Drug Trade In Colombia

I- Introduction
A major disruptive factor in Colombia nowadays is the illicit drug trade which had and still has a considerable weight on the political, economic and social stability of the country. To understand more the current situation of the Republic of Colombia, we will first examine its recent history focusing on the 20th century and the key events that led to its situation now.
Colombia has witnessed two civil war already, both caused by the tensions between its two dominant political parties, “the War of the Thousand Days” between 1899-1903 with 120 000 casualties and “La Violencia” from 1948-1958 with 250 000 - 300 000 losses that eventually led to the formation of a National Front and the ban of other political parties. Some

Currently, the impact of the illegal drug business can be felt all over the country; in employment, income inequality, landownership and money laundering. Despite the high income the drug business generates, it does not encourage economic development. A very large part of the Colombian economy, including most modern enterprises, have been rather insulated from the illegal industry. The illicit drug business in many ways even has a negative and destabilizing impact on the economy as it reduces legitimate investments and the investments that are made by drug-traffickers typically are in non-productive sectors. Money laundering is one example for how drug money has a primarily negative impact on the domestic economy. Contraband is widely used to launder drug money. Consumer goods such as household appliances, clothes, textiles, footwear, liquor and cigarettes are purchased abroad, smuggled into Colombia and sold under market price. This undercuts legitimate businesses who produce or import the same goods, but cannot compete with the low prices. Landownership as a means of money laundering is another example where the negative influence of the drug business is visible. As much as approximately 30 percent of Colombia’s agricultural land is owned by persons affiliated with drug cartels. Most of this land is used for cattle or horse ranches, which have a low level of productivity and low labor intensity. This further aggravates the already high levels of inequality in income and land distribution. The large drug-related crime rate, violence and corruption the illicit drug industry engenders, along with the deterioration of political stability and security, additionally counteract economic progress. In the past years, however, the relative importance of the illegal industry in the Colombian economy