A nation’s environmental connections and geographical location affects so much of its points of development. Relatively, for a nation like Columbia, such condition of developmental chaos has been evident especially in the manner by which the nation tries to survive its battle against drug production and distribution in the country. When a country is surrounded by various countries and when some cities are near each other, will they have similar culture and traditions? Also, will they have some illegal issue when they have various borders? I hypothesized that the cities near each other by the border lane would have similar tradition and culture. The focus was held to Colombia in South America. Colombia is a country surrounded by five different countries and have couple of cities situated near the border. Also, Colombia has been having some serious issues with drugs for years. It is because Colombia is the very first country that is connected to Central America and there are many possible ways to make an illegal trade by using different borders and the Amazon. In the discussion that follows, an understanding on how the surrounding nations influence the stand of Colombia against drugs shall be given attention. Assessing the value of culture in line with the country’s fight against drugs, this presentation shall put specific consideration on how the general developing culture in the neighboring countries around Colombia basically affect the overall condition of the government’s capacity to fight both local and international drug operations that largely impact their fight against the said type of addiction.
There are other elements that further make the battle against drugs much harder to contend with, and one of these elements include the nuemoris conflicts that the country shares with its neighbors. For instance, Venezuela has one of the most conflicts with Colombia compared to the other countries. History notes that Colombia and Venezuela had particular territorial conflicts which cause the two countries to have distinct troubles when it comes to determining the limits of the power that the government has over particular regions in both countries. However, Colombia and Venezuela have a serious process to get across. The Wayuu tribe living in the cities of Maicao and Maracaibo as well as Villa del Rosario instills on the fact that this tribe lives in between the borders of both Venezuela and Colombia. Because of this arrangement, people in these cities share a common ground of culture notable recognized as both Colombian and Venezuelan. In a way, the amalgamation of these regions from both countries unites the cultures and traditions that the people from these nations take into account.
Meanwhile, Most of the South American region has been captured by Spain and Portugal. They have spared the Western culture and influenced their architecture and culture in these regions. Thus, many countries in South America have similar buildings from that era. However, right after the liberation from Spain and Portugal, countries in northern region of South America experienced conflicts against each other because of cultural and economical difficulties. However, in mid of 1900’s, Colombia gathered countries near them to have a trade agreement notably known as the Andean Community (CAN), including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. From this arrangement also spurred out the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) wherein the nations involved are notably accepting the possibility of developing common cultures with other nations that are enjoined within the group.
Relatively, having common passes between borders, the neighboring countries around Colombia are able to go beyond the borders. With the CAN and FTA arranged agreements, it could be seen that such relationship between these nations has even developed further. What is evidently true though is the fact that when it comes to influence, the effect of these agreements on the countries involved include both the positive and negative effects. What constitutes good effect of these agreements is the fact that the nations included in the agreement are able to give their support towards each other and become more effective in getting the necessary economic assistance they might need as well. In short, the main aim of the agreements is to make sure that the neighboring regions would support each other and become more effective in growing economically as a single unit.
However, at the back of such expectations comes a looming risk. One of which is the easier passes that each nation has towards each other when it comes to accessing particularly controlled substances across the borders. Columbia, being a naturally rich nation when it comes to natural resources, and having some of its regions purely dedicated to agriculture, has the capacity to produce different crops and different resources. Considering the economic standing of Colombia, the emergence of the nation’s monetary stability status is still in the process of growth. Hence, as a result, problems regarding economic standards and developments condition to loom over the minds of the civilians living in the country. The growth of the drug industry in the country posted so much danger in relation to the education, health and economy of the nation’s people. The problems were developing and the issues involving drug addiction and drug distribution became a huge issue to take note of. The government knew they had to take charge; but because of the large organizations protecting such operations, such option is not easy to take into account.
In a way, being a developing nation, the country’s people are in constant search of what might they be able to use to be able to survive life as it is. Consequently, not everyone is able to get a job that would support his own life or that of his family’s survival. As pressure grows tougher, the people get more desperate in clinging to uncanny solutions such as drug production and drug dealing. Planting coca around the remote areas of the country is easy. Not to mention that fact that harvesting the fruits is much more rewarding once it has been sold in the market for drug production. During the early 1980s, the discovery and birth of this particular agricultural feat in the nation bursts forth and affects the population of human individuals living in the country. Hearing about what such option of planting could give them or how much earning they might be able to get from such operations, many individuals [and even families] got into the trend, thus increasing coca production drastically. It was during these times that Colombia has been named as one of the top producers of coca [used for making cocaine] in a global scale; and the control of the reach and powerful leaders of the drug cartel ruled as the nation’s backbone. The government seemed to have been recognized less especially in relation to the authority it has over controlling such situations in the society.
What of the other nations surrounding Columbia? The relative connection of the country with other neighboring nations created a more distinct problem especially when it comes to the option of controlling the growth of drug industry within and even outside the country. Take note that the lack of distance between these nations makes Colombia vulnerable to illegal entry of individuals as well as the products they carry from the other part of the region. What makes such problem even worse is the fact that the nation’s foreign policy is not as strong as it is supposed to be, it is not able to easily detect scrupulous entrants into the country’s borders especially because of the fact that such condition of analysis and assurance may not be easy to handle for a country that has no point of isolation from its neighboring nations.
As a result to this, the creation of organized crimes brought about the emergence of large drug cartel groups that are able to plan out routes that their couriers could take within the country and outside its borders to be able to distribute the drugs they have produced. It is because of this fact that the nation has been named the top producers and distributor of coca around the globe. The culture of the people as well as their perception towards drugs has become rather scanty especially that they know that such industrial procedure allows them to earn more and gain more from their efforts compared to simply being employed in regular jobs within the legal terms of the government. The value for hard-earned money has created a rather impractical picture for most growers of coca. The people’s belief that they could get more from what they are ready to give invites them further into engaging in activities that would give them higher earnings.
Given the connection with the western region, the idea of commercialism has been passed on to the once untainted culture of Colombia. Its aboriginal groups used to remain connected and loyal to nature, not wanting anything besides their clothing, their shelter and enough food to eat. However, with the introduction of new age commerce, the change in appetite among aboriginals affected the solidity of their connection to nature. Due to this, people became open to uncanny and illegal procedures of earning money, believing that such options are necessary for them to survive life. With commercialism becoming the primary controlling machine in the country, it could not be ignored that the people living in the country gradually changed their attitude towards life.
Creating gangs and planning organized crimes to have drugs produced and distributed within and outside the country became an ‘in-thing’ during the 1980s. The expansion of the human society’s knowledge about the effects of illegal drugs into their mental and physical capacities has made drugs even more inviting to the people. The organizations handling such scrupulous activities became more aggressive in recruiting their members as well as their couriers. Given that the borders of the nation is not that hard to pass through, it could be imagined how fast the drug-culture has spread out of the nation and affected other neighboring countries as well.
With the abounding supply of coca in the country, they are able to entice other individuals from other countries to invest in the operation and gain more from the existence of the organizations that strongly depend on drug production and dealing. Greed, as one of the most common denominator among drug producers and distributors, has become the turning point for many individuals to willfully engage in the process of insisting on good drug-flow inside and outside of the country.
With larger groups controlling the system of development in the drug cartel operations, the government slowly lost its control on the situation. The cartel leaders have become more aggressive and evasive especially in the hope of getting the attention of the public. Along with larger groups came tougher competitions. It is due to this instance that drug cartel leaders needed to fight two distinct battles; one, against their fellow producers and distributors of drugs in the market, and two, against the government who wants to eradicate drug distribution in the country completely. Knowing that other neighboring countries are getting involved in the situation, the Colombian government needed to make sure that their resolutions would be agreeable to the government of the neighboring nations as well. It could be understood that with such agreement, the nation would be able to ask for the assistance of the outside governments in determining the route of distribution among gangs and organized groups as they utilize drugs and distribute it further to members of the community.
The aim of eradicating drug abuse and distribution became a united agreement between Colombia and the five other countries connected to it. Nevertheless, completely pointing out how to fix the issue depends on the stretch of how the situation has already affected the different points of living and culture that the nation chooses to embrace.
With the fight against drugs going on for many years, it could not be denied that the nation has incurred remarkable results. In 2010, it has been noted through reports that instead of being number 1 in the list of coca producers in the globe, Colombia entered at the second place [next to Peru in such category of identification]. This means that there has been a drastic change in the market and in the industry that produces drugs in the country. The number of operations dedicated to busting down dealers in the country has paid well im putting the responsible individuals behind bar. Relatively, the constant monitoring of the activities of the major organized groups in the nation allowed the government to take control of the situation.
True to its sense, the battle against drugs in Colombia was more of a battle against all odds. The government developed enemies from all sectors of the society as it engages in providing indicative guidelines on how to eradicate drugs in the country. Nevertheless, the nation’s leaders were as determined as possible making it easier for them to decide that when it comes to drug dealing and production, Colombia needs to be free from the snares of such addiction.
What of the culture of the people and their perception towards dugs. Colombia is a notable Christian country. Its culture is most often than not related to responding to the demands of a higher superior and responding to the needs of others accordingly. Nevertheless, other aboriginals both in the territory of Colombia come from pagan a belief which usually means they have a much liberate form of belief. This separation of belief often leads to a least controlling system. Allowing people do what they want is the key concept to such supposed unity between neighboring nations in Colombia. However, this does not mean that as people are allowed to grow and improve the way they want to, that they can engage in scrupulous business resources already. Hence, at present, the government continues to control the issues of drug production and dealing in the country. The neighboring nations are also trying to assist. However, as it could be imagined, each entity has a propaganda behind such operations and that there is always a bad side to anything that is good. In this case, eradicating drugs in the country would mean eradicating particular resources of the said operation which includes the lowering down of produce in coca products during the time of determined rearrangement of the nature of living in Colombia that is largely connected to the behavior of humans especially when it comes to perceiving drugs and understanding its role very well in their lives.
The compensation of hard work placed on how the government of Colombia was determined to manage the process of determining the path of drug production and distribution in the country is that of the fact that the nation was removed in the number one spot as the primary producer of coca that is used in making cocaine. However, it could not be denied that the government still has a lot of work to accomplish. First in line is the cessation or at least the management of the organized crimes produced by organized groups of drug cartels within the country and its neighboring nations as well. Practically, it could be analyzed that learning more from what has been done in the past gives the government a point of disadvantage that allows it to focus more on what has yet to be done.
Aboriginals need to be restored to their original culture. Their realization of the fact that they are the foundation of the Colombian community should be reestablished, therefore allowing them to see more of their worth than simply putting aside their origins and embracing the concept of commercial enlightenment and at some point engaging in scrupulous works of producing and distributing resources that are used for making illegal drugs. Starting within the roots of the problem is very important in this case. Allowing the people to become aware of their role in determining what drug is going to do to their community or the other way around shall provide them better options of shunning the influence of drugs and the pressure of modern commercial influences from neighboring nations.
Realizing the close connection of countries into the borders of Colombia posts a grave threat especially towards the idea of putting an end to the impact of drugs in the country. However, with a strategic process of handling the situation, the government could use such point of geographic weakness into their advantage as it would be easier to track down the route of the drug operations which would mean it would be much easier to handle the problem and resolve the issues related to drugs and organized crimes connected to it. Cooperation from the neighboring nations would also help so much.
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Felia Allum & Renate Siebert (2003). Organized Crime and the Challenge to Democracy. Routledge. pp. 98, 99, 100, 103.
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