Due to its status as the focal point of the cocaine trade, Medellin, Colombia, was dubbed the “most dangerous city on Earth” by TIME magazine at the height of the cartel’s power. It bore the highest homicide rate and was plagued by civil conflict, which set the stage for illicit drug trafficking to occur. Presently, it ranks as the 49th most dangerous city, and it is speculated by both the DEA and Colombian National police that more than 300 drug smuggling organizations are active within Colombia today, all contributing to the unwavering profits of the $10 billion dollar industry. Despite this fact, Medellin has become one of the most innovating cities in the world by creating a space filled with justness and creativity through its efforts
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Pablo Escobar had always dreamt of riches and glory, but in his early days the extent of his crimes amounted to petty thefts and scams along with the smuggling of contraband. His relationship with cocaine first began with him personally smuggling the substance from Colombia to Panama; within seven years he was in control of the world’s largest, wealthiest, and most violent cartel. Its closest rival, the quieter and more sophisticated Cali cartel, run by the Orejuela brothers, paled in comparison—but together, they accounted for eighty percent of the world’s cocaine by the mid 1990s.
Despite the success of the booming drug industry itself, the economy of Colombia suffered because the drug industry had negative consequences on factors such as employment, land ownership, money laundering, and income equality. The effects of the industry from a social and political perspective also affected the economy, as “political violence has a greater quantifiable impact on Colombia’s national economy than does the drug …show more content…
For example, rural farmers began the cultivation of coca plants in the place of their usual crops, such as coffee. But over time, employment rates in this sect declined, as some couldn’t participate in the coca production, or as their crops were destroyed by the government with chemicals. This bred a long term consequence for those involved in agriculture, because the nature of the chemicals used to kill off the illegal crops also prevented the growth of legal crops in the future, leading to a long-term decline in productivity.
In a similar manner, money laundering had a negative effect on the economy due to its impact on the legal imports into Colombia. Drug traffickers would purchase goods such as household appliances, clothing, textiles and cigarettes outside the country, and smuggle them inside, selling them for less than they were worth. This caused the legitimate vendors of these items to suffer because they couldn’t compete with the prices the cartels offered. In addition, the industries that produced the items within Colombia also felt this flux in the market, and as a result, offered less opportunities for
Pablo Escobar had always dreamt of riches and glory, but in his early days the extent of his crimes amounted to petty thefts and scams along with the smuggling of contraband. His relationship with cocaine first began with him personally smuggling the substance from Colombia to Panama; within seven years he was in control of the world’s largest, wealthiest, and most violent cartel. Its closest rival, the quieter and more sophisticated Cali cartel, run by the Orejuela brothers, paled in comparison—but together, they accounted for eighty percent of the world’s cocaine by the mid 1990s.
Despite the success of the booming drug industry itself, the economy of Colombia suffered because the drug industry had negative consequences on factors such as employment, land ownership, money laundering, and income equality. The effects of the industry from a social and political perspective also affected the economy, as “political violence has a greater quantifiable impact on Colombia’s national economy than does the drug …show more content…
For example, rural farmers began the cultivation of coca plants in the place of their usual crops, such as coffee. But over time, employment rates in this sect declined, as some couldn’t participate in the coca production, or as their crops were destroyed by the government with chemicals. This bred a long term consequence for those involved in agriculture, because the nature of the chemicals used to kill off the illegal crops also prevented the growth of legal crops in the future, leading to a long-term decline in productivity.
In a similar manner, money laundering had a negative effect on the economy due to its impact on the legal imports into Colombia. Drug traffickers would purchase goods such as household appliances, clothing, textiles and cigarettes outside the country, and smuggle them inside, selling them for less than they were worth. This caused the legitimate vendors of these items to suffer because they couldn’t compete with the prices the cartels offered. In addition, the industries that produced the items within Colombia also felt this flux in the market, and as a result, offered less opportunities for