COLOMBIA: THE LINK BETWEEN DRUGS AND TERROR.

COLOMBIA; UNITED States

This article focuses on the role played by drugs in the degradation of the Colombian conflict into terror. The plethora of definitions for terrorism underscores the deficiencies of a notion, which remains a political label rather than an analytical concept. Policymakers have long held a monopoly on the subject, a fact that partially explains the oftentimes biased bent of the analyses offered. The very notion indeed squarely rests on the issue of legitimacy. The debate on Colombia is no exception. A society so polarized inevitably induces confrontations in which finger pointing overwhelms discussion. A common tendency, on the one hand, is to blame Colombia's elite and government for the terror inherent in the system's structure. This point of view maintains that generalized poverty has compelled certain groups to resort to terrorism in defense. This perspective generally also shows hostility to the imperialism of the U.S. and makes it the culprit of the drug trade, which would not exist without the demand in the North.