Abstract
This paper aims at discussing the impacts of the cocaine cowboys on Miami Florida. The cocaine trade had a permanent effect on modern Miami in the 70s and the 80s. The trade of cocaine changed Miami to one of the best spots in the world. The homicide rate had also increased by the early 80s in Miami due to cocaine trade and these impacts have made Miami what it is today. The people who were involved in the trade of cocaine in Miami were known as the Cocaine Cowboys. The Cocaine Cowboys were responsible for the importation and distribution of cocaine. The cocaine trade in Miami had so many impacts such as political, social and economic among others. There were so many violence cases in the city during the era of the cocaine trade in Miami. This paper will discuss the social, economic and political impacts of cocaine cowboys on Miami Florida.
The Impact of the Cocaine Cowboys on Miami Florida in the 1980s
Introduction
In the 70s and the 80s, the cocaine trade had a permanent effect on modern Miami. The trade of cocaine changed Miami to one of the best spots in the world. The homicide rate had also increased by the early 80s in Miami due to cocaine trade. The impact of the cocaine trade in the 70s has made the contemporary Miami what it is today. The people who were involved in the trade of cocaine in Miami were known as the Cocaine Cowboys. The Cocaine Cowboys were responsible for the importation and distribution of cocaine. The cocaine trade in Miami had so many impacts such as political, social and economic among others. There were so many violence cases in the city during the era of the cocaine trade in Miami. The original Cocaine Cowboys had started by Jon Roberts who was a former drug trafficker (Administrator, 2007).
The Cocaine Importing Agency had created sexual relationship with some of the Drug Enforcement Administration officers to ensure that there was effective cocaine trafficking in Miami. There was an ongoing scandal in 1996 in which a federal grand jury in Miami charged a CIA asset in Venezuela for smuggling into U.S. about 20 thousand kilograms of cocaine. The CIA and DEA in Miami were involved in the cocaine trafficking and they were also involved in guarding of the drugs and allowing the deals of cocaine trade to continue (Attias, 1996).
Economic Impacts
There were so many economic impacts of the cocaine trade in Miami Florida. The drug traffickers have reaped so much revenue annually. Most of the returns that the drug traffickers get from the sale of the illicit drugs are from the cocaine trade. It is estimated that most of Americans use their incomes on cocaine than other essential goods such as gas utilities and newspapers. The cocaine trade had corrosive economic impacts on the Miami state. The number of assassination and terrorism cases had also increased due to the increase of the cocaine trade in Miami. There also an increase in corruption and killings of top officials that were related to the cocaine trade in Miami. There was also the increase of income in the drug traffickers in Miami and this therefore increased the legal economics in the cocaine trade (Lee, 1996).
Miami was one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine and this therefore ensured that there were economic benefits in the state of Miami. This has therefore helped in the improvement of the state of Miami. The trade of cocaine has created an economic ambiguity in the Miami. This has weakened and complicated the development process of the Miami state. Many economists have debated that there is a sharp effect of cocaine trade in Miami that has increased the economic status of Miami. Some economist also believes that cocaine trade has had a depressed growth on the economy of the Miami. The other impact of cocaine trade in Miami is that cocaine acts as a parasite to the Miami resources since it tends to absorb recourses that can be used for other legal activities. This is because cocaine trade has caused many people to reduce the use of other economic activities (Lee, 1996).
Cocaine trade has increased the cost of living of the Miami residents. It has enforced the expenditures to enforcing laws. The costs of cocaine use have made the government to increase the cost on creating campaigns of cocaine use prevention and treatment. This funds that have been used in cocaine trafficking and use prevention can be diverted to other activities. The cocaine trade has had an impact of 0.3% of GDP. The other impact of cocaine trade has caused inflation in Miami state. The investment in Miami has been affected due to the cocaine trade since many people would not want to be associated with the use of illegal drugs. The cocaine trade in Miami has affected the business operations in Miami has affected the legal connection of Miami and other states. This has also affected the relationship of Miami and other countries that are drug-ridden and has therefore reduced the investments rate in Miami. Cocaine trade has increased the number of risks and uncertainty which has also facilitated the reduction of the investments in Miami (Lee, 1996).
Drug trafficking has also increased the living standards of people in Miami. The drug traffickers have supported the poor community financially and have therefore increased the living standards of the people who are living in the slums. The trade of cocaine has increased since the drug is cheap and is easily available. This has increased the revenues of the cocaine trade in Miami therefore increasing the economic status of Miami. Miami has also been industrialized due to the increase of revenues from the cocaine trade (Lee, 1996).
The economic crisis in the U.S. has affected the drug trade has also reduced the economic status in Miami. This is because many people prefer spending their income on essential good other than the use of cocaine. Even though there is an economic crisis, the numbers of cocaine revenues have increased in the recent years with increased revenue of 4.5 million. Cocaine trade has also made many people wealthy in Miami which has therefore influenced the development in Miami making it a glamorous state (Mance, 2008).
Political Impacts
The cocaine trade in Miami in the 1070’s and 1980’s had an eligible impact on the contemporary Miami. The community was changed into one of the world’s glamorous hotspots by the smugglers and distributors. By the early 1980’s Miami was tripled by homicide rate which made it murder the capital of the country. Cocaine cowboys provided a cultural portrait of explosion in Miami in the 1980’s. It was a booming trade in Miami in the 1980’s and presented as a triptych. The cocaine was coming from Colombia. The prohibition of cocaine was part of the discussion in the years but it was argued that the consumers of prohibited substances, particularly cocaine did not have the same reaction to today’s economic turmoil (Mance, 2008).
The argument was that, depreciating European currencies would reduce the affordability of such illegal imports. This would lead to the reversing of the recent consumption growth. There existed a link between macroeconomic trends and cocaine use in the U.S. in the 1980’s. The recession which was brought by cocaine would turn pure powder cocaine into something less desirable. The reason was that fewer people can afford that but economic adversity is the reason that cheaper cocaine derivatives exist (Mance, 2008).
Politically in Miami, targeting wealthy cocaine users would be misleading because most of the cocaine dealers were the low income earners. The low income earners were heavily dependent on the crime by targeting on its availability. In the U.S. the war on drugs had its prominent role on the political agenda. Colombia was mentioned in the final presidential debate where a stalled free trade agreement rather than that of Colombia. The fumigation program did not have much impact on drug supply or usage of cocaine. The big problem was cutting the treatment budget which was flat under the bush administration. It was suggested that reducing treatment budgets may not increase consumption since the percentage of the cocaine users in the U.S was already low (Mance, 2008).
The war on drugs was failing whereby the area of the Andes dedicated to coca growing had increased in the previous years. Colombia was responsible for most of the coca production and saw an emergence of new armed groups financed by the drug trade. The emergence of these new groups filled the vacuum left by the demobilized paramilitaries. The impact of cocaine trade spread beyond the coca producing states to Venezuela and Brazil and beyond South America to Mexico. The office concerned with the national drug control policy did not respond to the enquiries regarding how the anticipated recession might impact cocaine use (Mance, 2008).
In the 1980, majority of the drugs smuggled into the United States came through Florida and the Caribbean. This was then passed through Bahamas which acted as the transshipment route between Colombia and the U.S. Small planes were often used to make deliveries since they were quicker and cheaper to use than boats. In 1982, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) began Operation in Bahamas and Turks (OPBAT). The Agency captured more than 1.5 billion in drugs, vessels, aircraft, equipment and weapons. In spite of the action taken the volume of the drugs smuggled in Florida continuing to climb in 1983 and 1984. In 1987, the Agency started working 24hours a day and this was manned by DEA and Coast Guard. The success of OPBAT in 1991 pushed traffickers from Bahamas to Mexico and the Caribbean. Much of the smuggling was rerouted to Puerto Rico. This lead to an increase in drop-offs and seizures and the price of cocaine decreased to half of what it costs in Miami. The role of Puerto Rico’s was to transfer drugs destined for the mainland (National Drug Intelligence Center, 2003).
In 1995, operation around Mexico and U.S boarder was started by the customs service. More intensive and numerous examinations were done to all arriving cars, pedestrians and commercial trucks which increased the number of smuggling investigations. Colombia police arrested the leader of the Cali cartel Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela who was using the traditional Mexican boarder routes to smuggle cocaine to the U.S .Then a regional office was opened in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1996 under the operation of the hard line, drugs seizures increased by 50% in west Texas and New Mexico (Turner, 1991).
In 1997 the Colombian traffickers transformed Puerto Rico into the largest staging area in the Caribbean for smuggling cocaine into the U.S. the increase in drug activity was accompanied by money laundering, public corruption and violent crimes. Twelve Delta Airlines employees were indicted and twenty others were investigated for working with the Cali cartel to smuggle 6,000 to 10,000 kilo grams of cocaine between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Also Farjardo became the main gateway and it was the main route for smuggling cocaine into the U.S. in 1998 eight police officers were arrested for using their police launch to shuttle cocaine from the island of Vieques to Farjardo. Most of the cocaine smuggled into Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands is today transshipped to markets in the mainland including Miami (Delfin, 2005).
Social Impacts
The impact of the Cocaine Cowboys on Miami Florida in the 1980s was the fact that there are disputes over territory between rival drug dealers, assaults and homicides committed within hierarchies. This is as a means of implementing normative policies, burglaries of drug merchants and the usually violent reprisal by the dealers or their managers. There is also abolition of informants, disagreements over drugs, penalty for deteriorating to pay outstanding amount and also robbery aggression which are related to social environmental science of handling regions. The international drug associations in service throughout the hemisphere are inventive, adjustable and tremendously influential (Milford, 1997).
The drug organizations have an extraordinary complexity level and are further ordered and significant than any controlled offense venture prior them. The conventionally prearranged crime, operating within the United States from the revolving of the century to the present time simply cannot give a comparison to other organizations. These organizations like Columbian and Mexico operates in mainland U.S and the present Caribbean region. Presently, the international crime associations have a weapon store of knowledge, armaments and partners with tainted law enforcement and government officials. They give assistance to the authority of the organizations into the prohibited market of drug in unexpected ways. The present leaders of the drug associations have the capability of managing an industry of multi-billion money cocaine and heroine commerce which affects every feature of American life (Milford, 1997).
The nobles of drug who mastermind trans-global organizations which are responsible for every face of the drug trade, are approximately resistant to the strategies of conservative law implementation. Whichever the successful curriculum must give deal with to the intimidations pretense from the hemispheric bearing. The accountability of transporting the drugs, assembling the cargo space, leasing a convoy of cars, cell phones and faxes to ensure even maneuver of the organizations belong s to the military of personnel from the organizations. The conclusions made from heroine impact, have an effect of undulation which ends up forcing people to make alternatives about there personal agendas, their children’s training and their homes (Milford, 1997).
Due to the increased anxiety on the Cali collections, smuggling together with the procedure of sharing, in the late 80’s they twisted to recognized smuggling associations to progress cocaine to the United States. The operation took place in the South of Florida and the Caribbean. Initially, the crime families from Mexico received delivery of cocaine from the Cali association. Later on the cocaine was smuggled transversely the U.S through the boundary of Mexico and afterwards to the cells of Columbian distribution. There was an increase in the development of the market after the sale of thousands of kilograms of cocaine. Due to the sales, there was a great expansion in the distribution system. Therefore, this brought a big transformation in the countenance of dealing drugs in the United States. Also there was change in the organized illegal groups from Columbia who mislaid their throttlehold on the extensive market in the United States (Milford, 1997).
There was appreciation of aggressive crime and drug related assassination in most locations, where the cocaine trade added extras. Unfortunately, hostility is an assistant to the deal of drugs. Most of the individuals, who handle and give out cocaine in the market, are the Dominican bunch of criminals. The gangs differ from highly prearranged to the loosely-knit family collections that give control to the drug market in various positions. The groups easily become accustomed to disturbance in the organization configuration by a simple provision of instantaneous substitutions when need arises (Milford, 1997). There is direct transportation and allocation of kilograms of cocaine drugs from the cell managers based in Miami. At the same time as other compartment administrators are in charge with the compilation of the earnings from the cocaine transactions.
Conclusion
The impact of the Cocaine Cowboys on Miami Florida in the 1980s brought about social, political and economic changes. Due to the usage of Cocaine, the economic obsessive crime is committed by people who are financially driven to the activity of criminal. This crime is brought about by the financial needs which are brought about by the consumption of drugs. Due to such offenses, there is increase in robbery from drug users in the name of supporting expensive drug exploitation (Milford, 1997). The primary motivation is for the actors to obtain money for the acquiring of drugs. There is also violence which originates from the anxiety of doers who are the victims of reaction and weapons. Socially, there is a great impact on people due to the rise in crimes which cannot be cut off from the surroundings which is a market place for the drugs. There is also an importance of changeable cultures of gangs in which trafficking of cocaine are done in Miami. Politically, most of the people who traffic drugs are the politicians who have wealth and plenty of money. The drug is quite expensive and can only be afforded by people who have money (Mance, 2008).
References
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Delfin M. G. (2005). Island’s financial crime rate is on the rise. The San Juan Star. Retrieved November 22, 2008, from http://www.ladronesymentirosos.com/eng/pdf/Drug%20Smuggling%20Timeline.pdf
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Milford, J. (1997). DEA Congressional Testimony: Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs and Criminal Justice, Caribbean/South Florida November 22, 2008, from http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct970717.htm
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