Colombia
Violence in modern Colombia takes place in many forms. The three major categories are crime, guerrilla activities, and attacks committed by drug traffickers. Violence has become so widespread and common in Colombia that many people have now become numb to it. The Colombian economy has also benefited from the illicit drug trade; however violent it may be. During the 1970s, Colombia became well known, as one of the world's most important drug processing, production, and distribution centers for marijuana and cocaine. The shrubs and plants from which both drugs are derived from and processed has been well known in Colombia for centuries, but until the 1970s drug refiners and traffickers had not taken full advantage. The chewing of coca leaves was very well known in the South American Inca Empire in the 11th century. The Incas, the Colombian Chibchas and other local ethnic groups have always attributed mythical and religious power to the bush and to the alkaloids that were extracted by its leaves by chewing on them. The existence of a drug, cocaine, which could be chemically extracted from large volumes of leaves was not discovered until 1884 by an Austrian ophthalmologist. Marijuana is a drug extracted from hemp, a plan
Colombians have come to feel that they cannot depend on public institutions to provide safety and see justice done. Another problem in measuring the amount of violence is that not all violent cases are reported. However, some geographical locations have been more prone to violence. During this decade, the homicide rate was 77. Most Colombians feel that the violence will continue unless the government takes the necessary reforms and makes the justice system truly effective and strictly enforce the law (Osterling). The yearly revenue of the Colombian cartels in the United States could reach as high as $25 billion, which are roughly 50 percent of Colombia's gross domestic product (Steiner). Even though this amount seem unimaginable, $500 million is still less than two percent of the entire take in the United States along from the Colombian cartels' cocaine sales each year. Law enforcement officers are victims of attacks from both guerrilla groups and drug traffickers. The Ministry of Agriculture was distributing these plants throughout the countryside of Colombia, and peasants and farmers were encouraged to plant them. Colombia has gained international fame as one of the major centers in the world for drug trafficking. Compared to cocaine, the United States Embassy in Bogota assumed that a US market of 17 tons, 80 percent of that was supplied by Colombians. "War Systems in Colombia," Journal of Interamerican studies and World Affairs, Vol.
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Acceptance Essays
