The gradual demise of the Norte del Valle drug cartel will not stem the flow of narcotics from Colombia, but will enable the government to focus on the rebels and paramilitaries who are taking over the trade. Jeremy McDermott investigates. The last of Colombia's big drug cartels, the Norte del Valle (NDV) group, is embroiled in a bitter internal struggle that will curtail if not end the power of the organisation. However, its demise is unlikely to reduce the quantity of drugs leaving Colombia - estimated at up to 800 tonnes of cocaine and 10 tonnes of heroin every year - as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) and the paramilitaries of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia - AUC), now control around 70 per cent of the drugs leaving the country. [continues 4728 words]
If the last century was dominated by cold wars, then the struggle against organised and transnational crime will be a defining theme of the next. To launch this regular feature, Dr Mark Galeotti considers the evolution of the transnational criminal environment. THE TURN-OVER of the global criminal economy is roughly estimated to be US$1 trillion a year, of which narcotics may account for about half. Around 4% of the world's population takes illegal drugs - from inhaled solvents to the Asian betel nut. Up to half a trillion dollars are laundered through the world's financial systems each year. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that this money laundering has cost member states over $120 billion per year, with the USA accounting for $76 billion. [continues 1129 words]
Successive governments in Colombia have sought alternately to militarily defeat the guerrillas, bring them to the negotiating table and detach them from the narcos. Amnesties have been offered, peace proposals made and new ideas put forward. None of these strategies have worked. Hal Klepak explains why peace remains elusive. Hope is gradually fading for Colombia's peace plan, put forward nearly two years ago on the accession of President Andres Pastrana. It was the fifth such initiative in 20 years and was invested with great hope by the Colombian people, tired after 50 years of civil war and insurgency. Why is this plan failing, as its predecessors did? Why have the Colombian guerrilla movements of the Cold War years not disappeared? Why is peace so elusive? [continues 3454 words]
