• Urban drug markets and zones of impunity in Colombia

    The assumptions and the facts behind the retail drug trade and the responses to it
    Isaac De León Beltrán and Juan Carlos Garzón
    Briefing Series on Drug Markets and Violence Nr 2
    December 2014

    The retail drug trade has been identified by the authorities as a strategic priority, under the hypothesis that it is one of the main triggers of violence and crime, as well as a response by the criminal organisations to their loss of influence in global markets. How valid is this argument? The aim of this briefing is to put to the test the starting points and assumptions underlying the definition of this ‘new’ threat, and provide an overview of local drug markets and their relationship with violence and crime in Colombia’s cities.

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  • Making a mountain out of a molehill: myths on youth and crime in Saint Lucia

    Marcus Day
    Briefing Series on Drug Markets and Violence, Nr 3
    December 2014

    Caribbean states face challenges of youth involvement in crime, violence, gangs and other anti-social activities. It is not uncommonly heard the “drug problem” is to be blamed for this. This briefing wants to show this relation is far more complex and often misunderstood.

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  • Eyes Wide Shut: Corruption and Drug-Related Violence in Rosario

    Ross Eventon
    Briefing Series on Drug Markets and Violence, Nr 1
    December 2013

    In Rosario, Argentina, the presence of criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking was a low priority for the government until New Year’s day 2012, when the killing of three innocent civilians by members of a gang sparked press attention.

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