The international 'war on drugs' policy in the context of the triple amazonian frontier

Abstract

The present study deals with the effects of the drug war policy on the triple Amazonian border (Brazil, Colombia and Peru). This region, since the 1970s, due to several factors, has been marked by a constant flow of drug trafficking, especially cocaine. The national and international context for combating the illicit use and trafficking of narcotics is analyzed, highlighting international conventions and internal legal rules that seek to suppress the circulation of these substances. The reasons for the failure of the current penal policy of drug repression and its deleterious effects on societies in the contemporary world are examined, such as the increase in violence, the overcrowding of prisons and the emergence and strengthening of criminal organizations, which obtain large profits from trade in narcotic substances. Therefore, the triple Amazonian frontier is seen as a microcosm of this complex issue, in which all the negative consequences of the current model of coping with the drug trade are clearly seen.