NCJ Number
122206
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1989) Pages: 61-75
Date Published
1989
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the nature of terrorism related to drug trafficking uses Colombia as an example and notes the flaws in most discussions of narco-terrorism.
Abstract
The term narco-terrorism was initially used in a political and emotional context to label the Peruvian Communist Party, Sendero Luminoso. However, it is more accurate to avoid motivational issues and define it as the unlawful use of violence by drug traffickers to intimidate the government, its agents, and authority figures. Four other types of narco-terrorism are State surrogate narco-terrorism, insurgent surrogate narco-terrorism, narco-warfare, and insurgent narco-terrorism. As these categories indicate, in Colombia and other nations narco-terrorism has been linked to revolutionary insurgencies. Narco-terrorism began in Colombia in 1981 and has resulted in the assassinations of authority figures, violence against drug traffickers by the paramilitary organizations they created, and general anarchy. The situations in Peru and Bolivia have differed from that in Colombia in that they produce different relationships between traffickers and insurgents. 77 reference notes.