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HONG KONG MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2014 Committee: Historical Security Council Topic: Drug Wars in Latin America Point of reference for debate: January 2007 Chair: Ehab Ebeid
DESCRIPTION OF COMMITTEE The United Nations Security Council has not discussed the Drug Wars, and thus this committee’s meeting scenario is fictional, though based on real information. This United Nations Security Council is being called into session in January 2007, after the advent of Operation Michoacán by Mexico’s police and military forces to combat drug cartels and to destroy drug plantations. The committee would be the hypothetical case of a UNSC discussing ways to curtail drug flow and elimination plantations in the Americas, as well as the possibility of conducting multilateral support or intervention to combat drug cartels, in lieu of the US-supported, government-led operations in LatinAmerican countries.
KEY TERMINOLOGY
War on Drugs: a term commonly used to describe campaigns of prohibition, military aid and military intervention, with the aim of preventing illegal drug production and trade. The term was popularized by the media shortly after a press conference June 18, 1971 by United States president Richard Nixon, where he dubbed drug abuse as "public enemy number one". The US government subsequently made great efforts in supporting crackdown on drug cartels in many Latin American countries, with the end goal of preventing drugs from reaching the US.
Drug Cartel: A “cartel” is a term used for gangs, groups or organised criminal organizations that carry out illegal drug trade. They engage in violence against the government, but also against themselves to gain territory.
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Balloon effect: The idea that decreasing drug-related
MAP OF THE REGIONS OF CONTROL DIFFERENT MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS.
activities in one area will not end the problem but only shift OF to an adjacent spot, akin to a closed balloon being
squeezed; the air does not disappear, it just moves to another part of the balloon.
Mule: A mule is a person used by traders to transport illegal material.
Drug Kingpin or Drug Lord: These people are generally the head of their respective cartels. The latter is used generally in Mexico, while the former in places such as Brazil and Bolivia.
Narcoterrorism: The term refers to terrorist activities funded by illegal narcotics trade. Such termed are the actions of organizations such as FARC (referred to later in section on Colombia).
RELEVANT CLASSIFICATION OF COUNTRIES Producer A producer country is a nation where the illegal drugs are cultivated, formed and/or produced. These countries are the main source of the trade system, and would contain the plantations and the laboratories. It is common to see organised crime groups in these areas, as many militant groups cultivate the drugs to fund their actions, or are simply funded by drug cartels. Examples: Colombia, Bolivia.
Transit A transit area or country is where the drugs mentioned pass through in order to reach the customer. Transit nations also have a by‐product kind of effect where the passing traders cause drug production to slightly increase. The transit nations bordering customer areas are where the cartels mainly reside, since they do the final, actual trade to the customer. Example: Mexico, Brazil.
Destination The destination country is the location of the customers. This is the final stop for the illegal substances, where they are sold and distributed to smaller and more local sellers, and then eventually consumed. Examples: USA.
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RELEVANT STATES AND ENTITIES Mexico Mexico, as previously stated, is a country which is deep in this issue. The issue of illicit drugs trade in Mexico, or “The Mexican Drug War” as some call it, has been going on for decades, shaking the government’s stability drastically, causing corruption and major violence within the nation. Even though Mexico plays such a major role in the topic, it is more of a drugs transit country than a production area. It still produces large amounts of drugs, yet the main industry is centred on Mexico being a transit state. The drug cartels of Mexico hold approximately 70% of the narcotics flown to North America, and source their illegal activities through the carriage fees. All this funding allows illicit arms trade in the region also, carried out not only for the financial profits but also for the military power and security of fire arms. Some political figures and thousands of citizens have been murdered in relation to these drug cartels, and causalities remain high. In late 2006, drug-related crime caused the death of over 500 people in the Mexican state of Michoacán, which also happens to be the president’s home state. On December 12, 2006, President Felipe Calderón ordered the military to send 4,000 troops to his Michoacán. Troops were assigned to areas under the control of organized criminals (drug cartels), conducting raids, making arrests and establishing control points on highways and secondary roads. The Mexican government is rounding thousands more troops to participate in what appears to be a bloody operation. This is the action leading to the discussion of this issue at the UNSC in this Historical Committee. As the main trader of drugs to the main customer, the United States, Mexico plays a vital role in this issue.
Colombia Colombia is in constant disarray. With a multitude of insurgent groups troubling the government and the people, the instability of this country is unquestionable, and expectedly, the drugs industry can be at least partially blamed. The FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia— Ejército de Pueblo; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army) is the largest militant terrorist group in Colombia, notorious for its radical ideas and violent means. Its operations are funded by kidnap to ransom, gold mining, and more than anything, the production and distribution of illegal drugs. Colombia happens to be the number one producer of Cocaine worldwide, selling to the US through Mexico and to Europe through Venezuela and various sea routes. It produces many other drugs alongside cocaine, yet the latter is the main source of income for illegal organisations. FARC has been at war
4 with the state for decades now, and the end of the violence does not appear to be near. Fuelled by the drug trafficking, they are able to continue their battles with this seemingly endless financial supply. Even though the Colombian government working with the help of the United States of America has led many missions against the terrorist group, as of 2007 they have not been able to catch FARC’s leader, Manuel Marulanda, better known as Tirofijo. In March 2006, Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General of the United States, announced in conjunction with Drug Enforcement Administration and United States Department of Justice officials that the US State Department had placed a $5 million reward on Tirofijo's head, or for information leading to his capture. With such a situation, it is easy to see how illicit drug trade may have flourished. Yet if even one side is neglected, this will give way to a vicious circle, where violence eases the illegal trafficking and the illegal trafficking fuels the violence. This is why it is vital that the drug trade activities in Colombia must be ceased, and quickly.
Brazil Brazil is one of the most powerful states in the region both economically and politically, though it also exhibits trouble with handling drug trade. Its sheer size makes it rather desirable for the role of a transit country, with its expanses of sparsely habited lands. Its status as a transit country has inevitably caused some production to start taking place. Local police continuously raids slums and rural areas to drive drug gangs out.
United States of America The United States, although not in the region at hand, plays an immensely important role in the issue. The US has led the war on drugs for many years in the aforementioned countries, and in many others. They have sent military aid to the relevant governments, attempting to cut the flow of illegal drugs. One of their main concerns is that most of the drugs that are being produced and smuggled are coming into the US through the Mexican border. As the country with the biggest drug consumption market in the region, and even in the world for some types of drugs, the US has declared itself entirely involved in fighting drug trafficking, and in 1971 US President Nixon declared drug consumption public enemy number one. Drugs produced in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and in other countries are trafficked into the transit country of Mexico, where the cartels do the final border-crossing into the US. To combat this, the US government has cooperated with many South American and Central American Countries alike, and has carried out joint�military missions with these states. However recently, many countries have stopped cooperating, claiming the costs are higher than the positive
5 outcomes. Bolivia and Colombia are good examples to countries that have cut their cooperation in the scope of the war on drugs with the US, and many question in other countries the efficiency of such military campaigns, recognizing the great (and sometimes disproportionate) number of civilian casualties. Many committees and politicians have shown their disapproval of the efforts, including some UN diplomats, with the famous statement, “The War on Drugs Has Failed”.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The UNODC, founded in 1997 as the Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention, is the official UN body authorised with research, guidance and support on various topics. The organisation releases various detailed research papers on their respective issues, of which the World Drug Report is one. The annual publication is an intricately comprehensive report on the state of illegal drugs around the world. It gives details for the main drug groups, with statistics, tables, charts and maps updated with every new issue. The UNODC has also led many campaigns such as the “Do Drugs Lead Your Life?” campaign, and has played an important role in many drug‐related treaties.
INTERPOL INTERPOL is an organisation that may prove important in the effort to solve the drug trade problem. As clearly stated in their goals and actions concerning drug trafficking, their role is to carry out, further, assist and direct investigations and research, organise meetings between concerned states on transnational problems and execute global conferences and projects on the matter. However, because of initiatives and military campaigns led by US-allied governments in Latin American countries, Interpol’s potential in solving this issue is unrealized.
RELEVANT UN TREATIES Please refer to the following actions, treaties and entities taken multilaterally by the United Nations when discussing possible resolution. In 1997, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was created in order to fight against illegal drugs, money laundering, corruption, and many other forms of crime related to drug cartels. The United Nations previously passed the three following treaties in order to curb drug traffic:
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971
The United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988
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TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS UP TO LATE 2006 This timeline shows major events in the ‘War on Drugs’ and was compiled by Reuters. It should serve to give the necessary historical background needed for discussion in the UNSC.
1970 - The United States passes laws prohibiting narcotics use under the Controlled Substances Act.
1971 - U.S. President Richard Nixon declares a war on drugs and says drug abuse is the country's biggest threat.
1973 - Nixon sets up the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA.
1975 - Drug gangs kill 40 people in one weekend in the Colombian city of Medellin after police seize 1,320 pounds (600 kgs) of cocaine in one of the first ever big drug hauls.
1981 - Drug lord Pablo Escobar forms the Medellin Cartel with other powerful Colombian traffickers. The cartel begins to move tonnes of cocaine into Miami via the Caribbean.
1982 - Escobar briefly wins a seat in Colombia's Congress as he cuts a Robin Hood figure in Medellin, giving out money in slums and building houses for the poor.
1984 - Drug hitmen kill Colombia's justice minister. Escobar is indicted for the murder and flees to Panama. The DEA and Colombian police uncover a massive cocaine production facility deep in the jungle.
1985 - Cocaine smuggling shifts into Mexico after U.S. law enforcement cracks down on maritime smuggling via the Caribbean into Miami. The godfather of Mexican narcotics trafficking, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, pioneers overland smuggling routes to the United States for Colombian cartels.
1989 - Mexican police and the DEA arrest Felix Gallardo. His nephews Benjamin, Ramon and Javier Arellano Felix gradually take over his business, moving up to Tijuana on the U.S. border from their home state of Sinaloa to smuggle tonnes of cocaine into the lucrative Californian market.
1993 - Colombian police with U.S. help track down Escobar and kill him. With the Medellin cartel dismantled, a group of traffickers from the Colombian city of Cali rise in power.
1996 - Colombian police and the DEA dismantle the Cali cartel. In Mexico, smuggler Osiel Cardenas takes over the Gulf Cartel on the Texas border. He later recruits elite soldiers in Mexico's army to form the cartel's feared armed wing, the Zetas.
2000 - U.S. President Bill Clinton gives Colombia $1.3 billion in aid under Plan Colombia.
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2001 - Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, escapes from a Mexican prison in a laundry van. Mexico's most-wanted drug lord, he heads a coalition of drug gangs from Sinaloa state and vows after his escape to take control of Mexico's drugs trade.
2002 - Mexican police kill Ramon Arellano Felix in Sinaloa and weeks later arrest his brother Benjamin. Rival gangs try to muscle in on the weakened Tijuana cartel.
2004/5 - Guzman sends his henchmen to try to win control of the Gulf cartel's turf on Mexico's border with Texas, sparking gruesome drug violence in cities like Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey. Guzman is eventually repelled.
December 2006 - President Felipe Calderon sends tens of thousands of troops and federal police across Mexico to try to stem growing drug violence sparked by Guzman's territorial ambitions across Mexico.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Will the UN uphold military solutions to drug cartels? o
Is there another way to stop the on-going violence in Latin America than with violent police operations?
How can the consumption of illegal drugs be stopped or at least decreased in countries such as the USA?
What efforts can the UN lead to limit the growing of crops used to produce drugs?
Can legalizing certain drugs contribute to solving current problems with violence?
RESOURCES FOR FURTHER READING “Drug Wars.” PBS Frontline, October 9, 2000. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/. Thirty Years Of America’s Drug War, 2001. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/. “Timeline: Key Events in U.S. War on Drugs in Latin America.” Reuters, January 14, 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/01/14/us-drugs-mexico-idUKTRE60D4YF20100114. “United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.” UN. UNODC, n.d. http://www.unodc.org/.