ABSTRACT
The evolution of drug trafficking and organized crime in Latin America, as well as government strategies to fight these problems have driven unprecedented levels of violence, affected patterns of development and income distribution, and prompted structural economic changes in a number of countries. With the goal of reducing substance abuse and fighting drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, the United States and a number of Latin American countries have centred regional anti-narcotics policy and cooperation on supply-side efforts to combat the so-called drug cartels and Central American gangs that allegedly facilitate the drug trade. The United States has led and supported such efforts, which include the militarization of anti-drug trafficking operations in a scheme that is widely known as a “War on Drugs.”
