Good Essay About How Has Violence And The Drug Trade Shaped The Creation Of Latin America As A World

Latin America refers to countries in the American region where romance languages are widely spoken. Some of the Latin American countries include Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, and Colombia. Through violence, corruption, and illegal trade of drugs, Latin America has captured the world attention in recent years.
The illegal drug trade in the Latin American region is primarily with regard to the production and the sale of cannabis and cocaine. The drug sales usually include exporting the same to countries such as the United States and the other European countries. Coca, which is used in the cultivation of cocaine, is commonly found in countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. These countries constitute the only places where Coca is available not only in the Latin American region but also in the whole world. Of note is that the consumption of drugs in the Latin American region is relatively law but the use of drugs such as Cocaine has been on the rise, especially along the countries used for smuggling the same. As such, most of the coke that is produced within the region is for export to other countries. As a result of the lucrative nature of the cocaine business, there has been emergence of drug trafficking organizations, popularly referred to as ‘drug cartels’. Such cartels have been most apparent in Mexico and Colombia. These cartels generate as much profits as 39 billion dollars from wholesale drug earnings per annum. The Cartels pose the greatest organized crime threat as yet, both in the Latin America region and in the United States.
Concerning violence, Latin America is the most violent region in the world today. It is estimated that one in three global murders occur in the region, in particular Mexico. According to the 2012 Wall Street Journal of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Study on Homicide, 31 percent of the total global homicides occurred in the Latin American region. The figure is high considering that the entire population of people in the region constitutes only 8 percent of the global population. Due to the existing and emerging drug cartels and their continued fighting for the control of the drug transit regions, Latin America has emerged as a center for violent crimes.