Drug-trafficking in the USA - Essay Example

Essay Assignment Question 1 – Available drugs, DTOs, trafficking methods Explain the primary traffickers and routes for each of the 5 major illicit drugs available in the United States (cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, and MDMA). Most of the drug-trafficking within the United States is done by drug trafficking organizations (DTO) that usually have a transnational presence, which is why they are often referred to as transnational criminal organizations (TCO). These organizations mainly belong to Mexico, Columbia, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and West Africa (US Department of Justice 2011, 7-10). The TCOs control much of the domains surrounding drug trafficking starting from production to transportation and finally distribution. Smuggling channel sallow for the entry of drugs into the United States that are controlled by several TCOs. A continued struggle persists to control the smuggling pathways in order to declare dominance of a particular TCO over the lucrative drug trade. Perhaps the largest supply of all five of the illicit drugs – including cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine and MDMA – occurs via Mexican drug cartels. Seven Mexican TCOs including Sinaloa Cartel, Los Zetas, Gulf Cartel, Juárez Cartel, BLO, LFM, and Tijuana Cartel dominate drug trade occurring through Mexico (US Department of Justice 2011, 7). In this regard, the economy of the drug trade very much resembles that of an oligopoly if not a monopoly. The presence of only few producers or sellers in the market – in this case, seven drug cartels – implies lower levels of competition and thus, greater control over price. In addition, the continued conflict between all seven of them for control over the smuggling passage, the US-Mexico border, represents an attempt over hegemonizing drug trade occurring from Mexican routes to ensure a complete monopoly by a single TCO. This has caused a lot of violence in Mexico in the past few years and the Mexican government has launched several campaigns to tackle the criminalized DTOs (Beittel 2011, 1). The Sinaloa Cartel supplies all five illicit drugs to expanded areas of the United States including cities and regions in the South. Los Zetas, Gulf Cartel and Juárez Cartel mainly sell cocaine and marijuana to regions including New York, Florida, Southeast, Southwest and so on. BLO supplies cocaine, heroin, and marijuana while the remaining two cartels – LFM and Tijuana Cartel – sell cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine in almost the same primary regions. Overall, Mexican TCOs have their presence in more than thousand cities of the United States (US Department of Justice 2011, 7). Columbian TCOs also operate in various cities of the United States but mainly as remains of larger drug cartels. Columbian TCOs are involved with producing two illicit drugs, heroin and cocaine, as well as its transportation across the Columbian border. Transportation occurs primarily via smuggling pathways involving both air and sea channels often transiting through the Caribbean. The primary regions of their operations are eastern markets of the US including major cities like New York and South Florida. Columbian TCOs also sell their drugs to Mexican traffickers and supply drugs to European markets (US Department of Justice 2011, 8). Ethnic Vietnamese TCOs, based out of Canada, are also active in the drug trade. They deal in MDMA and marijuana produced in Canada and smuggle them out of the country via the US-Canada border. The Northern Border acts as the main transportation route for the Canadian-based Asian traffickers. Then distribution finally occurs in the US market (US Department of Justice 2011, 9). Ethnic Dominican TCOs operating within the US have their connections with Columbian TCOs for obtaining drugs for distribution in the US domestic market. They mainly sell heroin, cocaine, and marijuana in the Northeast and Southeast regions of the United States. Instead of having conventional attributes, Dominican TCOs are characterized by decentralized leadership and independent operations where the drugs are bought from Columbian suppliers while distribution is carried out by the Dominican gangs (US Department of Justice 2011, 9). Cuban trafficking organizations based in the United States are involved with drug production and distribution. Cuban traffickers consist of Cuban immigrants to the United States operating marijuana plantations and grow sites for distribution. Cuban TCOs operate in South Florida and other Southeastern states including Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina to prevent law enforcement authorities from finding the location of their cannabis plantations (US Department of Justice 2011, 9). Apart from South American-based TCOs, the United States also receives an influx of drugs from West African traffickers that deal in illicit drugs, mainly heroin. African TCOs have their presence globally where they purchase Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin to be brought into the US market. African TCOs operate largely in New York, Baltimore, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston, Detroit, and so on (US Department of Justice 2011, 10). Question 2 –U.S. and international policies, strategies, and objectives Compare the objectives of the UN drug control treaties and that of the United States drug laws; include the policies and strategies that support the objectives of each. Since the United Nations is an international governing body, its treaties have international acceptance. Three of the major drug control treaties made by the United Nations are Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, and United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. The United Nations drug control treaties are meant to combat drug abuse by controlling and intervening. Two strategies are mentioned in the 1961 convention: (1) limiting the possession, usage, trade, import, export, production, and distribution of drugs to be used only for medicinal and scientific purposes, and (2) using international cooperation to counter drug trafficking occurring on a transnational scale (“Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs” 2013). The Convention on Psychotropic Substances (2013) of 1971 introduces controls over psychotropic drugs to reduce their diversion into illicit drugs by expanding their spectrum. According to the convention, even synthetic drugs are controlled to prevent their diversion into illicit pathways thereby abusing drugs and chemicals that have a therapeutic value. Both conventions of 1961 and 1971 address the issue of drug trafficking to introduce measures of controlling drug abuse by classifying drugs based on their scientific, medical, or therapeutic usage so that they can be prevented from being diverted into illicit channels thereby leading to drug abuse. The conventions are especially important for the availability of narcotic and psychotropic drugs for legitimate purposes such as usage as a medicine, healer, or due to other therapeutic properties. This ensures that, while illicit drugs are prohibited and banned, the healthcare industry and other related chemical industries still receive the drugs to be used for appropriate purposes. International cooperation is an integral part of drug control campaigns as drug cartels are located across continents, which is why a global effort is required to tackle their international presence. Therefore, the UN conventions are primarily aimed at countering drug trafficking at a global level so as to address the core of drug abuse and trafficking. The 1988 UN convention is more recent and provides and expanded list of measures for countering drug trafficking by restricting the diversion of drugs in their precursor stages (“United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances” 2013). It addresses some other related aspects of drug trafficking by organized criminal drug lords such as money transfer and money laundering. By controlling money transfer and other dimensions of drug trade, the convention hopes to address the issue at a larger base so that drug cartels are tackled and the transportation of drugs is restricted across transnational borders. The convention again expresses its support of international cooperation in countering the issue. Drug laws in the United States have been either regulative or prohibiting. Historical records suggest that the US government, as early as the initial European settlements, have always made efforts to control drug usage by means of restrictive laws that limit the use of drugs. This is especially true for drugs like opium and cocaine that had been restricted for recreational consumption apart from conventional medicinal usage. US federal law has prohibited the use of drugs like marijuana and heroin due to their associations with criminal activities. Drug legalization campaigns exist in many states of the United States as Washington and Colorado legalized recreational usage of the drug. In most of the states, however, illicit drugs are illegal and possession of such drugs is liable for heavy charges. The most notable among the US drug laws is the Omnibus Drug Act of 1988 which placed requirements on plain and boat registrations to deal with money laundering, sales of ammunition, and other drug-related crimes. The law specifically addressed chemical diversion into illicit directions for drug production and introduced severe penalties for crimes such as money laundering, felony, and trafficking. The similarities and differences between US drug laws and the US drug control treaties are quite marked. The similarities include the motivation to counter drug trafficking by controlling usage, preventing diversion into illicit channels, introducing penalties, and inhibiting sales and other criminal activities related to drug trade. The similarities in their endeavors are quite obvious however they both differ in their scope where the US drug laws are primarily targeted towards their own federation and state. On the other hand, the UN treaties are much broader in their context exclusively occupying a global reach with an emphasis on international cooperation. This is very important considering the transnational presence of organized drug cartels that require international cooperation involving several countries to deal with a large issue like drug trade. Bibliography Beittel, June S. Mexico’s Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope Of The Rising Violence. Ebook. 1st ed. Congressional Research Service, 2011. National Drug Threat Assessment. Ebook. U.S. Department Of Justice: National Drug Intelligence Center, 2011. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 'Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances'. Last modified 2013. Accessed August 25, 2014. http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/illicit-trafficking.html. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 'Convention on Psychotropic Substances'. Last modified 2013. Accessed August 25, 2014. http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/psychotropics.html. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 'Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs'. Last modified 2013. Accessed August 25, 2014. http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/single-convention.html. Read More