are thousands of Farc members who never put down their weapons, and are still among the main traffickers and killers in the country.
Since the Farc-Santos accord was signed in 2016, the variety of drug cartels that exist in Colombia quickly took over the business Farc left abandoned. Different from peace, the Havana accord brought more confrontation among cartels for the cocaine business. It also increased the migration of peasants who have always been in the middle of the conflict in my country, before and after the Farc-Santos peace agreement.
From 2016 to January 2021, 400 human-rights defenders or social leaders were killed, and counting. It is well-known that the drug traffickers were usually the murderers. The agreement that was meant to bring peace actually increased coca production, and criminals increased their presence all over the territory.
Some traffickers harassed social leaders before killing them because those leaders belong to the program of eradication and substitution of coca crop. In this context, it is obvious that drug cartels interfere in the election of mayors in many towns of the country.
I would not say that the money that the U.S. has provided to fight mafias in Colombia was a mistake. We need resources to fight against these criminal organizations. Those mafias are in many kinds of businesses aside from drug-dealing like kidnapping, extortion, cybercrime, land theft, robbery, human trafficking, smuggling, weapons deals and illegal extraction of minerals. The authorities must confront them in all those illegal activities.
Also, authorities should track how they launder money to get their dollars through the financial system. They need to identify the way mafias invest their money in industry and business. And of course we need to spend money on all this; we need to invest in our security.
If the power of these traffickers keep escalating, my country could become a narco-state totally ruled by criminals like happens in Venezuela where the socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro is one of the leaders of the mafia named Los Soles.
Many people have participated in drug trafficking in Colombia. Drug dealers have bribed or forced entrepreneurs, politicians, judges, and members of the security agencies to do money laundering and to commit a wide variety of crimes.
Criminal groups related to drug trafficking and political ideologies killed five presidential candidates between 1987 and 1995. In 1991 the mafia persuaded politicians to ban extradition in a new constitution. In 1994 the Cartel of Cali financed the campaign of the former president Ernesto Samper. In 2006, during the government of former President Alvaro Uribe, paramilitaries worked many times with corrupt members of security agencies to commit horrible crimes.
Now is the moment when the cocaine business looks stronger than ever thanks to the Farc-Santos accord. Farc leaders took advantage of the political need of Santos to get him reelected, procuring his agreement.
Even Mexican drug cartels went to Colombia to participate in the boom of the coca bush, while former leaders of the Farc went unpunished after ordering human crimes like murders, slavery, kidnapping, sexual crimes against minors, and practiced abortions to minors. After they signed the agreement. they just took up seats as lawmakers in Colombias Congress without paying for their crimes.
Mafias, the far right and communists have been trying to take power in Colombia, but fortunately my country has remained as the longest-running democracy in South America. Unlike Venezuela, Nicaragua or Cuba, every four years we freely elect our president. Unfortunately, Colombia is not a perfect democracy because as I said, it has some territories ruled by traffickers.
Now, many people consider the most likely next president, Gustavo Petro, as the biggest risk for our freedom in Colombia. He seems to have the same authoritarian profile other socialist leaders have in Latin America, and according to his economic proposals he is like those who have the tendency to kick off foreign investment and ruin the economies.
Petro belonged to the M-19, a communist guerrilla group, which received amnesty from the Colombian government in 1990. I watched the TV news when this criminal group invaded the Palace of Justice in Bogot and took hostages in 1985. Some people say that Escobar financed this assault to destroy some files about his crimes that were inside the building. In the middle of the confrontation between the military and M19, the courthouse burned down, leaving 94 dead including 11 court magistrates, some of the wisest people in Colombia.
For some people Petro is a messiah capable of ending corruption and poverty. But Petro has not given any credible explanation about a video where he appears receiving many bundles of bills, something that looks like money laundering, theft or bribery.
Petro also has demonstrated that he is a terrible leader. He was mayor of Bogot, and he ruined the public finances of the city. It looks like Petro is fooling his followers like Escobar did when he took a seat in the Congress in 1983. I wonder if Petro finally would be the best way mafias could take power in Colombia.
On Oct. 25, 2021, the White House announced its new strategy to treat the war against drugs with Colombia and said nothing about legalization of cocaine, or the use of Roundup. This herbicide was forbidden to be used on coca crops, despite it being allowed in many Colombian agricultural products. Maybe Americans are confused about this prohibition as long as it clearly benefits drug cartels, and as long as Roundup is being used as well in approximately 90% of American food.
While the debate about worldwide hard-drugs legalization comes to an end, a strategy to reduce the revenues of drug cartels in Colombia would be returning to spreading Roundup on coca cropsat least on those where criminal organizations sometimes kill human-rights defenders or social leaders who work in the program to manually eradicate the plant of coca.
I am concerned about what will happen in Colombia with the current cocaine boom in the hands of criminals who increasingly increase their power in the country by sending cocaine mainly to the U.S and Europe. What will become of the legacy of those who I used to see on the news get killed when I was a child because they were facing down drug killers and taking care of my freedom? They rejected the mafias bribes and sacrificed themselves fighting against them, using free speech about democracy as their weaponlike Guillermo Cano, Rodrigo Lara, the five presidential candidates and the 11 judges burned to death in 1985.
Allowing drug cartels to produce more cocaine as Santos did is not a good way to reduce the violence in Colombia. One real way is to allow businessmen or governments from around the world to enter the production of hard drugs to satisfy the demand of their countries, leaving the Colombian mafias out of that business. That is now happening to the Mexican mafias with marijuana since some states in the U.S. produce this weed.
Nixons War on Drugs could be lost as many say lately due to unstoppable demand. Worldwide legalization of hard drugs would not bring peace, but it would help to reduce violence. It would be the least worst option. However, authorities should keep fighting mafias.
Even if the legalization comes to pass, we need to keep fighting against these criminals in Colombia because they wont be willing to kindly leave the drug or their other businesses. Probably, the mafias will decide to cover their lost money by committing more of the other crimes such as kidnapping and extortion.
This MFP Voices essay does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an essay for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and factcheck information to azia@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
Read more here:
Cocaine Legalization is the Least Worst Option for my Native Colombia - Mississippi Free Press
- SF's new War on Drugs has created dangerous, intolerable conditions in the county jail - 48 hills - 48 Hills - May 17th, 2024 [May 17th, 2024]
- Addiction experts warn against a second 'war on drugs' - STAT - STAT - May 17th, 2024 [May 17th, 2024]
- Eliza Hardy Jones of The War on Drugs on The Emotion and Maximalism Behind Her New Solo LP Pickpocket ... - Glide Magazine - May 17th, 2024 [May 17th, 2024]
- Kat Murti: How To End the Drug War for Good - Reason - May 17th, 2024 [May 17th, 2024]
- Cannabis Rescheduling: Winning the Battle, but Not the War - R Street - May 17th, 2024 [May 17th, 2024]
- House panel to probe killings in Duterte war on drugs - GMA News Online - May 17th, 2024 [May 17th, 2024]
- FACT CHECK: Duterte named in ICC documents on Philippine drug war case - Rappler - May 17th, 2024 [May 17th, 2024]
- The dark legacy of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines - WBUR News - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Step up war on drugs and illicit liquors - Nation - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Forum From the Archives: Brutality of Philippines War on Drugs Laid Bare in Some People Need Killing - KQED - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Commentary: We need to rethink how we address drug use - Maryland Matters - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Liberia: Boakai's War on Drugs Gains Momentum - Liberian Daily Observer - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Tactics are shifting in the war on drugs - Financial Times - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- End overreliance on punitive measures to address drugs problem ... - OHCHR - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- HSCSO making a dent in the local war on drugs - Malvern Daily Record - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- The Drug War on the Border Doesn't Work - Progressive.org - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- 'When I walk to school, I can see people shooting up.' How Seattle's ... - KUOW News and Information - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- The best gifts ever? Being named after drugs and declaring war on ... - POLITICO Europe - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Latin America This Week: September 20, 2023 - Council on Foreign Relations - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- The drug trade is taking over Latin America - PRESSENZA International News Agency - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Safe Supply Streaming Co. Ltd. Completes Reverse Take-Over ... - The Dales Report - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Critics claim drug use clemency proposal to reduce overcrowding in ... - asianews.network - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- War on illicit drugs | Police warn of meth production, collusion with ... - Fiji Times - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- From Grief to Action - The Stranger - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Police in region to discuss war against drugs - Khmer Times - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Five die in suspected drug turf war in Richards Bay - Durban - IOL - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Mayor Bruce Harrell Shares His New Pitch for the War on Drugs - The Stranger - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Illinois Governor Signs Supervised Release Bill To Help Drug War ... - Marijuana Moment - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Activist: Automatically expunging cannabis convictions is step ... - MPR News - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- What the crack epidemic reveals about America - The Boston Globe - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- 'The war on drugs has failed: Sir Richard Branson tells LBC there ... - LBC - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- An Enemy in Mexico - The New York Times - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Betrayal on the Bayou, a New Season of Hit Podcast Smoke Screen ... - Sony Music - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Worldwide Wednesday's International Roundup: Bangladesh, China ... - Death Penalty Information Center - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- 46 Bacolod local government workers test positive for drug use - Rappler - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Jon Bernthal's 12 Best Movies, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes - MovieWeb - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- We Are Continuing the War on Drugs - The Stranger - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Clemency Is One Answer to the War On Drugs | American Civil ... - ACLU - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- As Evidence Mounts That 'War On Drugs' Has Failed, Harm ... - Health Policy Watch - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Families of victims await justice as the ICC reopens Philippines drug ... - NPR - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Why Trump and other Republicans want to go to war in Mexico - Vox.com - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- New Queensland drug laws will keep thousands of people out of justice system, advocates say - ABC News - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Ben Cohen's Cannabis Company Tries to Undo the Harm of the War ... - Seven Days - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Pt. 2: The war on cannabis - Cabrini College Loquitur - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Globe editorial: The tide is turning, but the war on drug overdoses is ... - The Globe and Mail - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Eric Clapton Bringing Crossroads Guitar Festival to L.A., With 41 Guests Ranging From Buddy Guy to the War on Drugs - Variety - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Evaluation of all PNP senior officers has significant impact on war on ... - Manila Bulletin - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- War on Drugs Poster Campaign launched at Pangei bazaar - Pothashang - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Mary Jane, MJ, Weed, Oh my! - The Post - The Post - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Opinion: In defence of drug dealers' humanity - The Globe and Mail - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA: Incarceration for marijuana needs to ... - The Daily Orange - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Today in History: April 23, Hank Aaron's first home run - Sent-trib - Sentinel-Tribune - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- GUEST COLUMN: Legislation would have helped war on opioids - Colorado Springs Gazette - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Positioned to succeed: Organization offers educational program for ... - Youngstown Vindicator - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Miniature organs driving precision medicine and new drug discovery - University of Arizona - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- 18 concerts to see this week, including Father John Misty, Nickel ... - The Key @ XPN - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- 'They are not helping PRRD' | Philstar.com - Philstar.com - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Brandon Ali: By 18 he had a shotgun. At 19 he was smuggling drugs. Age 20 he had murdered a man - Teesside Live - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Kindiki team shores up gains in drugs, illicit brews fight - The Star Kenya - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- The US Has Spent $1 Trillion Fighting The War On Drugs A Failure, Say The Authors Of New Cannabis Book - Forbes - April 17th, 2023 [April 17th, 2023]
- Gov. Kathy Hochuls cannabis crime bill will destroy lives and restart the War on Drugs (guest column) - newyorkupstate.com - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Official says war on drugs is 'here, local' following discovery of 10K fentanyl-laced ecstasy pills in Silsbee - 12newsnow.com KBMT-KJAC - March 26th, 2023 [March 26th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs: History, Policy, and Therapeutics - Dominican University - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs - Crime Museum - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- What Is the War on Drugs? - WorldAtlas - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- 9 Important Pros and Cons of the War on Drugs ConnectUS - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration - A Brief History of Civil ... - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- The Former Mexican Official Who Oversaw His Nation's War on Drugs Went on Trial in the ... - Latest Tweet - LatestLY - January 25th, 2023 [January 25th, 2023]
- Women and the Drug War | Drug Policy Alliance - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs as Structural Racism - Penn LDI - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- The Phony War on Drugs - The New York Times - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- Biden pot pardon to help with War on Drugs' harms to Black people : NPR - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- War on Ivermectin: The Medicine that Saved Millions and Could Have ... - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- IN NUMBERS: The Philippines' 'war on drugs' - RAPPLER - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Race, Mass Incarceration, and the Disastrous War on Drugs - October 30th, 2022 [October 30th, 2022]
- The Irrational War on Drugs - consortiumnews.com - October 30th, 2022 [October 30th, 2022]
- Race and the Drug War | Drug Policy Alliance - October 30th, 2022 [October 30th, 2022]
- Sound Summit 2022: a guide to the Bay Areas highest music festival - SF Chronicle Datebook - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Here's how health and wellness will show up on Denver's November ballot - Denverite - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- 10 Monday AM Reads - The Big Picture - Barry Ritholtz - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]