Drug Trafficking & Insurgent Terrorists Essay

" Drug trafficking began to finance and impact the politics in Colombia during the time to an unprecedented degree. (Schmid, 2005) as a way to stifle their political adversaries' revenue stream and fight against them, the FARC began trafficking drugs as well. Researchers see the increase of laboratories in the country as evidence to the link between FARC and drug trafficking. The FARC claims publically to not be involved in the drug trade. Any information or physical evidence that could be used to prove their direct involvement is lacking and circumstantial, in the opinions of those who both support and fight against the FARC. (Schmid, 2005)

This group and others like it have changed the game in terms of counterterrorism. Since groups like the FARC began successfully drug trafficking while still conducting terrorist activities, government agencies and other counterterrorist groups have developed a theory of the "narco-guerrilla" and "narcoterrorism." (Schmid, 2005) These are terms that imply the link and the robust, though nefarious, relationship between illegal drug trade and terrorism.I think that it is quite obvious that terrorist groups would be involved in drug trafficking, even groups that begin outside of the drug trade. Terrorist groups, no matter what they claim their agendas to be, are criminals of sorts; criminals engage in criminal activities. The logic is apparent to me that this would not only be a strong source of revenue for insurgent terrorists, but also a reliable one. The corruption within the political, justice, and other systems is pervasive. Part of the reason why the international drug trade is so difficult to document is because there are people presumably on the right side of the law, who participating in or otherwise supporting criminal activities that lead back to drug cartels and terrorist groups.

References:

Makarenko, T. (2004). The Crime-Terror Continuum: Tracing the Interplay between Transnational Organised Crime and Terrorism. Global Crime, 6(1), 129 -- 145.

Schmid, a. (2005). Links Between Terrorism and Drug Trafficking: A….....