History of drug cartels in Colombia
Colombia has been home to some of the most violent and sophisticated drug trafficking cartels in the world. This problem started as a small cocaine business has, in the last 30 years has become a multinational cocaine empire. The traffickers in Colombia started with bigger goals. In the mid 1970’s the Colombian traffickers exported the marijuana to the United States hidden in suitcases. In the 1980’s the Ochoa brothers and Pablo Escobar started started a cartel called the Medellin cartel. years later Pablo Escobar started to want more power and started to be more violent and he started to have power within the Colombian government which led to a stand-off between the Medellin cartel and the government.
Where is it happening?
It is happening in many cities in Colombia, mostly in Bogotá, Medellin, and Cali. The Medellin Cartel was created in the Medellin barrio, the Medellin barrio was said to be created by Pablo Escobar, and most of the people in the Medellin Cartel live there because there is where they pay tribute to Pablo Escobar. Medellin people joined the cartel when Pablo Escobar convinced the people with the money he had thanks to the cocaine trafficking.
Cali, Colombia is home of the Cali cartel, another dangerous cartel that is terrorizing Colombia. They first started kidnapping, but then they started to export marijuana to places such as New York, Boston, etc. the started earning 7 Billion dollars every year and they expanded to Bogotá and even to parts of Medellin, that is why these two groups (Medellin and Cali) are fighting, because they want to stay with the most territory.
In Valle de Cauca el Cartel del Valle Central is terrorizing Colombia, and they also export drugs mostly to the US, Mexico, and parts of South America.
Many countries in the South of America, US, Central America, Mexico, and parts of Europe is where this issue is happening, because these cartels have people everywhere.
Who’s directly and indirectly related?
Mexico and Colombia are directly related because those cartels are contributing to the riot in the city. The Sinaloa Cartel is Mexican and it is also settled in Bogotá, and the sell drugs in there, they also export some to neighboring countries in Central and South America. These neighboring countries are indirectly related because they only receive the drugs, they don’t have cartels in Colombia.
The US, Europe, and other South and Central America, they are indirectly related. They just import the drugs from the Medellin, Cali, and Sinaloa Cartels. They are still contributing with the drug trafficking in Colombia because they only receive the drugs, they don’t sell them or have their cartels in Colombia
What happened recently?
Since the 1970's, Colombia has had some of the most violent drug cartels in the world. Before, they used to smuggle drugs in small amounts, and now they export them by trucks or even submarines.
After the decline of both the Cali and Medellin cartels, the cocaine businesses are starting to break up. However, young and less experienced people are taking over and are trading huge amounts of cocaine and marijuana without any regret. By this I mean that they trade truck loads and are prepared to kill anyone who gets in their way.
Recently, the Denver Federal Agents busted a Colombian drug trafficker in an extremely big “Pot Shop”, and the person who was arrested started fighting with all of the people by his side. Another tragic event that has happened recently is the ATF Fast and Furious Incident. The ATF is a U.S governmental organization where they track illegal guns, and once they got a hold of them somehow the Medellin Cartel took some Five-Seven Pistols, these are guns so powerful that they could perforate a bullet-proof vest or a armored car. So, if they could get out of Colombia, it could spread across the world and cause major problems. This are the recent events about the Colombian drug war.
Why is this important?
We need to raise awareness of this problem in Colombia. The people who are in these cartel gangs have done many bad stuff that is illegal. These people are threats to any nation and are harming the people in the nation by trafficking drugs to that country. These people are also doing illegal stuff and are in treaty with the United States of America. The Medellin cartel is very ruthless and will kill anyone who gets in their ways. They have killed government officials, politicians, law enforcement members, journalists, and innocent citizens. This is the kind of cartels that we are dealing with that should be stopped. Countries are affected, because drugs bring a bad effect on people, and that makes the people commit crimes when they are in ecstasy. Besides, drugs are a bad way of earning money and theses cartels get the employees by threatening them. This problem is very important for Colombia, South America, and Latin America. This issue needs to come to an end.
What is being done?
The government in Colombia, is encouraging people with goods and money to people so that they speak out against drugs in their district, peaceful talks. This peace talks were called the Plan Colombia Countries in Europe and the US gave money to Colombia to buy crops for people, so that the people want to earn money in different ways rather than in drugs, this idea was created by the Clinton Administration, because they want to help Colombia fight the Medellin and Cali cartels in Colombia. Mexico is also helping Colombia fighting the Sinaloa Cartel in Bogotá. The police are also catching some drug dealers and they are asking them questions like: Where is your base?, What types of drugs do you sell there?, and Where is your leader? In exchange for less years in prison, this is what Colombia is doing.
What should be done?
Many people have been complaining about how governments punish their drug traffickers. Some solutions could be to make sure that cops aren't being bribed or influenced by the drug traffickers, like the Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who escaped by paying a cop to look the other way while he got away. Another solution can be to pay regular people like farmers or workers to catch the traffickers. For Example, 5,000 pesos for any cartel member, and more money for leader, or even, to allow catched traffickers to cooperate and get a smaller sentence. However, asking help to other countries with intelligence and security as they did with Joaquín Guzmán. These solutions can help deal with the cartels in Colombia.
Why did it happened?
Drugs have always been in the lifestyle of Colombian citizens. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, there was a demand on some of these drugs. It started with the export of Marijuana to the United States. Production increased with the demand of marijuana in the 1960’s and later in the 1970’s on cocaine. Colombians made these drugs for about $1500 a kilo, while selling them for $5000 a kilo in the streets of the United States. That caused the current cartels in Colombia.
Colombia has been home to some of the most violent and sophisticated drug trafficking cartels in the world. This problem started as a small cocaine business has, in the last 30 years has become a multinational cocaine empire. The traffickers in Colombia started with bigger goals. In the mid 1970’s the Colombian traffickers exported the marijuana to the United States hidden in suitcases. In the 1980’s the Ochoa brothers and Pablo Escobar started started a cartel called the Medellin cartel. years later Pablo Escobar started to want more power and started to be more violent and he started to have power within the Colombian government which led to a stand-off between the Medellin cartel and the government.
Where is it happening?
It is happening in many cities in Colombia, mostly in Bogotá, Medellin, and Cali. The Medellin Cartel was created in the Medellin barrio, the Medellin barrio was said to be created by Pablo Escobar, and most of the people in the Medellin Cartel live there because there is where they pay tribute to Pablo Escobar. Medellin people joined the cartel when Pablo Escobar convinced the people with the money he had thanks to the cocaine trafficking.
Cali, Colombia is home of the Cali cartel, another dangerous cartel that is terrorizing Colombia. They first started kidnapping, but then they started to export marijuana to places such as New York, Boston, etc. the started earning 7 Billion dollars every year and they expanded to Bogotá and even to parts of Medellin, that is why these two groups (Medellin and Cali) are fighting, because they want to stay with the most territory.
In Valle de Cauca el Cartel del Valle Central is terrorizing Colombia, and they also export drugs mostly to the US, Mexico, and parts of South America.
Many countries in the South of America, US, Central America, Mexico, and parts of Europe is where this issue is happening, because these cartels have people everywhere.
Who’s directly and indirectly related?
Mexico and Colombia are directly related because those cartels are contributing to the riot in the city. The Sinaloa Cartel is Mexican and it is also settled in Bogotá, and the sell drugs in there, they also export some to neighboring countries in Central and South America. These neighboring countries are indirectly related because they only receive the drugs, they don’t have cartels in Colombia.
The US, Europe, and other South and Central America, they are indirectly related. They just import the drugs from the Medellin, Cali, and Sinaloa Cartels. They are still contributing with the drug trafficking in Colombia because they only receive the drugs, they don’t sell them or have their cartels in Colombia
What happened recently?
Since the 1970's, Colombia has had some of the most violent drug cartels in the world. Before, they used to smuggle drugs in small amounts, and now they export them by trucks or even submarines.
After the decline of both the Cali and Medellin cartels, the cocaine businesses are starting to break up. However, young and less experienced people are taking over and are trading huge amounts of cocaine and marijuana without any regret. By this I mean that they trade truck loads and are prepared to kill anyone who gets in their way.
Recently, the Denver Federal Agents busted a Colombian drug trafficker in an extremely big “Pot Shop”, and the person who was arrested started fighting with all of the people by his side. Another tragic event that has happened recently is the ATF Fast and Furious Incident. The ATF is a U.S governmental organization where they track illegal guns, and once they got a hold of them somehow the Medellin Cartel took some Five-Seven Pistols, these are guns so powerful that they could perforate a bullet-proof vest or a armored car. So, if they could get out of Colombia, it could spread across the world and cause major problems. This are the recent events about the Colombian drug war.
Why is this important?
We need to raise awareness of this problem in Colombia. The people who are in these cartel gangs have done many bad stuff that is illegal. These people are threats to any nation and are harming the people in the nation by trafficking drugs to that country. These people are also doing illegal stuff and are in treaty with the United States of America. The Medellin cartel is very ruthless and will kill anyone who gets in their ways. They have killed government officials, politicians, law enforcement members, journalists, and innocent citizens. This is the kind of cartels that we are dealing with that should be stopped. Countries are affected, because drugs bring a bad effect on people, and that makes the people commit crimes when they are in ecstasy. Besides, drugs are a bad way of earning money and theses cartels get the employees by threatening them. This problem is very important for Colombia, South America, and Latin America. This issue needs to come to an end.
What is being done?
The government in Colombia, is encouraging people with goods and money to people so that they speak out against drugs in their district, peaceful talks. This peace talks were called the Plan Colombia Countries in Europe and the US gave money to Colombia to buy crops for people, so that the people want to earn money in different ways rather than in drugs, this idea was created by the Clinton Administration, because they want to help Colombia fight the Medellin and Cali cartels in Colombia. Mexico is also helping Colombia fighting the Sinaloa Cartel in Bogotá. The police are also catching some drug dealers and they are asking them questions like: Where is your base?, What types of drugs do you sell there?, and Where is your leader? In exchange for less years in prison, this is what Colombia is doing.
What should be done?
Many people have been complaining about how governments punish their drug traffickers. Some solutions could be to make sure that cops aren't being bribed or influenced by the drug traffickers, like the Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who escaped by paying a cop to look the other way while he got away. Another solution can be to pay regular people like farmers or workers to catch the traffickers. For Example, 5,000 pesos for any cartel member, and more money for leader, or even, to allow catched traffickers to cooperate and get a smaller sentence. However, asking help to other countries with intelligence and security as they did with Joaquín Guzmán. These solutions can help deal with the cartels in Colombia.
Why did it happened?
Drugs have always been in the lifestyle of Colombian citizens. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, there was a demand on some of these drugs. It started with the export of Marijuana to the United States. Production increased with the demand of marijuana in the 1960’s and later in the 1970’s on cocaine. Colombians made these drugs for about $1500 a kilo, while selling them for $5000 a kilo in the streets of the United States. That caused the current cartels in Colombia.