Effects of Cocaine Trafficking In Guinea-Bissau - Research Paper Example

Research Proposal: Effects of Cocaine Trafficking In Guinea-Bissau Abstract Guinea-Bissau is a West African state languishing in poverty and poor governance as a result of cocaine trafficking and other smuggling activities. The origin of cocaine trafficking began in the early 1990s when a ready market for the same arose in the Europe. Since then, West Africa has been the passage of drugs from South America to the European market. The passage follows the learning of the practice by the European law enforcement agencies thereby making direct trafficking to Europe more difficult. The threat of cocaine to the Guinea-Bissau’s political and economic development is clear and is a cause and consequence of high crime rates, poverty levels, and poor governance system. The research herein will explore the effects of cocaine trafficking to the country’s development and the possible factors that have led to the massive trafficking into and across the country. Introduction The research will investigate the impacts of cocaine trafficking to Guinea-Bissau’s development. Guinea-Bissau is a West African country with a large coastline and many islands. The country is currently has the highest cases of drug trafficking that drastically affect its economic and political development. Trafficking implies the illegal import and export of commodities into and out of a certain region. The current drug trafficking across the West African state Guinea-Bissau is a history repeating itself. In history, it began with Europe’s hunger for slaves that devastated development in the country. Currently, it is Europe’s desire for cocaine (United Nations: International Narcotics Control Board, 2007). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have blamed the lead government officials partnering with drug trafficking organizations to ensure the practice thrives amidst proclaimed economic and political impacts. The government officials have selfish and opportunistic gains from trade and hence law enforcement agencies have difficult times when controlling the practice. The UNODC further projects that the acute effects of cocaine trafficking in Guinea-Bissau could spread to other West African countries unless the governments act fast. Guinea-Bissau is a weak state characterized with a poor, weak and unstable economic system thereby attracting little international attention. The country, therefore, qualifies for a perfect hub to criminal groups. The past few years have seen a dramatic rise in cocaine trafficking through the country as a result. Recent research estimates the total value of cocaine trafficked to exceed the country’s gross national income. Between 2005 and 2007, the United Nations law enforcement agencies in Guinea-Bissau seized at least 33 tonnes of cocaine on route to Europe. However, the country’s government could hardly seize even a tonne of the drug. The amount of drug trades at about US$1.8 billion wholesale and more in the streets (United Nations: International Narcotics Control Board, 2007). The country’s law enforcement budget is far much lower than this estimate. The local police, therefore, experience financial limitations while fighting organizations making millions of dollars a year. The current Guinea-Bissau’s poverty and pandemic levels facilitate the hunger for drug money. On the contrary, the money is rotting the societies thereby leading to entrenched organized crimes and undermined respect for the rule of law. The drug traffickers use threats and bribes to infiltrate the state’s structures. Moreover, the organizations operate with impunity. As a result, there is a deepening fear and loss of trust between the senior officials and the public. Young people have also expressed a growing addiction to cocaine and have consequently served as a distribution medium for traffickers. The high returns from the drug business have enabled the dealers to use satellite phones and walk around in expensive cars and fast boats. Moreover, the traffickers have been able to transfer large sums of money secretly and to afford protection. They buy their way out of the jails should they get caught and imprisoned. The police in Guinea-Bissau have had frequent salary arrears. The salary is also of a meager amount to satisfy their daily basic requirements. Moreover, the police lack phones, computers, and electricity to facilitate their patrol activities across the country’s coastline. Many of the police officers also lack the ability to swim or shoot a gun. The UNODC reports that the police have to move suspects in taxis to the police stations. The suspects move around without handcuffs as the police have inadequate handcuffs (Pędziwiatr, Kugiel, & Dańda, 2011). Additionally, the Guinea-Bissau state system lack the proper infrastructure and trained personnel to handle cases of drug trafficking should the police arrest one. Prisoners in Guinea-Bissau also have free times to move around out of the prisons and, therefore, many prisoners escape from the institutions. The in mates who stay in the prisons do so of their free will since they get shelter and meals from neighbors. However, the incapable law enforcement systems facilitate other criminal activities such as corruption and smuggling. The cocaine trafficking, therefore, qualifies to impact the country’s economic and politics besides the smuggling activities (Figueira, 2012). The need to protect wealthy cocaine traffickers and the vehicles, which transport the drugs, facilitates the firearm smuggling through the country. Evidently, the cause of the current state’s deteriorating economic development and political instability is attributable to the cocaine trafficking across the country. Literature Review Many scholars have written about the effects of drug trafficking across West African countries. These publications base their findings on previously carried out research on the same. The books further recommend possible ways to help correct the country’s continually devastating social, political and economic systems. Lyman (2011) examined the impacts of drug trafficking to the instability in transit countries. Guinea-Bissau qualifies as a transit country since the drug moves across the country to European markets. The book analyzes specifically the impacts of drug trafficking to the political stability of Guinea-Bissau. Lyman (2011) pointed out the existence of two types of countries where drug trafficking practice profoundly affects the political stability. One is the country where the illegal armed groups get funds from taxing, production or trafficking of the drugs. The second type of country is one where the drug traffickers become powerful enough to take control of the state affairs through high-level corruption or violent confrontation. Unfortunately, Guinea-Bissau has both characteristics listed above since the government officials actively participate in trafficking practices. The publication lists Venezuela and Ecuador as the main countries that shipped cocaine across the country to Europe. The recent decline of cocaine demand in the United States markets contributed to massive transit of cocaine through Guinea-Bissau to the Europe. Lyman (2011) further noted that the practice led to increased violence and crime rates in the country. He noted that a prominent figure in the government who assumed the role of deputy chief organized a coup to detain and threaten the country’s prime minister. The European law enforcement agencies in the country also openly accustomed the deputy chief with drug trafficking. He concluded that the financial dynamics of cocaine trade paralyzed the country’s development plans. The current global involvement in the matter of drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau explains the magnitude of the problems associated with the practice. Abadinsky (2007) pointed out that drug traffickers developed sophisticated networks in Guinea-Bissau to reduce the risk of arrests and make it more difficult for the law enforcement agencies to carry out their operations against them. The drug traffickers diversified their operations to smuggling and trafficking people and immigrants, firearms, and stolen vehicles to shift the law enforcement agencies attention away from the cocaine issue. Howard (2007) noted that the recent stepping up of legislative measures governing drug trafficking in Spain and Netherlands facilitated the West African Guinea-Bissau qualification as a transit country. He further noted that the geographical location of the country combined with the corruption instances and inadequate law enforcement system provided a permissive working environment for the cocaine traffickers. The cocaine found its way into the domestic market where the youth used cheap and most addictive crack. The ships used to transport cocaine used concealed areas built specifically for trafficking purposes. The ships had modified fuel tanks for storing the cocaine during transit. The concealment made it extremely difficult for the intelligence agents to detect the drug. The drug trade compromised the country’s gross domestic product and also affected the youth abusers who flock the rehabilitation centers for the mentally ill. The youths also acted as distribution agents for the transportation of drug to the domestic market. The traffickers also organized crime groups and recruited individuals who wished to break out of poverty through illegal means. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2010) reported West Africa as the poorest and most unstable regions on earth with Guinea-Bissau on the extreme. The country has many rebel groups who are renowned drug cartels. The logistics in Guinea-Bissau provided assistance to the cocaine shipment consignments thereby fueling the trade in mid-2004. The drug trafficking incidence heightened in 2008 when the international market became aware of the cocaine trade and imposed seizures on the maritime and airline travels. The shift caused a series of events in the political system of Guinea-Bissau. Firstly, the country’s head of Navy went into exile in August 2008 after allegations that he organized a coup. A year later in March the head of the army of the Guinea-Bissau and the president was murdered. These tragic events caused the maritime and airport seizures to disappear thereby facilitating the cocaine business. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2011) reported that the enormous returns from cocaine industry enabled the traffickers to penetrate to the high power positions in the government and the military. The officials offer the law enforcement officials lump sum amounts of money so as to shift their attention away from the trade. The amount the officials get is more than the amount their employment institutions could offer in their lifetime earnings. The condition has resulted into the traffickers operating with minimal or no resistance from the state. The officials in Guinea-Bissau threaten those who dare to discuss the drug issue thereby continuing to degrade the country’s already worst economic situation. The loss of respect for the legislature has long-term effects on the country’s peace and prosperity. The cocaine violence could be synonymous to civil wars in Guinea-Bissau if left unaddressed. Methods The research method bases on empirical studies and literature sourcing for data. The researcher questions the officials in the country who control the cocaine trafficking cases. The researcher further examines the intermediate users of the drug, particularly the youth. The questioning will be done on an undercover basis given the current fragile conditions of the situation and security threats to whoever dares to question the cocaine trafficking in the country. The study will employ online questionnaires that would be treated with utmost confidentiality. The questionnaires will administer open-ended questions to enable the respondents provide all the information they might have regarding the situation at hand. The respondents will fill the questionnaires through the computers under the assistance of a co-researcher in Guinea-Bissau. The questionnaire will describe the research prior to the administration of the questions and also inform the participants of the high level of confidentiality of the data they submit. The questionnaire will not ask for any name or identity of the participants. The researcher will select the participants from the country’s public and government officials at random. However, the research will give priority to volunteer groups as they have the ability to provide more reliable information. Moreover, the researcher will infer from previous studies on a similar topic and build on what the previous researchers might have left out. The inference will focus at correlating the findings with the current state of affairs in the country. These data will help give the background information into the underlying impacts of cocaine trafficking to the country after which subsequent research will proceed. More publications of the law enforcement agencies such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime will also provide useful information to the situation. The findings will be recorded awaiting analysis and drawing of conclusions. Conclusion The incidence of cocaine trafficking in conjunction with the geographical location and the unstable government systems in Guinea-Bissau has negatively impacted the current economic and political developments of the country. The country continues to experience complex security crisis with threats to the officials who dare to question the cocaine cartels’ movements. The cartels threaten the officials by murder and have murdered those who tried to seize their practices. The primary cause for the continual rise in the cocaine movement into and across the country is attributable to the inadequate law enforcement agencies in the country. The body lacks proper infrastructure and intelligence to help control the cocaine trade, therefore, facilitating the trade. The current poverty state of the county’s population and the inadequate salaries also affect the agencies’ actions to control the trade since the cartels offer large amounts of bribes to the police and the head officials. The presence of government officials in the trafficking business also poses as threats towards controlling the trafficking trade. The United Nations should, therefore, eliminate the cocaine trade by first noting the lead government officials involved in the trade. The government should then offer more employment opportunities with more promising returns to attract the unemployed who would otherwise act as cocaine distributors. References Abadinsky, H. (2007). Organized Crime (8th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. Print. Figueira, D. (2012). Cocaine Trafficking in the Caribbean and West Africa in the Era of the Mexican Cartels. Bloomington: Universe. Print. Lyman, M. (2011). Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control (6th Ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson. Print. Pędziwiatr, K., Kugiel, P., & Dańda, A. (2011). Current Challenges to Peace Building Efforts and Development Assistance.Tischner European University. Print. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2010). World Drug Report 2010. Vienna, Austria: United Nations. Print. United Nations, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2010). The Globalization of Crime: A Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment. New York. Print. United Nations: International Narcotics Control Board. (2007). Report of the International Narcotics Control Board 2006. NY: United Nations. Print. Read More