Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime, and Violence in the Americas Today, livre ebook

In 1971, Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. Despite foreign policy efforts and attempts to combat supply lines, the United States has been for decades, and remains today, the largest single consumer market for illicit drugs on the planet.

This volume argues that the war on drugs has been ineffective at best and, at worst, has been highly detrimental to many countries. Leading experts in the fields of public health, political science, and national security analyze how U.S. policies have affected the internal dynamics of Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Central America, and the Caribbean islands. Together, they present a comprehensive overview of the major trends in drug trafficking and organized crime in the early twenty-first century.

In addition, the editors and contributors identify emerging issues and propose several policy options to address them. This accessible and expansive volume provides a framework for understanding the limits and liabilities in the U.S.-championed war on drugs throughout the Americas.

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface: On the Study of Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime Networks in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Twenty-First Century

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges to Democracy
Bruce M. Bagley

Part I. U.S. Drug Policies at Home and Abroad

Chapter 1. Coca, Cocaine, and Consumption: Trends and Antitrends
J. Bryan Page

Chapter 2. Illegal Drugs as a National Security Threat: Securitization of Drugs in the U.S. Official Discourse
Yulia Vorobyeva

Chapter 3. The War on Drugs and the Role of SOUTHCOM
Juan Gabriel Tokatlian

Chapter 4. Mission Creep: The U.S. Military’s Counterdrug Role in the Americas
Adam Isacson

Chapter 5. Security Challenges at the U.S.-Mexican Border: Understanding the Security Threats to State and Local Governments
Rocío A. Rivera Barradas

Chapter 6. Drug-Control Policies in the United States: Patterns, Prevalence, and Problems of Drug Use in the United States
Bruce M. Bagley

Part II. Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime: Country and Regional Analyses

Chapter 7. Colombia and Its Wars against Drug Trafficking, 1970–2010
Elvira María Restrepo

Chapter 8. Illicit Drugs in the Colombia-U.S. Relationship: Review and Prospects
Arlene B. Tickner and Carolina Cepeda

Chapter 9. Escalating Heroin Consumption and the Spread of HIV in Colombia: An Emerging Public Health Threat
Clyde McCoy, Daniel H. Ciccarone, Zelde Espinel Ben-Amy, Jeanene McCoy Bengoa, Oscar Bernal, Duane C. McBride, and James M. Shultz

Chapter 10. Bolivian Drug Policy under the Morales Administration
Marten W. Brienen

Chapter 11. The Vicious Cycle: The Resurgence of Drug Production and Drug Trafficking in Peru
Marten W. Brienen and Jonathan D. Rosen

Chapter 12. In Search of the Mérida Initiative: From Antecedents to Practical Results
Alberto Lozano-Vázquez and Jorge Rebolledo Flores

Chapter 13. Police Reform in Mexico: A Never-Ending Story
Sigrid Arzt

Chapter 14. Democracy, Security, and Organized Crime in Central America
Francisco Rojas Aravena

Chapter 15. Seeking Out the State: Organized Crime, Violence, and State‑tropism in the Caribbean
Lilian Bobea

Chapter 16. The Power of Organized Crime in Brazil: From Public and Social Challenges to the Effectiveness of Reforms
Marcelo Rocha e Silva Zorovich

Chapter 17. Under (Loose) Control: Drug Trafficking in Argentina in Times of Paradigm Change
Khatchik DerGhougassian and Glen Evans

Part III. Regional and International Drug-Control Policies

Chapter 18. The Role of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission: Confronting the Problem of Illegal Drugs in the Americas
Betty Horwitz

Chapter 19. The Strategies of the European Union against Drug Trafficking
Roberto Domínguez

Chapter 20. Analytical Conclusions: The Search for Alternative Drug Policies in the Americas
Bruce M. Bagley and Jonathan D. Rosen

List of Contributors

Index