Drug Trafficking in Guinea-Bissau - Coursework Example

Drug Trafficking in Guinea-Bissau of the of the Drug Trafficking in Guinea-Bissau Introduction The Republic of Guinea-Bissau acquired the dubious status of the first West African nation that functioned as a major narcotics trafficking center. This nefarious activity commenced in the year 2004, when drug traffickers from South America arrived at Bissau, its capital city, and took up residence at that place. These criminals conducted their drug trafficking activity, by camouflaging it as the export of fish and cashew nuts. Within three years, they managed to compromise the nation, and were provided with military protection and legal impunity (Gibson, 2013). The strategic importance of this region derives from the fact that it is located between South America, which has the total coca leaves crop of the world, and the lucrative markets of the European nations. The intoxicant cocaine is obtained from coca leaves. The West African region is steeped in political instability, rampant corruption, and has airspaces and coastlines that are unguarded (Gibson, 2013). These factors make it very convenient for the drug traffickers. Moreover, small airplanes are employed for transporting cocaine from South America, across the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, cargo ships and commercial fishing vessels are used for this purpose. This transportation is in bulk, and it is then transferred to Europe by couriers, or overland and then across the Mediterranean Sea into Europe (Gibson, 2013). The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has stated that West Africa has around 50% of the nations with the lowest scores on the UN Development Index. The West African region is characterized by highly unstable political systems and unsteady economies. The government officials of the nations of these regions have reiterated their helplessness to address the drug trafficking menace. Some of the reasons cited for this gross incompetence are; paucity of economic resources, and the dismal absence of sufficient arms, ammunition and personnel to bring this activity to a standstill. As such, this region has emerged as a major nuisance for the European nations, due to the enormous quantities of cocaine that transit through it. For instance, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) had estimated that in the year 2006, 40 tonnes of cocaine, worth US$ 1.8 billion had been transported through West Africa to Europe (Gibson, 2013). Consequently, urban America underwent a narcotics epidemic, during the 1980s. This was principally on account of the enormous quantities of cocaine from South America that had gained entry into the United States of America (US). Subsequently, the US Government undertook major initiatives to prevent this deadly influx of cocaine from South America. As a consequence, the drug traffickers of South America transferred their activities to the European nations (Gibson, 2013). The strength of the Euro and the open borders of that region resulted in the rapid expansion of such activity. As of 2007, the wholesale price of a kilogram of uncut cocaine in Spain was around US$ 40,000, which was approximately twice the price in the US. The law enforcement agencies of Europe scrutinized the maritime and air routes from South America to their region, and confiscated major consignments of cocaine. In order to circumvent these officials, the South American drug traffickers resorted to diverting the cocaine to West Africa and then transporting it to Europe. In the period from 2005 to 2007, around 33 tonnes of cocaine being transported from West Africa to Europe were confiscated. Prior to this period, the annual quantity of seized cocaine for the African continent had usually been less than one tonne. Interpol had estimated for the year 2007 that around 67% of the cocaine to be transported to Europe, passed through West Africa (Gibson, 2013). Moreover, Guinea-Bissau has been beset with extreme poverty and political chaos, on a nearly permanent basis. In addition, from 2005, it has been compelled to envisage the drug menace. The exacerbation of Guinea-Bissau’s problems commenced in the year 2004, with the arrival of the cocaine traffickers from South America. These criminals examined the country and realized the advantage provided by the 90 coastal islands in this territory. It did not take them long to conclude that Guinea-Bissau was the ideal place of transit for drugs originating in South America, which was nearby, to the enormously wealthy markets of Europe (Africas first narco-state, 2012, p. 21). The UNDOC arrived at the estimation that approximately a fourth of the cocaine consumed in the European nations, passed through West Africa, and that most of this cocaine came from Guinea-Bissau. It took just five years for Guinea-Bissau to be labelled as the first narcotics state of the world. This cocaine trade has been recorded by some media personnel (Africas first narco-state, 2012, p. 21). After the arrival of cocaine consignments from Latin America, the cocaine is divided into smaller consignments that are transported by fast boats to Morocco or Senegal, or conveyed by road through Mauritania and across the Sahara to the Mediterranean coast. Four wheel drive vehicles that are heavily armed traverse regions that are under the control of Al Qaeda and other Islamic terrorists. These Islamic terrorists are paid by the drug traffickers, to ensure the safe passage of their vehicles, consignments, and personnel (Africas first narco-state, 2012, p. 21). The Interpol has stated that since 2006, West African cocaine trafficking has provided funds that were utilized in a number of Islamic terrorist attacks. In addition, to the topography, drug traffickers have been tremendously assisted by the poverty, weak governance, corruption, inept law enforcement and social services of this region. The coast remains unguarded, and the police do not have cars or even handcuffs. Moreover, the jail permits prisoners to leave the premises every day for four hours (Africas first narco-state, 2012, p. 21). The governance hiatus in Guinea-Bissau is alarming, and constitutes the reason behind this nation’s emergence as an important hub for the international illegal arms and cocaine trade. This development has resulted in destabilizing influences upon international and US interests. In addition, this ever growing illegal activity has become enmeshed with the Islamic terrorist networks of the region. On account of this trafficking, a number of terrorist groups have been provided with financial assistance, which impede the political and economic development of this region (Hoffman, 2014). Nevertheless, the Republic of Guinea-Bissau enjoyed a semblance of stability, until the assassination of President Viera and General Na Waie. Up to that juncture, this nation appeared to be controlled by certain corrupt military and government officials. A coup détat had been attempted by some disgruntled military personnel, which did not meet with success. On the whole, Guinea-Bissau did not seem to be on the verge of being transformed into a failed nation (Bybee, 2009, p. 18). The UNDOC termed Guinea-Bissau as a shell state, or a nation that merely depicted superficial stability. This distressing situation had arisen due to the collaboration between criminals and the corrupt government officials. In fact, President Viera had allied with the South American drug traffickers. This country was termed a narco-state or a nation that was controlled by drug cartels that had effectively corrupted its institutions. Law enforcement was discerned to be conspicuous by its absence (Bybee, 2009, p. 18). Theories of Critical Criminology Critical criminology had chiefly been seized with corporate and white-collar crimes, and other crimes of the powerful. It had been contended by the left-wing scholars that the description of crime, and the ideas regarding who violates legal and social standards, were controlled principally, by the class and race interests of Europe and North America. The left realists conceded this position and expressed concern over the crimes committed by economic and political elites, and the zero tolerance policing that had been adopted by law enforcement agencies, across the world. It was emphasized by the left realists that the economically and socially excluded sections of society were victimized by the crimes of the powerful, as well as the street crimes committed by the lower class (DeKeseredy & Schwartz, 2011, p. 106).Thus, these individuals were targeted from above and below. In addition, critical criminology is founded on the perception that crime is a function of the conflict to be found in society. The proponents of this theory claim that crime is the outcome of class and economic conflict. In addition, the purpose of legislation is to safeguard the entities that are in power and to promote their interests. Moreover, the purpose of criminal law is to protect the wealthy and powerful, whilst simultaneously exercising control over the poor and deprived sections of society. Crime is committed by the poor, on account of their anger, frustration, and need. On the other hand, the wealthy commit illegal acts, as they are habituated to competition, and as they desire to preserve their position in society (Siegel, 2012, p. 290). Left Realism From the point of view of the left realists, serious violent crime is a function of community deprivation, economic inequality, and the absence of supportive institutions that are the hallmark of contemporary modern society. Crony capitalism has been squarely blamed for the economic disparity that exposes some citizens to the risk of a crime, whilst protecting others from such danger. It is the contemporary trend to bestow substantial rewards upon chief executive officers (CEOs) for terminating the services of employees and outsourcing jobs to the developing nations (Siegel, Criminology: The Core, 2014, p. 212). This enhances corporate profits to the detriment of employees’ remuneration. Additionally, increase in economic disparity is usually accompanied by crime and drug abuse. This is where the theory of left realism diverges from the traditional liberal criminology. The latter regards criminals as individuals who have been unsuccessful in society, and it considers crime to be the outcome of such failure. Due to the non-availability of opportunity, people resort to crime. On the other hand, left realists contend that there can be no deprival of legitimate opportunities, as the latter had not been in existence, in the first place. The extant capitalist socio-economic system produces inequality, injustice, social fragmentation, and a difficult and unsupportive culture (Siegel, Criminology: The Core, 2014, p. 212). This perspective distinguishes left realists from liberal criminologists. The crime problem could be solved upon implementing a socialist economy; however, crime in the existing system has to be controlled. This has been conceded by the left realists, who believe that such controlling measures were urgently required, and that it would be impractical to await the development of an ideal society. The left realists contend that the victims of crime, regardless of their social class, have to be safeguarded, and that the community has to be protected from crime. They do not regard the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, as necessarily being the evil devices of capitalism (Siegel, Criminology: The Core, 2014, p. 212). The necessity of the police and the courts has been acknowledged by the left realists. In addition, the focus of the left realists is upon pragmatic measures that can mitigate the problem of crime. For instance, the scholars Kinsey, Lea and Young provided several suggestions for modifying policy to achieve this salutary effect. This was in their eminent work, “Losing the Fight Against Crime (1986)”. New policing techniques are undertaken by the law enforcement agencies, when there is an absence of information that is essential for solving crime. This produces a transition towards the so called military policing. In the absence of community support, the police have to adopt drastic procedures, such as, stopping and searching large numbers of people or employing surveillance technology to locate suspects (Left Realism and Crime, 2014). Such actions produce unrest in society. Since the late 1980s, the world has favored a zero-tolerance to crime approach. In many instances, this has resulted in grossly inequitable consequences and an increase in police abuse. With regard to weak law enforcement institutions and high criminality, this approach has been singularly unsuccessful in reducing crime. At the same time, the zero-tolerance to crime approach, in such contexts, has generated new problems. Resources allocated to repressive programs weaken investigative capacity. In addition, there is an absence of prioritization of crimes and criminal groups, which frequently diverts the attention of the law enforcement agencies from the most serious and violent offences and criminal groups (Felbab-Brown, 2013). Nevertheless, there is a significant flaw with the zero-tolerance approach to crime. For instance, in the US this approach has on occasion resulted in an increase in human rights and civil liberties infringements. Moreover, the number of incarcerated persons increases, which serves to enhance the costs to society. With regard to the Latin American nations, several of which have high levels of criminal violence, zero-tolerance to crime translates into preventing drug trafficking and destroying organized crime. Evidently these are almost impossible to realize. Upon reducing the violence associated with drug trafficking, there is a weakening of the grip exercised by criminal gangs on society (Felbab-Brown, 2013). This increases the confidence of the populace in the government. It has been the endeavor of drug law enforcement to limit the extent of the illicit drug market, by destroying drug production, distribution and retail supply. When this is not possible, the focus has been to restrict these activities to such an extent that the potential drug abusers cannot access these intoxicating substances. However, these strategies have been unable to limit the availability of drugs (Felbab-Brown, 2013). This has caused several nations to manage drugs in a manner that would minimize harm to the community. The criminology theories do not identify the reason behind specific crimes. In addition, they cannot explain the reason behind one individual committing armed robbery, whilst another indulges in theft. In the absence of knowledge, as to why a crime takes place, it is very difficult to develop an effective system to prevent recidivism. The term crime encompasses a vast array of offenses, such as drunkenness, molestation, drug trafficking, manslaughter, and murder (Zastrow, 2009, p. 295).This variation makes it unlikely that any one theory can provide an explanation for the causes of each and every type of crime. Conclusion The reasons for the proliferation of drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau are its geographic location, political instability, poverty and rampant corruption. The adherents of the critical theory have contended that the existing crime problem is the outcome of the capitalist economic system. The latter, according to these individuals, promotes crime by compelling the exploitation of one section of society by the other. The major flaw with this theory is that it is unable to explain the reason behind the occurrence of crime in societies that are not based on the capitalist economic model, such as the communist countries. As such, the theory of left realism is based on the notion that crime occurs in a nation due to conflict in class and in the economy. This concept is inapplicable to Guinea-Bissau where there are no such class or economic variations among the different communities. This is because the entire nation is poverty stricken and backward. As such, left realism is unsuccessful in identifying the reasons for the prevalence of drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau. However, it can be applied to some of the developed nations of the world, such as the US, where drug trafficking from West Africa caused economic losses. Thus, the contention of the left realists that crime results from economic disparity, could be true to some extent. In addition, the left realists acknowledged the importance of the police and judiciary, in controlling crime. In Guinea-Bissau, law enforcement failed in controlling the drug trafficking. As such, this theory was correct to the extent that it rightly projected the importance of the police in controlling crime. According to the left realists, the wealthy and powerful elites are supported by the law enforcement agencies, while the poor and deprived are subjected to excessive control. This proved to be true in the case of Guinea-Bissau, where the inept law enforcement supported the drug traffickers. It can be surmised that geographic location, political instability, poverty and corruption constitute the primary reasons for the prevalence of drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau. References Africas first narco-state. (2012). New Internationalist(455), 21. Bybee, A.-L. (2009). The Narco-Curse in West Africa. New Voices in Public Policy, 3(2), 1-22. DeKeseredy, W. S., & Schwartz, M. D. (2011). Left realism. In W. S. DeKeseredy, & M. Dragiewicz, Handbook of Critical Criminology (pp. 105-116). New York, NY, USA: Routledge. Felbab-Brown, V. (2013). Modernising Drug Law Enforcement. London, UK: International Drug Policy Consortium. doi:http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2013/03/drug%20law%20enforcement%20felbabbrown/drug%20law%20enforcement%20felbabbrown Gibson, H. (2013). Transatlantic triangle: Proliferation of narcotics trafficking in Guinea-Bissau. Retrieved December 14, 2014, from Consultancy Africa Intelligence: http://www.consultancyafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=417&Itemid=220 Hoffman, M. (2014). Guinea-Bissau and the South Atlantic Cocaine Trade. Retrieved December 14, 2014, from Center for American Progress: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/report/2013/08/22/72557/guinea-bissau-and-the-south-atlantic-cocaine-trade/ Left Realism and Crime. (2014). Retrieved December 14, 2014, from History Learning Site: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/left_realism_crime.htm Siegel, L. (2012). Criminology: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies. Belmont, CA, USA: Cengage Learning. Siegel, L. (2014). Criminology: The Core. Stamford, CT, USA: Cengage Learning. Zastrow, C. (2009). Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare: Empowering People. Belmont, CA, USA: Cengage Learning. Read More