Black Immigrant Daily News

By John P. Ruehl

The modern globalized world has made it easier and far more lucrative to facilitate and enable international drug networks, and several governments, or elements within them, actively work with criminal groups to support the flow of drugs around the world. This has led to a surge in drug usage among people worldwide, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s World Drug Report 2022, with 284 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 using drugs globally in 2020, which amounts to “a 26 [percent] increase over the previous decade.”

State involvement in the drug trade occurs for a variety of reasons. The allure of profiteering can entice state actors to produce and transport drugs, particularly if their country is under financial duress. Producing drugs or merely taxing drug routes can bring in much-needed funds to balance budgets, create sources of “black cash,” or enrich elites. Allowing the drug trade may also be deemed necessary to ensure regional economic stability and can prevent criminal groups from confronting the state.

In other instances, government agencies and institutions might be “captured” by criminal elements that have gained extreme influence over political, military, and judicial systems through corruption and violence. Government entities also often become too weak or compromised to stop criminal groups, which “have never before managed to acquire the degree of political influence now enjoyed by criminals in a wide range of African, [Eastern] European, and Latin American countries.”

Finally, some governments use the drug trade to promote foreign policy objectives as a form of hybrid warfare. Supporting criminal groups in rival or hostile countries can help challenge the authority of the governments in these states, but it is also an effective way to promote social destabilization. Introducing drugs to other countries fuels local criminal activity, plagues their court and prison systems, induces treatment and rehabilitation costs, and causes immense psychological stress and societal breakdown through addiction.

The Complicity of State Actors in the Drug Trade

The Russian government’s involvement in the international drug trade is due to several reasons. Russian state entities have sought to raise cash for their own benefit but have also historically worked with powerful criminal groups due to corruption and to avoid bloodshed (though the Kremlin has steadily absorbed Russia’s criminal elements under Russian President Vladimir Putin). Additionally, with the West imposing sanctions on the Kremlin after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin is seeking to punish some EU countries for supporting Kyiv by bringing drugs into the bloc, leveraging its connections to the Eurasian underworld to do so.

The Kremlin’s role in the drug trade has provided it with influence over former Soviet states in Central Asia, which have also facilitated the drug trade from Afghanistan to Europe for decades. The criminal elements that control this northern route have immense influence over the political and security elites of Central Asian states and rely on cooperation with Russian intelligence services.

Much of the drug trade provides funding for Russian intelligence services, and the Kremlin appears to have approved an increase in drug trafficking in 2022 largely because of the financial difficulties stemming from its invasion of Ukraine.

The Balkans are also a key gateway for drugs entering Europe. In Bulgaria, corruption has seen high-level politicians implicated in drug smuggling, in addition to officials in Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. The Council of Europe, meanwhile, accused Hashim Tha?i, the former prime minister and president of Kosovo, as well as his political allies, of exerting “violent control over the trade in heroin and other narcotics” “and [occupying] important positions in ‘Kosovo’s mafia-like structures of organized crime’” in 2010. Kosovan politicians continue to face allegations of corruption.

Morocco’s government has largely accepted drug networks to support national economic livelihood, which serves “as the basis of a parallel economy,” while this relationship is reinforced by corruption in the country. Libya had more of a state-backed drug production and export apparatus under former leader Muammar Gaddafi, though this mechanism broke down following the civil war in 2011. However, the close relationship between Guinea-Bissau’s “political-military elites” and drug smugglers has made it Africa’s greatest example of state complicity in aiding international drug networks. The country’s importance in the international drug trade stems from its proximity to Latin America and Guinea-Bissau’s geographic use as a transit stop for criminal groups seeking access to the European market.

In recent years, politicians from Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, and other Latin American countries have been accused or suspected of aiding and abetting criminals involved in the drug trade. United States officials have also accused former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hern?ndez and his political allies of “state-sponsored drug trafficking,” as he awaits trial in the United States.

But there has been a decades-long involvement of the United States in the drug trade. In the 1950s, for example, the CIA gave significant support to anti-communist rebel groups involved in the drug trade in the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet. The cooperation lasted into the 1970s, and ongoing corruption in the region means state authorities continue to permit criminal groups a degree of operability.

The CIA also admitted to ignoring reports about Nicaraguan Contra rebels selling drugs in the United States to fund their anti-communist campaign in the 1980s. The United States permitted Afghan farmers to grow opium poppy during the Obama administration’s handling of the War in Afghanistan in 2009 and has been suspected of cultivating Latin America’s drug networks to control the region.

Drug deaths in the United States have, meanwhile, been rising significantly since 2000 and hit record highs during the pandemic, with fentanyl responsible for two-thirds of total deaths. China has been accused by Washington of allowing and enabling domestic criminal groups to import fentanyl into the United States.

While this trade partially diminished after pressure from Washington, fentanyl exports from China now often make their way to Mexico first before crossing the U.S. border. China’s willingness to cooperate with U.S. authorities, as well as authorities in Australia, where Chinese drugs are also imported, has declined as relations between Beijing and Western states have worsened. China’s government is also mildly complicit in the Myanmar government’s far more active and direct role in facilitating the drug trade in Southeast Asia. This is due to Myanmar’s need to both raise funds and control militant groups in the country.

Drug Trade Supporting Economies in Some Countries

Drug production and exporting also give regimes an option for long-term survival. A 2014 report from the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea indicates that after North Korea defaulted on its international debts in 1976, its embassies were encouraged to “‘self-finance’ through ‘drug smuggling.’” In the 1990s, this gave way to state-sponsored drug production to further increase access to foreign currency.

Most of the suspected or arrested drug traffickers from North Korea over the last three decades have been diplomats, military personnel, or business owners. In 2003, Australian authorities busted a North Korean state-sponsored heroin smuggling operation while following Chinese suspects. But by 2004, China was also admitting to problems with North Korean drugs crossing their mutual border. And in 2019, Chinese authorities arrested several people with connections to the North Korean government who were involved in a drug smuggling ring near the border.

The Syrian government has produced and exported drugs for decades. But sanctions and civil war since 2011 have severely weakened Syria’s leadership, prompting it to drastically increase its drug operations to raise funds and maintain power. Exports of Captagon and hashish now generate billions of dollars a year for the Syrian government and far exceed the value of the country’s legal exports.

In neighboring Iran, government officials, as well as state-affiliated groups like Hezbollah, are also complicit in profiting off the drug trade, which also implicates Lebanese officials. Involvement in the drug trade by state-sponsored groups like Hezbollah or Turkey’s Grey Wolves reveal attempts by Tehran and Ankara respectively to make these groups self-sustaining when state support withers.

Overt participation in the drug trade by certain states is likely to continue. Sanctions help fuel the drug trade by making states more inclined to resort to these networks to make up for lost economic opportunities. Additionally, most efforts to combat the drug trade are largely domestic initiatives. Less corrupt law enforcement agencies are often unwilling to work with their counterparts in other countries through forums like Interpol, for fear of their complicity in illegal drug networks. The drug trade also remains a valuable geopolitical tool for states.

Nonetheless, state involvement in the drug trade is a risky venture. It emboldens criminal actors, often involves inviting drugs into national territory, and can result in enormous public backlash. While preventing the involvement of state actors in these practices will be a difficult task, the most overt instances should be scrutinized more thoroughly to ensure these policies are given greater attention.

This article was produced by Globetrotter.

John P. Ruehl is an Australian-American journalist living in Washington, D.C. He is a contributing editor to Strategic Policy and a contributor to several other foreign affairs publications. His book, Budget Superpower: How Russia Challenges the West With an Economy Smaller Than Texas’, was published in December 2022.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

UNWTO has identified the potential of tourism to drive economic growth and social opportunity across its newest Member State, Antigua and Barbuda.

The Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to Spain, Dr. Dario Item, along with the embassy’s Advisor, Daniel Yakovlev, were welcomed to the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid to build on the friendly cooperation in place since the Caribbean destination became the Organization’s newest Member State and eighth in the Caribbean region when it joined in 2021. Since then, Dr. Dario Item has served as his country’s Permanent Representative to UNWTO, alongside his Ambassadorial role.

Welcoming the delegation, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, commended the leadership of Prime Minister Gaston Browne and congratulated him on his recent re-election. He also sent his thanks to Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transport and Investments Charles Henry Fernandez for his ongoing support. In 2021 Antigua and Barbuda welcomed around 170,000 international arrivals and revenues from the sector reached US$490 million. As with many Small Island Developing States (SIDS), tourism is a key economic sector for Antigua and Barbuda and UNWTO is working with the Government to maximise its potential as a pillar of sustainable and inclusive growth.

The official visit to the UNWTO headquarters took place within the framework of the 2023 FITUR tourism trade fair in Madrid. To conclude, Dr. Dario Item and his delegation extended an invitation for UNWTO Secretary-General to visit Antigua and Barbuda, with details to be confirmed in due course.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Anuar Nahes presented his credentials to Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the OECS on Feb. 1.

In a courtesy meeting held following the Accreditation Ceremony, the Director-General welcomed and congratulated the Ambassador on his assumption of office. He expressed satisfaction with the exceptionally good relations and strong friendship which exist between Brazil and the OECS – a relationship which he stated spans decade and has been improving significantly. The Director General made reference to the Technical Cooperation Agreements signed between Brazil and the OECS and the assistance received from Brazil in that regard. In expressing gratitude, the Director-General stated that

“Brazil has been a willing, reliable and generous partner and has continued to provide assistance beyond the scope of its commitments under these Agreements.”

The Director General highlighted the current impact of high inflation on small economies brought by the after effects of Covid, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. This he noted poses major challenges to the economies of the small island states of the OECS which are constantly grappling with the resulting instability and unpredictability. He emphasized the need for the OECS to form strategic alliances with partners such as Brazil in order to generate sustainable solutions.

Ambassador Nahes indicated Brazil’s plans to introduce to the OECS, a new proposal for general technical cooperation agreement. This proposal, he informed is a necessary institutional framework for permanent cooperation programs between Brazil and the OECS. In that regard, the Ambassador suggested that

“The Commission should formulate a comprehensive program of cooperation aimed at the social and economic development of the OECS region.”

The Director General and the Ambassador discussed a broad range of issues concerning opportunities for exploring broader cooperation, as well as the ability of both sides to utilize existing opportunities to their full potential.

The Director General assured the Ambassador of the full assistance and support of the OECS Commission in undertaking his duties successfully during his tenure.

Formal diplomatic relations between the OECS and the Federative Republic of Brazil were established in 2009.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Responding to the growing need for diverse skills to solve the complex challenges facingorganisations Monday, PwC in the Caribbean has launched a data science internship programme to help university students and recent graduates develop both their technical and professional skills.

The programme seeks to build the specialist talent pool in the Caribbean to support better integration of digital skills in organisations across the region.

Working with PwC’s team of experienced data scientists and consultants, participants will be empowered to solve problems. They’ll gain hands-on experience as they contribute to the development and implementation of data science projects and assignments. The internship programme not only provides an opportunity for learning and career development, but also networking, coaching and mentorship with a leading globalprofessional services organisation.

PwC is accepting applications for data science internships at its firms in the Caribbean. Students can reach out to [email protected] for more information or apply here.

Zia Paton, Digital services leader, PwC in the Caribbean, said: “At PwC, we have always embraced new technology and innovation in our ways of working, including learning and development. All of our people have access to leading data analysis tools and training. Wehave a strong team of data science experts in the region and across our PwC global network and we want to better support building the talent pool of data scientists in the Caribbean.

“We are proud to offer our new data science internship programme as part of our New world. New skills upskilling journey to help people across the region develop skills for a digital age. For us, people and technology work hand in hand. It’s about how human ingenuity combines with technology innovation and experience to deliver faster, more intelligent and better outcomes while building trust across the value chain.

Supporting the wider Caribbean community to integrate specialist skills into the workforce is a fundamental part of our purpose.”

Kevan Rajaram, Senior Manager, Data Scientist, PwC in the Caribbean, said: “We are excited to launch our data science internship programme after identifying a need across theCaribbean region for data science students or graduates to gain relevant work experience in their field. As part of this programme, interns will join a diverse mix of people who combine human ingenuity, experience and innovative tech, to solve important problems.

Interns will have the opportunity to work on projects that range from data architecture design to advanced data visualisation creation to machine learning modelling -across multiple industries including financial services, retail, public sector and more. This is a great opportunity to gain hands-on experience in data science while developing a solid foundation in consulting.”

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