Synopses & Reviews
The Latin Amnerican drug trade has become one of the major problems confronting the United States in the late twentieth century. The key dynamic of that trade is cocaine, which is primarily produced in the Andean nations of Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. The cocaine trade's influence, however, has spread outwards into other Andean states--Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Moreover, countries on the Andean periphery, such as Panama, have become enmeshed in the trade as transit points and money-lanudering centers. This book examines the cocaine trade in the Andean states and Panana with a special emphasis given to the relationship between cocaine and power.
MacDonald examines the linkages between the political and economic power of those in the cocaine trade, the narcotraficantes, and the governments in the region. Important parts of this issue are the drug-insurgency nexus and the significance of the debt crisis. Although the book concentrates on the structure of the cocaine industry in the Andean states and Panama, the final chapters offer policy options on how to contend with the problem.
Review
A study examines the structure of the cocaine trade in the Andean nations-Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela-and in Panama. Linkages are explored between the political and economic power of those in the cocaine trade-the 'narcotraficantes'-and the governments in the region. Policy options are assessed.Criminal Justice Abstracts
Synopsis
"MacDonald . . . [provides] us with a concise, well-researched overview of how cocaine became a national security threat to the United States and other countries. . . . MacDonald has written a concise volume that provides us with the background necessary to develop the needed policy." Defense &Diplomacy
Synopsis
"MacDonald . . . [provides] us with a concise, well-researched overview of how cocaine became a national security threat to the United States and other countries." Defense &Diplomacy
About the Author
SCOTT B. MACDONALD is the Chief International Economist for Maryland National Corporation in Baltimore.
Table of Contents
Foreword
About the Author
Summary
A Mountain High-Problem
Colombia: Where the Avalanche Begins
Peru and Bolivia: Where Cocaine Is King
Venezuela, Ecuador, and Chile: Future Avalanches
Panama: At the End of the Avalanche
Policy Options for the United States
Notex
Index