The Drug Trade

Abstract

The Drug Trade: A Political Act A captured Taliban underscored, “Whether it is by opium or by shooting, this is our common goal [to harm all infidels as part of jihad].” This concept of harm causation through criminal activity has not only been seen among jihadi terrorist groups but was given as a justification for the drug trade in Peru decades ago. “Coca cultivation is a political act in a much fuller sense than is conventional criminal behavior. By cultivating coca, one is not only enhancing one’s own income, one is also contributing – intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly to Sendero Luminoso’s efforts to depose the government.” Using the drug trade as part of a terrorist strategy sets terrorists apart from ordinary criminals. They have a political as well as a financial agenda. But terrorists engage in the drug trade, as do a wide variety of actors – criminals, insurgents, and corrupt officials – because it generates large profits relative to investment. In the drug trade we see visible and consistent dirty entanglements that are key to its successful operation. Drug trade is a crime of choice for diverse nonstate actors because risks of confiscation and arrest are relatively small relative to potential gains.