1. The Invisible Tide: Towards an International Strategy to Deal with Drug Trafficking Through West Africa
- Author:
- Phil Williams and James Cockayne
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- An invisible tide is rising on the shores of West Africa, creeping into its slums, its banks, its courts, its barracks, and its government ministries. It is a tide of money, influence, and power, born from the drug trafficking that is sweeping the region. Cocaine produced in Latin America is transported to West Africa, and then on to Europe. From there, the proceeds find their way back to North and South America, fueling further investment and further narco-trafficking. Some of the profits from the trade stay in West Africa, laundered through construction projects and other avenues, and increasingly corrupting politics, society, and security institutions. As the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Antonio Maria Costa, recently put it: “Drug money is not only buying real estate and flashy cars: it is buying power.”
- Topic:
- Crime and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- Africa and West Africa