A Critical Review of Evolutionary Trends of Drug Trafficking in Guinea- Bissau

Abstract

Guinea-Bissau emerged as the most vulnerable drug trafficking country in the West African sub-region beginning from the onset of Cocaine trafficking which started in the early 2000s. This led to the country being dubbed by the global media as “Africa’s First Narco-State”. The study employed a desk-review research approach with the reports and evaluations obtained from secondary sources of data analyzed through content analysis. The study found that prolonged dominant military rule, limited civilian oversight over the security sector, weak institutions and endemic clientelism in Guinea-Bissau remain driving factors that led to the state being used by drug cartels as major trafficking hub for narcotic drugs. The study concluded that Guinea Bissau state qualify as a “Narco State” based on numerous evidential reports on high level corruption and penetration of the highest level of power by drug trafficking networks. The study therefore recommended that policy initiatives by the government of Guinea-Bissau should aim at strengthening the already weakened political economic structure through sustainable development and the provisions of socio-economic needs to the citizenry. Security sector reforms initiatives should be fully operationalized and interdiction strategies tailored towards responding to the challenges of drug trafficking while also targeting its ties with other transnational threats. Finally, the government of Guinea-Bissau should review their drug laws and policies and also ensure that the prosecutions of drug traffickers are made public as deterrence measure to others.