U.S. drug control policy's effects on Columbia: Destablizing democracy and fostering narco-terrorism

United States drug control policy has historically focused its efforts on reducing domestic drug use and interdicting the illegal drug trade. Control of illegal drugs has remained an important national interest due to the large negative impact drugs have had on the American economy and due to the destabilizing effect drugs create within our society.

Of all illegal drugs, cocaine poses the greatest threat to U.S. national security. Colombia produces or exports approximately ninety percent of all cocaine that enters the United States. Accordingly, this SRP will review the origins and genesis of U.S. national drug control policy and the impact our National Drug Control Strategy has had on Colombian cocaine trafficking.

Furthermore, this SRP will examine the second and third order effects of U.S. drug control policy and the policy’s potential to destabilize democracy and foster narco-terrorism in Colombia. Finding that U.S. drug control policy has been only marginally successful in achieving national objectives, the SRP will propose possible reasons for its ineffectiveness and recommend alternatives to improve policy.