Colombia's Coke

Sam Salmon says on Jan 10, 2005, 10:17:

Drug Money is Addicting Here in BC we have a thriving Marijuana trade-it permeates many aspects of society.
The money is easy and the law is weak.
Many small towns in the mountainous Interior would crumble and fail if the drug money dried up.It's an interesting question whether or not the drug money is a net benefit here or just an aberration.


' a la orden!'

' a la orden!'

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nanis says on Jan 10, 2005, 10:22:

Tinto ok you are right, i do not know where the money goes, whether is the government or other agencies but it sure doesn't go back to colombia! how many kilos of coke and how many millions of dollers have been confiscated on all these raids? where does it all go? take this for instance here in the UK it is really difficult for an individual with no good credit background therefore no money to set up a business such as a nightclub or a restaurant as it has a lot of permissions and licences to deal with which costs a lot of money! the scotland yard knows about these individuals from day one, they have been on their tails for a long time! they allow these individuals to set up businesses, bank accounts, launder money and keep making deals until they have enough money to confiscate note that in september my family and other members of the cartel here in London had to give back all their fincas, houses back in colombia and in london as well as their possesions (cars, cash etc) including $40 million worth of cocaine and $4 million in cash as they raided more than 20 adresses here in London and let's not even mention the raids in colombia and America over the years... so where does it all go? you tell me!

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oldbongo says on Jan 10, 2005, 10:59:

it will never stop... until all illicit substances are decriminalized.

the world of today is sick. sick of dealing with the
problems created by prohibition. ...not the dope.
of course there are profiteers everywhere,all angles,
and that breeds our societal decay.

in the last 100 years,prohibition leads us here, world criminality.
in next 100 years, decriminalization may lead us to peace.

and don't argue with me.

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Neonovo says on Jan 10, 2005, 11:31:

No argument here, oldwiseone... Only reverence. But your are desprestigiado 'round here, (your reputation preceedes you). And your flippant attitude casts a shwadow on your argument, which is a shame.
Legalization is the only way out of this bloodshed. I would be a liberterian, if there were any money in it. So I don't waste my time subscribing. BUT I got to hand it to you, oldwiseone...I love the way you piss 'us all off!!

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oldbongo says on Jan 10, 2005, 11:49:

flippant??? not me!!.....

what reputation???

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jan 10, 2005, 13:07:

One tiny note FWIW, Mrs. Gomez, the US government frequently gives millions in seized cash and assets from Colombian druglords to the Colombian Government.

I agree that there's a lot of business in counternarcotics, too. Criminalization actually ups the profit margin for the smugglers AND the forces arrayed against them. If cocaine were legal it would be just another profitable commodity like coffee or tobacco. A nice business, sure, but not with the kind of markups it currently enjoys.

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dwmte says on Jan 10, 2005, 15:36:

is this really a question? the governments, ours/theirs, are so deeply embedded in this whole charade that it makes it a 'bloody' joke that we call it a 'war on drugs'. hell, where i was living last in colombia, when one wanted perico, you got it from the police/military. they were the big dealers. when ever there was a raid on one of the jungle labratories all the 'blow' went to the government. you don't think they burned it do you. it's like white gold.

i've seen the disinformation videos of military burning bags of white stuff....ha! really, disinformation! frickin talcum powder or soap or??? so don't anybody wonder where the money goes.

the whole thing is a farce. i knew americans working with the dea and they looked like mobsters, thugs. they went around with there espaldas and just acted like a bunch of toughs.

imagine that this absorbs over a 100 billion U.S. a year. whew, pretty soon you're talking about serious money.

i had countless opportunities over the years to enter this business, but common sense taught me better, i had my own businesses and made a living. nothing like the capos, but enough to enjoy my life and never had to spend a night in jail or hide from a bullet intended for the competition. it's a bad risk friends. don't let the money fool you. you're always somebody's competition so you've a target on your forehead.

thanks to president, c. gaviria, you can have your own stash without problems (unless of course you're a complete ass) but trafficking is another story. remember, the big trafficker is the government. all that's confiscated goes to them. and of course they don't burn it or take it out to sea and sink it. they sell it. so the government, here/there/anywhere, is mr. big. watch out. enjoy your distractions wisely and let the bloodthirsty take on the task of sales.

dw

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G-Capo says on Jan 10, 2005, 15:39:

US and Europe must stop! US and Europe are the ones paying for it they need to stop buying it for the trade to stop.

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oldbongo says on Jan 10, 2005, 16:15:

senorito dw... could you kindly share the specifics
of the gaviria reference??

you splained it pretty good,but understated it a little.

"THE WHOLE THING IS A FARCE" is exactly the point.

for a hundred years....

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dwmte says on Jan 10, 2005, 16:31:

old g and tinto......... the law was passed in the early nineties after mr gaviria entered office. he was basically of the opinion--my words--that colombia didn't have a drug problem, it had a drug DEALER problem. personal possession was decriminalized ( i don't think that extrapolates out to possessing a couple of kilos being considered personal stash) it was in the papers way back when that the west--US, europe, japan, saudi arabia (all the big users) had a completely different view of the coca than did south americans. if you talk to the folks in the alta plano, they'll tell you that the coca is 'sagrado'. hell, they were using it and selling it 10,000 yrs before the spaniards got there. and still do today. it's the illigality that creates the problems.

i remember in statistic classes in university, that it was said that 6% of the human species are abusers. they abuse something....each other, drugs, alcohol, pepsi, whatever. if they remove the laws that criminalize it's use, all of a sudden were dealing with something completely different.

when i first went to colombia, i really liked coke--from my years of running businesses in L A--but after living in medellin, where i could have as much as i wanted for next to nothing, i hardly ever used it. i found that interesting. you could by what was called a 'fat-gram', about a gram and a half, for about $1.50. and this was 'mother of pearl', it glowed in the dark. back in L A, that would cost between $100-$150 and it was what we called 'boot-toot', it had been stepped on. (that's cut, for those who don't know what i'm talkin about).

i don't have the corner on some 'just out' leading editorial, hell, just about everybody knows this. it's a real sham and the american public is subsidising it. when congress cut funding for the contras, oliver north used his planes (cia) to fly toot into the u.s. and of course nobody was checking on anything at that level. it was the funds from these sales that kept the contras going. this was testimony infront of congress. you figure it out.

i just wish that if govt was gonna f**K us so frequently, they'ld kiss us every now and then.

dw

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goosekirk says on Jan 10, 2005, 17:33:

Here's how This is an absolutely amazing article from Esquire:

http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2004/041217_mfe_webb_1.html

Tinto, this explains how these stories are 'covered up' in plain sight. And there is quite a bit more credible info out there on this stuff.

I have a brilliant mechanic friend who used to service these covert drug flights while in the Air Force in Central America. I know another guy who was in the Coast Guard in the early 90s who claims that before they would stop suspicious boats in the middle of nowhere, they would radio their coordinates, and more often than not they would be told to stand down. Even if these claims could somehow be proven, who in the mainstream would want to pursue the story and become the next Gary Webb? Would you want to tangle with the most powerful intelligence services on earth, especially in these Patriot Act days?

For me, no way, no how. And if I were an editor with a good career and a mortgage and a family, even moreso.

And look what just happened at CBS. Maybe the papers they had were fake, but the secretary clearly stated that the attitudes expressed were entirely accurate. Heads rolled and the whole story fell apart anyway. These just aren't the times for risky investigative journalism.

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dwmte says on Jan 10, 2005, 17:51:

just a note on this whole thread.... back around '98 or '99, when the issue of 'drug war money for colombia' was before congress, i can remember watching all this crap on tv at my home in colombia and being taken aback by the fact that the u.s. was planning to give the colombian govt $800,000,000.00 u.s.

pastrana was in washington and being shuffled around by senator trent lott as if they were the oldest golf buddies. pastrana was given the red carpet treatment.

when it got down to the vote, there was all of this lobbying going on to convince the naysayers in congress that this mr pastrana was a good guy and that the money would be well spent (LOL)

i couldn't believe it. we're gonna give the biggest drug dealers 800 million dollars to stage a war on drugs? this has to be a spoof.

anyway, i went up to telecom at the rio negro airport and called washington....first to attn general janet renos office. the person answering in her office was some young buck attorney who basically said after i told him that they can't be serious, that i live here and see daily what's going on. this young wippersnapper's response was basically along the lines of 'don't call us we'll call you.'

getting nowhere there--as if i really thought i'd get anywhere--i called the office of senator trent lott....this was the killer. what i got there was to the effect that 'this is way over yo head son'.

yeah, i'll bet it is, kinda like a free island in the bahamas for getting this deal passed......

well, as we all know, it passed and the bread headed for colombia some weeks later. what a party in bogota. 800,000,000 to divide amongs the insiders. within weeks it was all back in miami.

enough said.

dw.

ps. i wasted $20.00 in phone calls for this bovada.

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goosekirk says on Jan 10, 2005, 18:06:

Oh yeah The owner of my favorite neighborhood watering hole in Bogota has started to tell me the story of his best friend's father, who was a good guy and fairly important in the consulate in Miami in the early 80s. The story's all about how he got dragged into the coke business, and somehow even features an appearance by the elder George Bush... but I haven't gotten that far yet. I really need to drink more.

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ReinaDeLa Baile says on Jan 10, 2005, 20:30:

tinto well, Jen is KIND OF free. Read the article on sort of hetero women and bi women in the USA............I am off to bed now. yawn. BTW, Jen says HI!

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