Memo: Latin America

Memorandum on Coca in Colombia

To: Rex Tillerson

From: Grace Picariello

Subject: Coca in Colombia

Date: April 20, 2017

Cc: Mark Shirk

Coca is a crop that is used exclusively to make cocaine, a highly addictive stimulant drug that is a huge problem worldwide. The Coca plant is Colombia’s most profitable crop; it has been for decades. PBS explains that, “what started as a small cocaine smuggling business has, in the last thirty years, blossomed into an enormous multi-national cocaine empire” (PBS). The National Colombian Police believe there to be approximately three hundred active drug smuggling organizations in Colombia today. The industry has fragmented, so different groups have different jobs when it comes to growing and transporting the coca. For example, one group smuggles the drugs from Colombia to Mexico. One group is in control of the jungle labs. Another group deals with the transportation of coca from fields to labs. The list goes on. The task of the United States is to stop coca from entering our borders and lessen the presence of corrupt cartels in Latin America, specifically Colombia.

Currently, the United States is doing very little to stop cocaine from illegally entering the country from Latin America. The United States has used traditional strategies in the past, such as banning the use of drugs altogether, eradicating the crops, and using the military to battle the growers of the drugs. Latin American people and governments are resisting these efforts and initiatives. The New York Times claims, “the resistance reflects the declining influence of the United States in Latin America and a sweeping sense that its methods to fight drugs in the region have failed” (New York Times). The United States population is aiding in this growing industry as the citizens have an increasingly high demand for the drug. As a result of this, the prices are increasing and the appeal to become involved in the industry is rising.

I propose that the United States make every effort to stop the flow of cocaine from Latin America to U.S. borders. One way is to increase border security and conduct more drug searches and tests. Next, schools in the United States, unanimously, should tighten up and expand their drug education courses and programs. If the younger generation was more knowledgeable about the effects that drug use has on themselves, their friends, their family, and their community, the education department might deter more children and teenagers from ever beginning to use drugs. If the demand for cocaine in the United States goes down, so will the growth of coca in Colombia. More importantly, drug cartels and corruption in the industry will lessen when they are making less money from the crop. Although we cannot control the rate at which Colombians grow and transport coca, we can drive the need for the crop and the price the consumer is willing to pay for it, down.

Colombia is one of the largest producers and exporters of the crop coca, which is used to make the illegal, highly addictive drug, cocaine. Cartels in Latin America are highly corrupt and consistently exploit farmers in the area. The United States is contributing to this by maintaining a high demand for the drug, which is increasing the price of the crop, as well as the amount being grown on farms in Colombia and elsewhere. Through drug education and the increase of drug searches at our borders, the U.S. will be able to reduce the consumption and demand of the drug, and reduce the presence of corrupt cartels in Colombia.