Organized Against Crime Policy Research
Drugs and Anti-Drug Policies in Latin America: Successes, Failures, and Wrong Turns
Nicolas Mejía
This paper analyzes the evolution of drug trafficking, its links to organized crime, and anti-drug policies in Latin America in recent decades. The analysis shows a historic increase in cocaine production over the past 10 years, the rise of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and the expansion of methamphetamine production. Despite decades of strategies aimed at reducing the supply of drugs—including crop eradication, interdiction, militarization, and the frontal war against drug trafficking and criminal organizations linked to this illegal activity—drug production and trafficking in the region have reached historic highs, shifting geographically and adapting technologically to the supply-reduction policies implemented in the different countries.
Empirical evidence shows that prohibitionist policies have had limited effects on drug availability and instead have generated high side effects, including high levels of violence, corruption, and institutional weakening. This paper also examines how criminal organizations linked to drug trafficking have evolved, diversifying into new illicit activities. It also analyzes consumption patterns in Latin America, which show a worrying increase in the prevalence of the use of substances such as marijuana, cocaine, and synthetic drugs, particularly among young people.
Finally, a reflection is presented on the need for a paradigm shift in anti-drug policies, which implies abandoning strictly repressive approaches in favor of evidence-based strategies. These should combine smart security policies and targeted deterrence, harm reduction, institutional strengthening, market regulation, and public health approaches to more effectively address the complex dynamics of drug trafficking and organized crime in the region.
