Illicit interest groups: The political impact of the Medellin drug trafficking organizations in Colombia

Although drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) exist and have an effect on health, crime, economies, and politics, little research has explored these entities as political organizations. Legal interest groups and movements have been found to influence domestic and international politics because they operate within legal parameters. Illicit groups, such as DTOs, have rarely been accounted for—especially in the literature on interest groups—though they play a measurable role in affecting domestic and international politics in similar ways. Using an interest group model, this dissertation analyzed DTOs as illicit interest groups (IIGs) to explain their political influence. The analysis included a study of group formation, development, and demise that examined IIG motivation, organization, and policy impact. The data for the study drew from primary and secondary sources, which include interviews with former DTO members and government officials, government documents, journalistic accounts, memoirs, and academic research. To illustrate the interest group model, the study examined Medellin-based DTO leaders, popularly known as the "Medellin Cartel." In particular, the study focused on the external factors that gave rise to DTOs in Colombia and how Medellin DTOs reacted to the implementation of counternarcotics efforts. The discussion was framed by the implementation of the 1979 Extradition Treaty negotiated between Colombia and the United States. The treaty was significant because as drug trafficking became the principal bilateral issue in the 1980s; extradition became a major method of combating the illicit drug business. The study's findings suggested that Medellin DTO leaders had a one-issue agenda and used a variety of political strategies to influence public opinion and all three branches of government—the judicial, the legislative, and the executive—in an effort to invalidate the 1979 Extradition Treaty. The changes in the life cycle of the 1979 Extradition Treaty correlated with changes in the political power of Medellin-based DTOs vis-à-vis the Colombian government, and international forces such as the U.S. government's push for tougher counternarcotics efforts.

Adventures and Misfortunes in Macondo: Rehabilitation of the Cienaga Grande

We describe trajectories of selected ecological indicators used as performance measures to evaluate the success of a mangrove rehabilitation project in the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM) Delta-Lagoon complex, Colombia, as result of freshwater diversions initiated in 1995. There is a significant reduction in soil and water column salinity in all sampling stations following the hydraulic reconnection of the Clarín and Aguas Negras channels to the Magdalena River. Soil intersticial water salinity (depth: 0.5 m) (7 stations) and water column salinity (0.5 m) (10 stations) values declined significantly (soil <30 g kg-1; water <10 g kg-1) from 1994 to 2000. During 1994 soil interstitial water salinity ranged from 40 g kg-1 (Rinconada) to 100 g kg-1 (KM 13), while water column salinity fluctuated between 25-35 g kg-1 for most of the sampling stations. This salinity reduction increased mangrove forest regeneration promoting a net gain of 99 km2 from 1995 to 1999. The high precipitation recorded in 1995 and 1999 caused by El Niño-La Niña (ENSO), coinciding with the channels rehabilitation, influenced rapid mangrove regeneration. The lack of economic investment in the maintenance of the diversion structures from 2001 to 2004 caused a salinity increase affecting negatively already restored vegetation. A sustainable effort from the international community and the Colombian government is needed to maintain the strategic social and economic benefits reached until 2000 in the CGSM region.