Bolivia: A Hub for Criminal Disaster due to Underdevelopment

Subsequently, all of these factors working together makes Bolivia a hub for criminal disaster. It is evident that in the case of Bolivia, the main reason why it has made such strides in becoming one of the front runners of the drug trade in Latin American is because of how under developed it is. This lack of development in the social and political structures makes it easily susceptible to individuals with low moral compasses, Individuals in positions of power fall victim to corruption and bribery because they have no stander of proper law to look to in terms of moral and strength. Bolivia's current state would prove that it is difficult to establish and maintain a justice system in a state where this sort of government and social structure

never truly existed or succeeded, this could make Bolivia a case for foreign intervention.
Colombia is Latin American region that usually comes to mind just as easily as Mexico does in conversations of the drug trade. The nation of Colombia is one where the production and distribution of illegal narcotics is highly saturated in pop culture in North America. The primary substance that put Colombia on the drug map is cocaine. Since the 1980s, Colombia became notions for its drug lord Pablo Escobar and the success of the Medellin cartel. Through this successful empire, a kilo of cocaine would be valued at $1,500, but then could be appraised at a higher value in Mexico and Europe, being valued at $16,000 and $77,000 respectively. Out of many Latin American nation that take part in the illegal narcotics industry, Colombia is one that does well in terms of its GDP. Colombia’s standing in the world economy serves as a testament to other ares in which it has sustain itself and its inhabitants, serving as a leading coffee producer as well as taking part in the cosmetic industry with services such as plastic surgery and other body modifications. This is what causes Colombia to differ from other nations in that its social strict is a lot stronger that than of a country such as Bolivia. This strength in social saturate means a stronger government. While it does have its fair share of corruption, the bloodshed due to the drug industry and the war on drugs is relatively less when compared to that of Mexico.
The industry of illegal narcotics is one that has been around for decades and its an industry that has stayed alive for so long because of how much money it is able to bring in.

Despite the question of which country is doing the producing or distributing, the issues that the respective nations face remains the same. The drug trade turns nations into war battle grounds for opposing cartels and smaller gang factions, it provides no positive and optimistic future for the youth who are plagued by the violence and crime every day of their lives. The drug trade provides yet another issue for governments who are trying to combat issues such as debt and poverty. Here we have a multibillion dollar industry primarily in many countries that could be categorized as being part of the “third world,” the whole notion is a paradox. This leads one to the question of what can and should be done. Do the leaders of Latin American nations continue to combat an industry that arguably hold more power than they do or do these governments use this lucrative industry to their benefit in hopes of regulating it in such a way that it could then support the economy and bring the state out of poverty and debt, raising the GDP in an somewhat unconventional way. Essentially, the drug trade wouldn’t exists nor would it be so successful if there was no need for illegal substances and abuse of them. It’s hard to compare the variations of involvement from country to country because they are all suffering from the same injustice. One might find that if the approach that is currently sprouting in the United States, where the decriminalization of marijuana is becoming more widespread, was used in these in these Latin American counties, if this would still be such an issue, “Some Latin American analysts anticipated that the possible passage of California’s Proposition 19 in November 2010 – which sought to legalize the cultivation, distribution, and possession of marijuana in the state – would signal the

beginning of the end of the U. S.-led “war on drugs” and allow Mexico and other countries in the region to move away from the “prohibitionist” strategy that has generated so much drug-related violence throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years.” On the surface, you could argue that the main issue that causes part of the violence is the illegal nature of it all. If these cartels were given control of the industry, but would then receive taxes from the government and other forms of regulation such as quality control, this could solve many world issues. The realization arises where we are forced to come to terms with the fact that as long as the need for these narcotics remains, so will the the methods to fulfill those needs. The methods we've seen used by the Latin American countries that take part in the dug trade is basically a war on drugs declared by the respective presidents. However, while moral just, this war on being facilitated by these governments is very much a never ending struggle. While the alternative of allowing theses recreational narcotics to be produced and distributes legally could serve as a positive, there are inherent negative effects that legalization could have as well such as in the example of marijuana, “Second, legalization of marijuana, if and when it occurs, will not address the issues – production, processing, trafficking, and distribution – raised by the criminal activity, violence, and corruption spawned by trafficking of harder drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines, among others. Criminal gangs in Mexico and elsewhere in the hemisphere will most likely move away from marijuana to deeper involvement in still-illegal drugs; organized crime and drug-related violence will continue.”
Taking all of theses factors into consideration when regarding the drug trade of Latin America and how it interacts with other nations such as the United States and Europe, it is evident that there is somewhat of a prisoners dilemma. Here exists a billion dollar industry that has ben fluorescing since the 1970s, one that governments have only made small successes is stopping, one that does not look like it will stop anytime soon as long as the demand for the product is there. As the world moves tornados legalization of certain drugs, could we see that unanimously over the course of the next few decades. One might find that this war on drugs is one that will never cease to end because of the conflict between these industries of crime and government having their differences on the need for federal regulation.