{{Short description|Use of terrorism for purposes of drug trafficking}} {{Multiple issues| {{More citations needed|date=March 2020}} {{Lead too short|date=May 2025}} {{Globalize|1=article|date=February 2026}} }} '''Narcoterrorism''' (also spelled Narco-terrorism), in its original context, is understood to be the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by the systematic threat or use of such violence. The term has become a subject of controversy, largely due to its use in discussing violent opposition to the US government's war on drugs.
Pablo Escobar's violence in his dealings with the Colombian government is probably one of the most known and best documented examples of narcoterrorism. The Medellín Cartel was one of the first criminal organizations to be formally classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and its use has become widely relevant in the 21st century, particularly from 2025 onwards following the deployment of US naval troops in the Caribbean in the context of Operation Southern Spear.
== Description == {{See also|Illegal drug trade}} The term ''narcoterrorism'' was coined by former President Fernando Belaúnde Terry of Peru in 1983 when describing terrorist attacks against his nation's anti-narcotics police.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.hsdl.org/c/view?docid=706747 |title=Narco-terrorism: An Increasing Threat to U.S. National Security |last=Steinitz |first=Mark S. |date=2002 |publisher=Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Advanced Warfighting School |page=1 |quote=Former president Fernando Belaunde Terry of Peru first used the term narco-terrorism in 1983 when describing terrorist type attacks against his nation's anti-narcotics police.}}</ref> In its original context, the term is understood to be the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by the systematic threat or use of such violence.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} The term lacks a universally accepted legal definition.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Youngers |first1=Coletta A. |title=Drugs and Democracy in Latin America: The Impact of U.S. Policy |last2=Rosin |first2=Eileen |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers |year=2005 |isbn=978-1588263858 |page=13 |quote=The term 'narcoterrorism' has no precise or legal definition... it has become a convenient shorthand to justify the militarization of drug control efforts.}}</ref> The term has become a subject of controversy, largely due to its use in discussing violent opposition to the US government's war on drugs.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} Critics have argued that conceptual imprecision allows the ''narcoterrorist'' label to be broadly applied to justify expansive policies under the war on drugs.<ref name=":0" />
== By country == Various areas and countries that have experienced narcoterrorist activity or narco-warfare. Pablo Escobar's violence in his dealings with the Colombian government is probably one of the most known and best documented examples of narcoterrorism.
=== Afghanistan === Narcoterrorism has been used in Afghanistan to fund operations with sales of opium and heroin in the Afghanistan War.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-46554097| title = Afghanistan: How do the Taliban make money?| author = Azami, Dawood| date = August 28, 2021| access-date = May 21, 2022 |website = BBC News}}</ref>
=== Colombia{{anchor|Colombia}} === {{Unreferenced section|date=July 2017}} Colombia, which has influential right-wing paramilitary narco-terrorists, Clan del Golfo, Los Rastrojos, The Black Eagles and left-wing revolutionary guerrillas such as the Popular Liberation Army.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} Pablo Escobar's violence in his dealings with the Colombian government is probably one of the most known and best documented examples of narcoterrorism. During the period from 1984 to 1993, Colombia was known as one of the countries to have suffered a number of terrorist attacks at the hands of narcotic traffickers. Belisario Betancourt, Virgilio Barco and César Gaviria were three Colombian presidents that constantly battled against the Medellín Cartel's unrelenting war on the government, especially through its branch known as ''Los Extraditables'' led by Pablo Escobar Gaviria, Gustavo Gaviria and Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha.
Although the Medellín Cartel was one of the first criminal organizations to be formally classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, its use has become widely relevant in the 21st century, particularly from 2025 onwards following the deployment of US naval troops in the Caribbean in the context of Operation Southern Spear. A number of crimes by ''Los Extraditables'' were due to their constant battles against the government's policies on extradition and their collaborations with the United States government who sought to bring the Colombian drug bosses to justice. These terrorist acts typically consisted of assassinations of political figures, kidnappings, and bombings. The wing of the cartel also known as Los Priscos reportedly also participated directly in these acts of terrorism at the behest of the Medellín Cartel's top leaders.
==== History of narcoterrorism in Colombia ==== On April 30, 1984, a motorcycle gunman from the Medellin Cartel killed the minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara. On November 6, 1985 the 19th of April Movement (Marxist guerrillas) sieged the palace of Justice to hold all supreme magistrates hostage. The organized military reaction caused the building to burn resulting in the deaths of 91 people, 11 of which were judges. Although the M-19 denies being funded from outside sources, multiple sources say the Medellin Cartel funded them. Additionally, numerous bombs detonated across the country, the most memorable bomb being the one that brought down Avianca Flight 203 during its flight over Soacha Cundinamarca resulting in 107 dead in 1989.
In Colombian history, the FARC were initially major enemies of the drug cartels. The MAS ({{langx|es|Muerte a los secuestradores|translation=Death to the kidnappers}}) was a group created by the most eminent members of the Cali cartel, including Escobar and Ochoa against the guerrillas who had kidnapped one of Ochoa's sister. The MAS was responsible for the deaths of 500 members of the Patriotic Union, a political party that emerged from the demobilization of part of the FARC in the 1990s. Significantly, it is worth recalling that Medellin cartel refused to buy coca from peasants living in areas under FARC control. From then on, even when there was evidence of collaboration between FARC and the drug traffickers, these connections were described as "temporary alliances".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bagley |first=B. M. |year=1988 |title=Colombia and the War on Drugs |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=70–92 [p. 84] |doi=10.2307/20043675 |jstor=20043675 }}</ref>
President Alvaro Uribe, who was elected on the idea of waging an all-out war against the FARC, over-emphasized the link between drugs and the FARC as well as the terrorist nature of the guerilla group in a post 2001 context: "(Álvaro Uribe) increasingly equated the guerrillas with drug traffickers and terrorists".<ref>Congressional Research Service, Plan Colombia: a progress report, 2005, p2</ref> This policy has provoked much criticism which has enriched the debate on the nature of the conflict in Colombia, and consequently on the character of the FARC.
=== India === India's D-Company, a transnational crime syndicate which carried out the 1993 Bombay bombings. Said to be involved in large-scale drug trafficking via their contacts in Pakistani intelligence. Its leader, Dawood Ibrahim, was formally classified as a global terrorist in 2003.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}
As an individual, Dawood Ibrahim was the first drug lord to be officially and formally classified as a ''global terrorist'' in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl9742.aspx|title=Treasury Sanctions Two Indian Nationals and a Company Based in Pakistan for Ties to the South Asian Criminal Network 'D Company'|website=treasury.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2017-09-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/sc/suborg/en/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list/summaries/individual/dawood-ibrahim|title=DAWOOD IBRAHIM {{!}} United Nations Security Council Subsidiary Organs|website=un.org|language=en|access-date=2017-09-08}}</ref> He is believed to have had ties to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, as well as to its leader, Osama bin Laden.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-02-08 |title=Treasury Sanctions Two Indian Nationals and a Company Based in Pakistan for Ties to the South Asian Criminal Network 'D Company' |url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases |access-date=2025-12-19 |website=United States Department of the Treasury |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Windrem |first=Robert |date=11 July 2006 |title=Possible al-Qaida link to India train attacks |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13815413 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311125130/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13815413/ |archive-date=11 March 2013 |access-date=10 April 2007 |publisher=NBC News}}</ref> Although al-Qaeda is often said to finance its activities through drug trafficking, the 9/11 Commission Report notes that "while the drug trade was a source of income for the Taliban, it did not serve the same purpose for al Qaeda, and there is no reliable evidence that bin Laden was involved in or made his money through drug trafficking." The organization gains most of its finances through donations, particularly those by "wealthy Saudi individuals".
=== Kosovo === Kosovo, during the war in 1999. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) used "narcoterrorism" to finance its operations.<ref>{{cite book|title=Narco-terrorism: international drug trafficking and terrorism, a dangerous mix : hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session|date=May 20, 2003|publisher=United States Senate U.S. G.P.O.|page=111|isbn=9780160709500|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0gTAAAAIAAJ&q=narcoterrorism+KLA|access-date=25 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201090731/https://books.google.rs/books?id=B0gTAAAAIAAJ&q=narcoterrorism+KLA&dq=narcoterrorism+KLA&hl=sr&sa=X&redir_esc=y|archive-date=1 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Mexico === In Mexico, certain drug lords such as Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 18, 2025 |title=Sanctioning CJNG Leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists |url=https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/06/sanctioning-cjng-leaders-as-specially-designated-global-terrorists |website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 13, 2025 |title=Treasury Targets Terrorism and Timeshare Fraud in Mexico |url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0222 |website=U.S. Department of the Treasury}}</ref> and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 13, 2025 |title=Sinaloa Cartel Leaders Charged with Narco-Terrorism, Material Support of Terrorism and Drug Trafficking |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/sinaloa-cartel-leaders-charged-narco-terrorism-material-support-terrorism-and-drug-0 |website=U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California}}</ref> were formally classified as global terrorists in 2025. Similarly, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Northeast Cartel, and Carteles Unidos have been formally classified as both FTOs and SDGTs.<ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists}}</ref>
On February 22, 2026, Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho" Cervantes (leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel) and six other people were killed in a Mexican Army security operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-23 |title=Canadians in Mexican state ordered to shelter in place as violence erupts |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/canadians-in-mexican-state-ordered-to-shelter-in-place-as-violence-erupts/ |access-date=2026-02-23 |website=CTVNews |language=en |agency=The Canadian Press}}</ref> The operation sparked clashes in the area, resulting in shootouts, explosions, and the burning of several vehicles and stores throughout the state, road blockades, kidnappings, and an apparent state of siege,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Leila |date=February 22, 2026 |title=Vehicles torched in Mexico's Jalisco following federal operation |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/vehicles-torched-mexicos-jalisco-following-federal-operation-2026-02-22 |website=Reuters}}</ref> giving rise to narcoterrorism.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Tom |last2=Nuño |first2=Analy |date=2026-02-23 |title=Violence erupts after Mexican security forces kill drug cartel boss 'El Mencho' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/22/mexican-security-forces-reportedly-kill-drug-cartel-boss-el-mencho |access-date=2026-02-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferri |first=Pablo |date=2026-02-22 |title=Mexico kills Nemesio Oseguera, 'El Mencho,' the world's most wanted drug lord |url=https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-02-22/mexico-kills-nemesio-oseguera-el-mencho-the-worlds-most-wanted-drug-lord.html |access-date=2026-02-23 |website=EL PAÍS English |language=en-us}}</ref>
=== United States === [[File:Juan_Orlando_Hernández,_May_2015_(cropped).jpg|thumb|In 2025, Donald Trump formally pardoned the former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted of drug trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Kaitlan |last2=Santana |first2=Maria |date=2025-12-02 |title=Trump formally pardons former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/02/politics/juan-orlando-hernandez-pardon |access-date=2026-01-03 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-12-03 |title=Column {{!}} The glaring 'hypocrisy' behind Trump's war on drugs |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/02/trump-honduras-president-pardon-drug-boat-strikes/ |access-date=2026-01-16 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mann |first=Brian |date=2026-01-03 |title=Maduro faces drug charges in U.S. even as Trump freed others convicted of trafficking |url=https://www.npr.org/2026/01/03/nx-s1-5665695/maduro-trump-drug-dealer-pardons |access-date=2026-01-16 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Downs |first=Garrett |date=2026-01-04 |title=Trump admin pressed on pardon for ex-Honduras president after Venezuela's Maduro snatched |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/04/trump-venezuela-maduro-pardon-honduras.html |access-date=2026-01-16 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>]]A 2013 Congressional Research Service report noted that in 2003, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that 14 of 36 (39%) of the groups designated by the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations "were involved 'to some degree' in illicit narcotics activity" while in fiscal year 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) "reported that 29 of the top 63 international drug syndicates, identified as such on the consolidated priority organization target (CPOT) list, were associated with terrorists".<ref>John Rollins & Liana Sun Wyler, [https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/R41004.pdf Terrorism and Transnational Crime: Foreign Policy Issues for Congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615022629/http://fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/R41004.pdf |date=2016-06-15 }}, Congressional Research Service (June 11, 2013).</ref>
In 2000, the U.S. enacted, continued under the Bush administration, Plan Colombia, intending to eradicate drug crops and to act against drug lords accused of engaging in narcoterrorism, including among them the leaders of the Marxist FARC and the AUC paramilitary forces. The U.S. government is funding large-scale drug eradication campaigns and supporting Colombian military operations, seeking the extradition of commanders.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} The designation of ''narcoterrorism'' by U.S. policy has been criticized for categorizing violent resistance to drug enforcement as a national security threat to justify the further militarization of the war on drugs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bartilow |first=Horace A. |title=Drug War Pathologies: Embedded Corporatism and U.S. Drug Enforcement in the Americas |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-1469652078 |page=152 |quote=The 'narcoterrorist' label allowed the U.S. state to securitize the drug problem... providing a powerful rhetorical and legal justification for the militarization of the war on drugs.}}</ref>
In 2025, by executive order, the United States expanded its approach in its counter drug campaign to designate foreign drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. This gave the United States military broad authority to employ military force against drug cartels and to target their leaders through direct military action.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/designating-cartels-and-other-organizations-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations-and-specially-designated-global-terrorists/|title=Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists |website=White House |date=20 January 2025 |access-date=2025-09-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth-narco-terrorists-venezuela-boat-strike-response/ |title= U.S.Hegseth warns "narco-terrorists will face the same fate" after U.S. military strikes boat off Venezuela |last=Breen |first=Kerry |website=CBS News |date=3 September 2025 |access-date=2025-09-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?params=/context/facpub/article/2296/&path_info=Brooks__Drones_and_the_Int_l_Rule_of_Law.pdf|title=Drones and the International Rule of Law |last=Brooks |first=Rosa |website=Georgetown University Law Center |date=2013 |access-date=2025-09-01}}</ref>
== Perspectives on origins == Critics of the prohibition of drugs have asserted that prohibition itself funds terrorism by indirectly creating a black market for banned substances from which criminal organizations profit.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.narcoterror.org/kz_oped.htm |title=The Drug War and Terrorism |publisher=Narcoterror.org |date=2009-07-16 |access-date=2013-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627094805/http://www.narcoterror.org/kz_oped.htm |archive-date=2013-06-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also== * Narcoguerrilla * Anti-Narcotics Force * Terruqueo * War on terror
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101125080248/http://mexidata.info/id2755.html The Drug War in Mexico: By Any Other Name it's Terrorism], by Barnard R. Thompson (MexiData.info) * [https://www.propublica.org/article/the-dea-narco-terror-trap The Narco-terror Trap], by Ginger Thompson (ProPublica)
{{Authority control}} {{Terrorism topics}}
Category:Illegal drug trade Category:Special-interest terrorism Category:War on terror Category:War on drugs