Global Events & Politics Überthread
- Thread starter Hawk
- Start date
Can’t forget about the disgusting religion of peace!
It’s convenient that Americans running a giant organization that distributes unhealthy things around the world is not our fault, but a giant organization within Central America distributing unhealthy things around the world is directly the fault of those countries.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
Individual Venezuelans, Trinidadians, Columbians, Mexicans and Ecuadorians are being blown out of the water in extrajudicial actions. Americans next? What's good for the goose is surely good for the gander. Someone shooting up illicit drugs in this country is destabilizing and contributing to crime in another country. To the tune of 6% of GDP in Columbia. Give any criminal organization 6% of GDP and they'll be able to buy off a lot of policemen and judges. Maybe a president or two. No matter how strong the country's institutions.
Yeah - Definitely, absolutely, 100% not narco terrorists either.
Just innocent poor people in high powered speed boats.
They are enemy combatants bringing poison into the country to kill Americans. Death by missile strike is now an occupational hazard they have to include in their calculus. Its a good thing.
Jaw
It's OVER 5,000!
And semi-submersibles, my favorite from of recreational watercraft.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
American drug addicts have done far more damage to Colombia and Ecuador than the cartels have done to this country.
Funny thing about drug users - They need supply to use.
But its always the white mans fault in your worldview so I'm not shocked.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
how much damage have American drug addicts done to Colombia and Ecuador
Yes, American drug consumption has done immense damage to Colombia and, increasingly, Ecuador.
The harm has been economic, political, environmental, and social — and almost all of it stems from demand, not simply supply.
Let’s unpack it systematically.
Think of it as a chain reaction:
ChatGPT said:
A very deep question — and an uncomfortable one — because it reverses the usual narrative.Yes, American drug consumption has done immense damage to Colombia and, increasingly, Ecuador.
The harm has been economic, political, environmental, and social — and almost all of it stems from demand, not simply supply.
Let’s unpack it systematically.
1. The Demand Side: The American Engine of the Trade
- Scale of consumption:
The United States consumes roughly 35–40% of the world’s cocaine — overwhelmingly produced in Colombia and, to a smaller extent, Peru and Bolivia but trafficked increasingly through Ecuador’s ports. - Price vs. cost imbalance:
A kilogram that sells for $2,000 in Colombia can fetch $25,000–$35,000 wholesale in the U.S. That margin drives the entire criminal architecture. - Policy paradox:
U.S. anti-drug campaigns (“War on Drugs”) have focused on supply suppression — aerial eradication, interdiction, and arrests — but have done less to reduce domestic demand. The result: production shifts geographically but rarely declines for long.
2. Colombia: Forty Years of Consequences
a. Violence and governance
- Narco-paramilitary wars:
The enormous profits from U.S. demand financed armed groups — first Medellín and Cali cartels, later FARC and paramilitaries — producing a civil conflict that killed over 200,000 people and displaced millions. - State fragility:
Coca revenues allowed illegal actors to penetrate police, politics, and judiciary. - U.S. involvement:
“Plan Colombia” (2000s) poured billions into military aid and aerial spraying. It helped weaken guerrillas but also devastated rural communities and accelerated deforestation as coca reappeared elsewhere.
b. Environmental toll
- Forest clearing for coca fields and illegal mining scarred hundreds of thousands of hectares.
- Toxic chemicals (gasoline, ammonia, herbicides) polluted rivers in the Amazon and Pacific basins.
c. Social cost
- Farmers remain trapped: coca is the only crop offering predictable income under conditions of poor infrastructure, credit scarcity, and insecurity.
- Many rural Colombians see U.S. demand and policy as a structural externality—America’s addiction exported as their violence.
3. Ecuador: The New Transit Tragedy
a. From peaceful to violent in a decade
- Ecuador was long seen as neutral ground. But after Colombia’s peace process (2016), traffickers shifted routes to Ecuador’s Pacific ports, especially Guayaquil.
- U.S. cocaine demand turned Ecuador into a major corridor: roughly one-third of Colombian cocaine now leaves through Ecuador.
b. Explosion of violence
- Murder rates jumped from 5 per 100,000 (2016) to over 40 per 100,000 (2024) — one of the fastest increases in the world.
- Rival gangs (Los Choneros, Los Lobos) fight for export control, backed by Mexican cartels (Sinaloa, Jalisco).
- Corruption penetrated prisons, customs, and politics. Several mayors and prosecutors have been assassinated.
c. Economic and civic fallout
- Tourism and investment have declined.
- Local fishermen, port workers, and teenagers are recruited as traffickers or assassins.
- The country now spends heavily on militarization and prison control rather than schools or infrastructure.
4. The Environmental and Economic Web
| Sector | Colombia | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Forests | Coca-driven deforestation, spraying damage | Mangrove destruction near ports, oil spill risk |
| Agriculture | Distorted rural incentives | Fishing fleets infiltrated by smugglers |
| Economy | Money laundering through real estate and ranching | Similar laundering in construction and shipping |
| Governance | Narco-corruption and paramilitarism | Institutional penetration and political assassinations |
5. The American Externality
American drug addiction has acted as a massive externalized cost imposed on Latin America.Think of it as a chain reaction:
- U.S. demand → huge illicit profits.
- Profits → cartels, militias, and corruption.
- Violence → weakened institutions, migration, environmental ruin.
6. The Human Ledger
- Colombia: Roughly 8 million displaced, tens of thousands kidnapped or killed during cartel and paramilitary conflicts.
- Ecuador: In less than a decade, the murder rate quintupled; schoolchildren now avoid gang zones.
- United States: Hundreds of thousands dead from overdoses — showing that the cycle damages both sides, though asymmetrically.
Its wonderful to go through life thinking its always the white mans fault and not the cartels killing people or the politicans/judges bought off and a people that have sat by idly allowing the power grab to hold.
But don't you worry - Loser thought like this no longer runs this nation and we will solve the narco terrorist states by severly damaging cartel operations. Then when these countries are thriving like they haven't in decades it will be interesting to see how this was always the drug users fault.
But don't you worry - Loser thought like this no longer runs this nation and we will solve the narco terrorist states by severly damaging cartel operations. Then when these countries are thriving like they haven't in decades it will be interesting to see how this was always the drug users fault.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
Grok's deux sous:
These figures represent conservative estimates; underreporting is common in remote areas. In both countries, ~55% of seized firearms originate from the US, amplifying lethality.
These costs exclude indirect hits like tourism decline (~20-30% drop in affected regions) and migration pressures.
Overview of Damage from US Drug Demand
The demand for cocaine and other drugs from American users—estimated to account for 70-90% of Colombia's cocaine exports and a significant portion of transit through Ecuador—has fueled a lucrative illicit trade worth billions annually. This has inflicted profound, multifaceted damage on both countries, primarily through violence (homicides, extortion, displacement), economic disruption (lost productivity, poverty exacerbation), and environmental degradation (deforestation, chemical pollution). While direct causation is complex (involving local armed groups, corruption, and policy failures), the US market's pull is a primary driver, as evidenced by UNODC reports linking global demand spikes to regional violence surges. Below, I break down key quantitative impacts based on recent data (2020-2025), focusing on verifiable figures from reliable sources like the UNODC, IMF, and regional think tanks.Violence and Human Costs
Drug-fueled gangs, cartels, and armed groups (e.g., ELN, Clan del Golfo in Colombia; Los Choneros, Lobos in Ecuador) have escalated killings, extortion, and displacement. In Colombia, violence has shifted from large-scale conflict to localized "narco-territorial" disputes. In Ecuador, once a low-violence transit hub, it has become Latin America's homicide hotspot due to Mexican cartel incursions and port-based trafficking.| Country | Key Metric | 2020-2022 Baseline | 2023-2025 Surge | Notes/Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | Homicide Rate (per 100,000) | ~24 (2020) | ~25 (2024) | Fluctuating but persistent; drug-related share ~30-40%. Ranked 3rd globally in 2024. |
| Annual Drug-Related Homicides | ~6,000-7,000 (2020-2022) | ~7,500+ (2023); 80+ in Catatumbo surge (Jan 2025) | Includes rebel clashes over coca routes; total conflict deaths doubled to 60 in one region (Jan 2025). | |
| Displacement (Annual) | ~100,000 people | 18,000+ (Catatumbo, Jan 2025) | 8.3 million total displaced since 1985, largely drug-linked. | |
| Ecuador | Homicide Rate (per 100,000) | 7.8 (2020); 13.7 (2021) | 45.7 (2023); 44.5 (2024 proj.); 259 in Guayaquil district (2024) | Highest in South America; up from safest in region (2019: 6.7). Driven by gang wars over Pacific routes to US/Europe. |
| Annual Homicides (Total) | ~1,400 (2020) | 4,300 (2023); ~6,700 (2024); 9,100 proj. (2025) | 36% rise in 2024; 99 political killings during 2023-2025 elections. Firearm homicides up 897% (2019-2023). | |
| Extortion/Kidnappings | 152 extortion calls (Q1 2023, Guayaquil) | 724 calls (Q1 2024, +476%); 209 kidnappings (Jan-Feb 2024, +2,512%) | Targets businesses/individuals; 14,765 arrests under 2024 state of emergency. |
Economic Costs
The trade generates ~$2-5 billion in annual illicit revenue for Colombian producers (1982-1998 average: $2.2B; recent estimates higher due to demand), but most profits (~80-90%) flow to international traffickers, leaving local economies with externalities like lost investment and healthcare burdens. US interventions (e.g., Plan Colombia: $1.3B/year, or 1.2% of GDP) have proven inefficient, costing ~$175,000-$940,000 per kg of cocaine reduced at source. In Ecuador, dollarization aids laundering but strains formal sectors.| Country | Key Metric | 2020-2022 Estimate | 2023-2025 Estimate | Notes/Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | Annual Cost of Violence | ~$20-25B USD (2020) | $27.4B USD (2023) | Equivalent to ~9% GDP; doubled since 2015. Includes healthcare, justice, lost productivity. Armed conflict shaved 20% off per capita GDP growth (2000s peak, lingering effects). |
| Drug Trade's Net Economic Drag | -1.2% GDP (Plan Colombia era) | Ongoing ~1-2% GDP loss | Coca exports ~$4-6B gross, but violence offsets gains; seizures: 1,608 MT marijuana/cocaine (2016-2020). | |
| Ecuador | Annual Cost of Violence | ~$11-15B USD (2018-2022 avg.) | $19.7B USD (2023) | +76% since 2018; ~10% GDP. Per capita impact: ~$1,000/person. Exacerbated GDP contraction (7.8% in 2020). |
| Poverty Exacerbation | 2.5M in extreme poverty (2020) | 4.9M acute poor; 1.9M extreme (mid-2023) | Violence disrupts livelihoods; extortion/homicides hit coastal economies hardest. |
Environmental Damage
Primarily in Colombia (world's top coca producer: ~1,700 tons cocaine/year), where cultivation/processing drives ~10-15% of Amazon deforestation. Ecuador sees secondary effects from transit (e.g., port pollution, chemical dumping).| Country | Key Metric | Scale/Impact | Notes/Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | Deforestation from Coca | 4-8% of crops in protected areas; ~200,000 hectares under cultivation (2023) | Linked to 10-15% of total deforestation (172,000 ha lost 2022); displaces species, erodes soil. |
| Chemical Pollution | 3.5 tons residues/hectare/year | Glyphosate fumigation (banned 2015, resumed debates) contaminates water/soil; affects 70% Pacific exports to US. | |
| Broader Ecosystem Loss | Billions in biodiversity costs | War on drugs (aerial spraying) worsens impacts; coca shifts to Peru/Bolivia offset reductions. | |
| Ecuador | Transit-Related Pollution | Minor direct; ~6.5% global cocaine seizures (2020-2021) | Port contamination from processing; gang routes fragment habitats in Esmeraldas/Guayas. No major coca cultivation. |
