Narcotráfico en Colombia: La nueva guerra civil en contra de la democracia y de la construcción de paz
| Autor | Maria Paula Espejo |
| Cargo | CulturePlex Lab - Western University |
| Páginas | 157-192 |
157
Co-herencia Vol. 18, n.º 34, enero - junio de 2021, pp. 157-192. (ISSN 1794-5887 / e-ISSN 2539-1208)
Drug-Trafcking in
Colombia:
The New Civil War Against
Democracy and Peacebuilding
Received: 29/07/2020 | Reviewed: 15/12/2020 | Accepted: 02/02/2021
DOI: 10.17230/co-herencia.18.34.6
María P. Espejo-Duarte*
mespejo@uwo.ca
* CulturePlex Lab -
Western University,
Canadá. orcid:
0000-0001-5742-
5841.
Abstract Drug-trafckin g in Colombia has been a widely re-
searched phenomenon, especially now, as the country
undergoes a transition proces s wit h its oldest gue rrilla. Now
more than ever it is fundamenta l to examine how d rug-trafck-
ing organization’s violent activities a ffect the consolidation of
peace. Th is article considers different approaches to study vio-
lence derived from dr ug-trafcking, in order to advanc e towards
the objectives of transitional justice. For that matter, this work is
based on the idea that dr ug-trafcking directly generates and re-
produces violence which is fueled by the structur al violence pres-
ent in the Colombian context. My the sis supports that this phe-
nomenon deters non-repetition guarantees and weakens
democracy, which is why, I will develop th ree main arguments
that will revolve around the lack of consensus, and the implica-
tions of: considering drug war s as civil wars, how decisions r e-
lated to the conceptual apprehension limits the competence of
international huma nitarian law, and the need for holistic strate-
gies capable of faci ng drug-trafcking’s political and violent
power. Later, alternatives will be explored around the possibili-
ties that each argument offers, a s well as which aspects could
contribute to a more appropriate ap proach to combat dr ug-traf-
cking. La stly, I will defend why implementing bot tom-up ori-
ented actions can advance towards transitional justice’s interme-
diate and nal objectives, as it is the only alternative that escapes
fatalist, utopian or inter ventionist scenarios.
Keywords:
New civil war, dr ug-trafcking, non-repetition, democracy, pe a-
ce, violence.
Drug-Traf cking in Colo mbia:
The New Civil Wa r Against Democrac y and Peacebuilding
María Espejo-Duarte
158
Narcotráco en Colombia: La nueva guerra
civil en contra de la democracia y de la
construcción de paz
Resumen El narcotráco en Colombia es un fenómeno am-
pliamente investigado, en especial ahora, cua ndo el
país vive un proceso de transición con la guerrilla.
Hoy más que nu nca resulta funda mental examinar cómo las ac-
tividades delictivas de las organiz aciones dedicadas al narcotrá-
co dicultan la con solidación de la paz. Este artícu lo revisa dife-
rentes acercamientos al e studio de la violencia derivada del
tráco de drogas, con el n de avanz ar hacia los o bjetivos de la
justicia transicional. Por ello, este trabajo parte de la premisa de
que el trá co de sustancias ilícitas genera y reproduce actos cri-
minales promovidos por la violencia estruct ural en el contexto
colombiano. Mi tesis sostiene que este fenómeno priva las garan-
tías de no repetición y debilita l a democracia, con tres argumen-
tos principales en torno a l a falta de consenso y a las implica cio-
nes de considerar las guerras contra las drogas como guerras
civiles; la forma en la que cierta aprehensión conceptual limita la
competencia del derecho internacional human itario, y la necesi-
dad de aplicar estrategias holísticas para encara r el poder político
y crimina l del narcotrá co. Se exploran también las po sibilida-
des que brinda cada argumento, y las contribuciones a un acerca-
miento más f actible para combatir dicho fenómeno. Por último,
deendo por qué las acciones de ab ajo hacia arriba permitirán el
avance hacia los objetivos intermedios y nales de l a justicia
transicional, ya que e s la única alternativa que se a leja de los es-
cenarios fatali stas, utópicos o intervencionistas.
Palabras clave:
Nueva guerra civil, narc otráco, no repetición, democracia, paz,
violencia.
In Colombia, it is well known that one of the key factors in
the protracted conict, as well as of the magnitude and the impact
of violence, has been drug trafcking (Pizarro Leongómez, 2015).
Considered from different dimensions, drug trafcking has generated
multiple i mpingements i n Colombian society, determi ned the course
of violence and allowed the conict to continue, especially after the
“Bonanz a Marimbera” opened the market for tr afcking coca ine,
and the rise of big drug cartels like the ones from Cali and Medellín.
In addition, the political agenda has been oriented by international
policy. These two combined factors have generated a series of
dynamics that have established a cyclical pattern around the “War on
Drugs”, which reproduces scenarios of violence at local levels while the
159
Co-herencia Vol. 18, n.º 34, enero - junio de 2021, pp. 157-192. (ISSN 1794-5887 / e-ISSN 2539-1208)
ongoing conict has contributed to strengthening the intern ational
political discourse (Gaviria & Mejía, 2011). Altogether, it has become
a bottleneck to overcome violence and a hindrance to achieving
transitional justice’s ultimate goals of reconciliation and democracy.
Colombia, Drug-Trafcking and Peace
Within the recent Colombian peace agreement for the end of
the conict and the construction of a stable an d l asting peace, signed
between the Government of Colombia and the Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia, Ejército del Pueblo - FARC-EP, a
whole chapter was dedicated to the “Solution to the Problem of Illicit
Drugs” (Acuerdo de Paz, 2016). Mostly because both negotiating
teams were aware that drug trafcking is a paramount phenomenon
to be addressed in order to transition from war to peace. Therefore,
the main goal of the present text is to analyze different alternatives
to approach the violence derived from drug-trafcking in order to
advance toward the nal objectives proposed by transitional justice.
The past few decades have made it clear that a repressive
approach to put an end to drug-trafcking in Colombia has only
atomized big cartels into numerous armed groups and gangs that
continue to terrorize the civil population while reinforcing structural
violence (Duncan, 2009), while becoming a principal impediment
for peacebuilding, as it fosters the continuation of violent cycles.
The thesis for this work is that drug trafcking in Colombia hin-
ders non-repetition guarantees and the strengthening of democracy.
Consequently, I will discuss three main arguments to support it. The
rst focuses on the lack of consensus on whether violence derived
from drug-trafcking organizations is a (new) civil war or not. De-
spite public policy and international discourse being built around
the slogan “War on Drugs” (Arias, 2017; Armenta & Jelsma, 2015;
Sandvik & Hoelscher, 2017) or academics using terms as “drug wars”
(Albarracín & Barnes, 2020; Kalyvas, 2015; Lessing, 2018; Mackey
& López, 2009) there is not a common ground on the acerbity of
classifying this type of violence as a kind of war, even if it is ac-
companied with a complement such as new civil war (Kaldor, 2001),
Para continuar leyendo
Solicita tu prueba