South American drug trafficking with links to Extremism

The purpose of this Literature review is to determine the extent to which the research objectives have been addressed by existing academic and other relevant literature. The structure of the literature review will begin with a brief overview of the literature search and selection strategy.  Pursing, to examine the root cause of the problem, the measures of combating drug trafficking, implementation by various governments and law enforcement organisations, mainly, from South America and the United Kingdom. Following this, will examine how those countries manages drug trafficking, primarily the links to extremism and the threat and the tactics to which these are dependent upon legislative, law enforcement powers and government capabilities. This paper will assess the scope of the current mechanics of the drug trafficking and their links to Extremism, including, research of both elements. Criminal groups have colluded with terrorist and guerrilla groups in order to better shield their activities from government intervention (Kan, P.R., 2016). Lastly, this paper will assess the scope and actions by governments and law enforcement organisations, concluding with a short discussion on the main findings.

With the development of technology and the rise of extremist activities, the United Kingdom faces more security and safety challenges than ever recorded in history. This research project will seek to provide a clear picture of the state of drug trafficking and its role in extremism. 

A recent study, based, inter alia , on a questionnaire to states, found that: Many States indicated that terrorist groups were frequently involved in other crimes, in particular trafficking in illicit drugs, money-laundering and the falsification of travel and identity or other official documents (Schmid, A.P., 2005). South American drug trafficking continues to affect the United Kingdom and broader European nations. In fact, Belgian police seized 11.5 tons of cocaine in November 2020. Counter-narcotics prosecutors stated that they had tracked the transatlantic journey of 11.5 tons of cocaine from Guyana on the north-eastern coast of South America and seized it upon its arrival at the Port of Antwerp. It was classed as the “largest overseas drug bust ever” by the Brussel Times. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs Addiction, the entire European picture is mainly unknown. Over the recent years, various measures and policies were develop to combat drug trafficking and forms of terrorism such as extremism. UNODC Senior Terrorism Prevention Officer Irka Kuleshnyk said that “While it is difficult to establish how widely terrorist groups are involved in the illicit drug trade, or the breadth and nature of cooperation between these two criminal groups, the magnitude of the numbers involved make the relationship worrisome.”( UNODC., 2017).

Literature search and selection strategy

This project’s central question is, “Does the South American trafficking have links to extremism?”. A series of questions guide the strategy and selection search. This is necessary in order to examine, measure, and formulate an advanced understanding. The answers to these questions will be critical in evaluating governments and law enforcement organisations based on their legislation and capabilities in understanding, combating, and maintaining control of the drug trafficking. These are only a few of the important questions that have to be answered in order to engage in an enlightened debate on public policy—a debate that could also help politicians make more informed decisions (M Bergman., 2018). Initial scope and research indicate that the topics covered by these questions could be classified into four stages:

1. What is Drug Trafficking, particularly, South American drug trafficking.
2. Define Terrorism, mainly in the form of extremism.
3. Identify the financial links between South American drug trafficking and extremism.
4. What measures that currently address both drug trafficking and extremism.

These questions were subdivided into further questions and a set of keywords was derived from each defined question. The data was then placed on a number of different search engines (e.g.  EThOS, Electonic Library) provided by the University and designed to search large numbers of bibliographic -Search databases, the most important of which have been defined before starting the search process. Internet was also used, and relevant websites were identified, such as Google and Google Scholar search engines found relevant journal articles and other materials not covered by the university. In addition to the academic literature, government agencies and private companies have contributed significantly to recent research that has assessed the nature of drug trafficking and extremism and how to counter it, obtaining relevant and up-to-date information on drug trafficking and extremism.

This search for relevant literature on drug trafficking and extremism uncovered a large amount of material that needed to be synthesised and collated together into a coherent, thematically based review. However, there was less literature on identifying links between drug trafficking and extremism – in contrast to if this literature review were mainly about drug trafficking. Therefore, when undertaking this part of the literature review, the relevant literature was reviewed and then applied as the relationship between drug trafficking and extremism in context.

What is Drug Trafficking, particularly, South American drug trafficking.

According the UNODC, Drug trafficking is a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Show on media sites, such as Netflix promotes shows like, NARCOS and EL CHAPO as entertainment. However, these shows is a glimpse of the wider harm, destabilisation, corruption and disaster caused by drug trafficking.  EUROPOL stated, Drug trafficking is big business, bringing in a fifth of all profits from organised crime. It ravishes communities, endangers businesses, strains government institutions, and drags down the wider economy.

What is Drug Trafficking, particularly, South American drug trafficking

Define Terrorism, mainly in the form of extremism

1. What are the early stages of Terrorism and the added on of Extremism?
2. The percentage killed by extremism since 2014 in Europe and South America?
3. What does Terrorism and Extremist groups look like in 2021/2022, compared to 6 years ago?
4. Examples of expertise view on

What are the connections between Extremism?

 1. Is there a link between extremism and drug trafficking gangs?

 2. Did any of those attacks in Europe and South America have links to drug trafficking Gangs?

 3. Names of some drug traffickers convicted of terrorist attacks and extremist groups member convicted of drugs trafficking.

Identify the financial links between South American drug trafficking and extremism.

• What are the benefits that Drug trafficking creates for extremist groups?
• How does drug trafficking provide financial support to extremist groups?
• Why was this connection made i.e., for money, power, influence, safe trafficking route for terrorist etc?

• What is Narco-terrorism?
• Why was this “title” developed?
• What does it really mean?
• Examples of Narco-terrorism cases/operations.
• Examples of expertise view on narco-terrorism.

What measures that currently address both drug trafficking and extremism.

1. How do government and international policies combat drug trafficking.
2. How do government and international policies impact Terrorism, Extremist groups.
3. Are they Policies that impact both drug trafficking and Extremist groups in the UK?
4. Identify cases where policies have been successful and cases where policies have failed to stop drug trafficking and Extremist groups in Europe and South America.

International peace and security are threatened by violent extremism that leads to terrorism. Violent extremism is typically a process of marginalisation, lack of opportunity, and frustrations with the state. People with low socioeconomic status are targeted and recruited by terrorist organisations using extremists’ ideology. UK terrorist Act of 2006 defines extremism as a loud or active hostility to the basic principles, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and respect for diverse religions and views (Eatwell, 20006). But it is vital to keep in mind that not all extremist organisations, whether Islamist, far-right, or other, will engage in terrorist or violent attacks. However, there are some groups that pose specific hazards both online and offline. Several separatist and terrorist groups, according to Stephens, Sieckelinck, and Boutellier (2021), have developed extreme views, feelings, and behaviours via the employment of radicalization techniques. The essential principles of society are in direct conflict with the ideologies of extremists. Non-violent pressure and compulsion, as well as acts that differ from the norm and demonstrate disrespect for life, freedom, and human rights, can be used to convey extremist feelings and behaviours (Berger, 2018).

Since the September 11 attacks, we have been particularly concerned about “extremist” terrorism. However, this raises the issue of what we mean when we use labels like “terrorist” and “extremist,” characteristics that are frequently relative. Politically motivated violence against civilians and non-combatants is what we mean when we say “terrorism.” Extremism is more difficult to pin down, but two characteristics stand out. Political radicals have political preferences that fall in the “tails” of a normal distribution (Koeheler, 2018). In other words, their political views are not commonly accepted even in their own countries. Second, radicals lack the resources or power to achieve their aims. As a result, their strategy is influenced by both of these characteristics. In an effort to delineate between terrorism and other types of extremism, Avdeev Y.I. deems terrorism to be a specific socio-political phenomenon, whereas extremism is a collection of numerous extreme forms of political conflict (Baisagatova et al., 2016). Thus, extremism and terrorism are part of the same chain, where extremism is preparatory theory and terrorism is the practise of carrying out such theories. Terrorism and other types of extremism can be justified as a means of addressing societal disputes because extremism is a belief in extreme methods (Comway, 2017).

Questions to answer

According to the report by the state department extremist group in South America are on the rise and these extremist group have been violent and targeting people since 2014 (State Department, 2014). For example, in Peru the extremist group the Shining path engaged in massacres and assassination and also posed a threat to the Peruvian government. 87 acts of terrorism were carried out by Shining Path since 2014, killing one civilian and 13 members of the military, five police officers, for a total of 19 individuals. Civilian bombing is the common phenomena of this group (State Department, 2014). State Department’s annual Country Reports on Terrorism in 2014, shows that the FARC is responsible for a majority of terrorist activities throughout South America. According to reports, 220,000 people have perished in Colombia’s war, with the great majority of those killed being civilians (Taylor, 2016). FARC also connections with Lebanon’s Hezbollah which targets Israeli citizens in South America. According to a study by Jeferson (2020) suggested that violence against Saudi and Israeli citizen are being targeted and killed by Hezbollah with Farc support. Recently, the right-wing extremist movement has seen a resurgence in Europe with an uptick in anti-immigrant and Islamophobic violence, as well as attacks on political opponents, ethnic minorities, and gays and lesbians. In Germany, a right-wing terrorist cell known as the National Socialist Underground killed at least 10 individuals and carried out two explosions over the span of nearly 14 years, beginning in 2012 (Koehler, 2016). Breivik’s bombing of Oslo and shooting spree on Utya in Norway murdered 77 people over that period of time (Gardell,, 2014). Many nations in Western Europe, as well as Russia and Eastern Europe, have reported similar occurrences (Basra, 2016; Butt and Byman, 2020). The United Kingdom reported the most assaults (103), but did not offer any information on the probable affiliation of the perpetrators (Lowe, 2017). Security agencies are prioritising the fight against Islamist terrorist threats, but many critics are concerned that the threat of far-right terrorism is being undervalued.

The terrorist danger in 2021/22 is perhaps broader than at any time in recent memory, with far-right extremists and jihadists joined by a growing roster of political and socio-cultural reasons, including ‘technophobia’ or neo-Luddite terrorism, violent anarchists, and severe misogynists. According to Gunaratna (2022) since the discovery of the Omicron form of coronavirus earlier this year, nations throughout the world have been forced to implement mandatory vaccination programmes and new lockdowns, resulting in demonstrations from anti-vaxxers and anti-government radicals, as well. Vaccination opponents in Italy have joined forces with far-right extremists, a dangerous combination that is likely to play out across Europe, as well as the United States, Canada, and Australia. Even positive news about the epidemic has the potential to be poisonous (Bousseta, 2021). When limitations are lifted in 2022, terrorists will have access to a wide range of new possible targets, including athletic events, concert venues, and farmers’ markets where crowds are likely to assemble. Moreover, the old extremist’s group through the use of globalisation and interdependence is using the global drug trafficking chain to fund their programme and weapons. This new development will be addressed in the following paragraph.

The creation of Narco-terrorism

Extremism in the form of terrorist activities and transnational organised crime are becoming increasingly linked, posing a threat to world peace and security. There are a few common threads that run across all of these connections, even if they take various shapes and forms. Illicit trafficking of counterfeit goods, weapons, natural resources, cultural artefacts, and people has been used by a number of well-known terrorist organisations as a way of supporting their activities after the worldwide network of terrorist financing was disrupted (Zinchenko, 2014). The drug trade, in particular, has moved to the top of the list of illegal money-raising operations, providing finance for insurgency and extremist acts in numerous parts of the world. According to UNODC Senior Terrorism Prevention Officer Irka Kuleshnyk emphasised that “while it is difficult to determine the extent to which terrorist groups are involved in the illicit drug trade or the nature and breadth of cooperation between these two criminal groups, the sheer magnitude of the numbers involved make the relationship worrisome” (United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime, 2017). According to a study by Schmid (2005) found that there are several ways in which extremist groups and drug trafficking might be linked, including both direct involvement and “marriage of convenience.” Terrorist and Extremists groups profit from drugs trafficking in two main ways. An example of this is that certain terrorist groups levie a tax on drug traffickers and farmers themselves (United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime, 2017). A tax on drug traffickers will be imposed by terrorists who control drug-growing regions. Terrorists gain by obtaining monetary support, while their adversaries are weakened as a result of the addictive narcotics used to fuel their society. “Marriage” benefits both parties, though. Terrorists’ military prowess, weapons stockpiles, and connections to other shadowy groups aid drug traffickers. When drug traffickers work with terrorists who control a big area of land, they can enjoy more freedom of movement and security (Shanty, 2011). A common example of this phenomenon, according to Peters (2009), is the Taliban who controls the opium trade in Afghanistan and also sells opium to another extremist group in and outside of the region. According to a report published by the United Kingdom government on narco- terrorism (United States Department of State, 2019) found that the major source of income for Taliban comes from opium trade which was later used in buying arms, stockpiling weapons and supply money to another extremist organisation mainly Al-Qaeda network. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (2020), the global drug trade is worth $400 billion (. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, 60 percent of the 43 Foreign Terror Organizations are involved in drug trafficking (Barnes, 2012). Secondly, The FARC, for example, is an extremist organisation that is also a drug trafficking organisation. Their primary goal is the removal of Colombia’s current government and the establishment of a socialist dictatorship in its stead (Saab and Taylor, 2009).  Anti-government guerrilla group FARC uses terrorist tactics such as bombings, assassination, kidnapping, and armed conflict in an effort to undermine Colombia’s legitimate government. FARC relies on the proceeds from drug trafficking as their primary financing source to carry out its political mission (Rochlin,, 2011). Their primary goal is to safeguard and profit from drug trafficking activities in Colombia and the surrounding region. Terrorism and drug trafficking go hand in hand, as illustrated by this incident.

Terrorism in the form of extremism

Criminal activity, such as drug trafficking, has played a significant role in the rise of terrorism and fringe groups all over the world. It is incredibly difficult to deal with this threat since extremists’ behaviour is so complicated and continually developing. Drug trafficking and terrorist organisations are colliding to form ‘hybrids’ that are one part terrorist group and one part drug trafficking cartel, as Michael Braun, DEA Chief of Operations in 2008, put it. FARC, Taliban, Hamas and Hezbollah were included in Braun’s definition of extremist groups (Braun, 2008). Among the areas where the drug-terror link is most pronounced are the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay in South America known as Tri-Border Area (TBA) (Miryekta, 2014). The United States’ intelligence proved Hamas and Hezbollah’s involvement in the local narcotics trade. Neither Hamas nor Hezbollah are recognised by the United States or the European Union as legitimate political parties. A group of Arab merchants in the previously stated tri-border region of South America is responsible for their presence in the region. These groups were able to support their terrorist acts by assisting the local significant drug trafficking. According to US Rep. Ted Deutch, a designated global terrorist organisation in Paraguay paid Hezbollah $3.5 million in a flat sum payment (Rana, and Moditsi, 2017). While Hezbollah has established contacts with Mexican cartels and established operations in Texas, the U.S. According to a report by () found that both the 1992 explosion of Israel’s embassy in Buenos Aires (the Israeli Consulate) and the 1994 bombing of an Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) were carried out by Iranian and Hezbollah-affiliated groups in the TBA (Escudé, and Gurevich, 2003). Their connection has become strong as the local drug trafficking organisation in the TBA area support these extremist organisations. In another report by Ottolenghi (2018) found that Drug trafficking, money and document counterfeiting, extortion, and terrorist funding were all determined to be part of the activities of “Clan Barakat” in Argentina. Hezbollah’s South American operations have been financed in part by the Barkat family (Ottolenghi, 2018). Aside from South America, Numerous scholars and security experts are alarmed by the fact that in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania there are individuals and organisations related to terrorist networks such as Al Qaeda, given the magnitude of organised crime—especially drug trafficking. Furthermore, it is widely believed that criminal gangs operating throughout the region provide financial support to terrorist organisations. As a result of Albanian separatism’s dependence on drug trafficking, Albanian-populated communities are increasingly being referred to as the ‘new Medellin’ of the Balkans (Swanstrom, 2007). These ethnic Albanians, mostly from Kosovo, “have for some time now had an important presence in the criminal underground in a number of European and North American cities, notably in the drugs trade,” according to the so-called “Albanian Mafia.” It has been estimated that since the early 1990s, “Albanian nationalists in ethnically charged Macedonia and the Serbian province of Kosovo have built an extensive heroin network, leading from Pakistan’s opium fields to black-market arms dealers in Switzerland, which used to transport up to $2 billion worth of the drug annually into Europe’s heartland (Paoli and Reuter, 2008). 500 Kosovar or Macedonian Albanians were imprisoned and more than 1,000 others were awaiting trial in Switzerland in 1995 for drug or arms trafficking charges. In addition, the income generated from illegal operations are frequently utilised to fund terrorism, particularly the drug trade. A recent study by the Balkan Center for Peace found that drugs trafficking has been a major source of funding for extremist groups operating in the region (Shelly, 2012).

The links between drug trafficking and extremist organisations should be examined from a financial standpoint to better understand and grasp the relationship between the two groups. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s World Drug Report 2007, the total value of Afghanistan’s 2006 opium harvest was around $US3.1 billion (United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime, 2020). More than 400 metric tonnes of cocaine, worth $2 billion in the United States, were said to have been shipped from Latin America in 2004. Even in transit areas like Mexico, drug trafficking has been a major source of income for insurgents and terrorists across the world. For example, the Madrid bombings were carried out using the use of narcotics as a kind of cash. According to Marcy (2010) the reach of Drug Trafficking is very prominent in South America building a strong connection between the extremist organisations. The threat posed by narco-terrorist organisations such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC; the National Liberation Army, or ELN; and the United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia, or AUC, is well-documented in South America (Lee, 2012). Drug trafficking, transport, and storing, as well as taxation on traffickers and drug labs in Colombia, are used by terrorist groups in Colombia to fund their civil war, terrorist attacks and the kidnapping of American citizens among other things. The Tri-Border region of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, which has long been characterised as a regional hub for radical Islamic groups engaged in arms and drug trafficking, contraband smuggling, money laundering, and the movement of pirated goods, has reported the connection between Middle Eastern terrorist groups like Hizballah and Hamas and Latin American drug trafficking. As Rodriguez (2015) noted, drug trafficking groups handle billions of dollars each year, and what they do with that money may have a significant influence on the local and larger economies. Some of the extremist organisations have relied heavily on the drug trade as a source of money. For the most part, there is strong evidence tying these gangs to drug trafficking in Colombia, where they first became prominent in the 1980s. Coca plantations were protected and precursor chemicals and landing strips were charged by the government (Oatis, 2014). The FARC, in particular, was active in taxing various elements of the manufacturing chain and selling coca paste, and eventually got involved in the cocaine trafficking with neighbouring nations. In the Western Hemisphere, the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange technique “is the single most effective and comprehensive money laundering mechanism,” FinCEN states (Nissman, 2002). In this method, Colombian drug traffickers sell their dollar proceeds at a discount to American agents working for Colombian peso brokers. As soon as the dollars have been given to the American agent, the Colombian broker puts the agreed-upon sums in pesos into the account of the traffickers. Hezbollah and the FARC have an operational relationship, with much of it taking place under the cover of Venezuela’s government. In the perilous tri-border area, Hezbollah engages in other illegal activities. Drug trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking, and weapons transfers are among the operations of these organisations.

Similarly, as Gorritti (2000) elucidated that over four decades, the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) in neighbouring Peru used income from cocaine manufacturing factories to support its activities. During the 1990s, the group was especially active. It was emphasised by Shelly (2012) that there is a direct link between the violent operations of extremist organisations and the narcotics trafficking they engage in. For instance, from 1992 to 2015, the area in Peru dedicated to coca growing decreased by about 70% (Bagley  and Rosen, 2015). Terrorist, insurgent, and extremist armed group killings also decreased from 818 in 1992 to six in 2015 during the same time period; the majority of these deaths were caused by activities by the Shining Path, which was responsible for 772 deaths in 1992 but just three in 2015 (Becker, 2019). The Shining Path conducted most of its activities in or around Peru’s former primary coca-growing region, the Alto Huallaga. Another way to see this is by how many times Proyecto Especial de Control de Cultivos de Coca (CORAH) officers have been attacked and killed. Around 30 attacks occurred between 2005 and 2012, resulting in 133 injuries and 11 deaths among CORAH members (Lopez, 206). Coca cultivation in the Alto Huallaga region correlates with the frequency of assaults by terrorist, insurgent, and extremist armed organisations during the previous three decades, with the drop of coca cultivation beginning in the early 1990s correlated with a decrease in attacks. Similarly, in Colombia, the area under cultivation of coca decreased by 70% between 2000 and 2013 due to a decrease in FARC activities (Vargas, 2000). During the same time span, the number of people killed or maimed by armed extremist groups decreased significantly. Co-relation was found by Oatis (2014) to be the outcome of a decline in crime and violation as a result of a fall in funding from drug trafficking, according to the study.

Fundamentalist groups in South America will use any methods necessary to fund and accomplish their violent goals, regardless of the risks involved. Drug trafficking has become increasingly appealing to extremist organisations due to the growing worldwide network of extremist group. The drug trade is one of the most profitable industries, legal or illicit. Every step of drug trafficking, from cultivation or manufacturing to street-level sale, provides enough profit to justify its existence. Criminals of all levels are motivated by the need to make money. It’s not just the FARC and AUC that are interested in smuggling narcotics in Colombia (Oatis, 2014). The ELN, which is the country’s smallest, least-powerful terrorist group, also has an interest in smuggling illegal substances. At least half of the money that the FARC and AUC use to fund their terrorist activities comes from drugs cultivation, taxes, and distribution. Similarly, Peruvian “narcos” pay an average of $5,000 to $10,000 (or the equivalent in guns) to Colombian “Shining Path” for each small aircraft delivering narcotics, with an estimated yearly benefit of roughly $10 million through a tax on drug trafficking (Bagley, 2013).

To more elucidate on the network with the drug trafficker and the extremists group we should look at the literature and research on Narco-terrorism. According to its original meaning, narcoterrorism refers to the use of violence and intimidation by drugs traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society as well as to obstruct the implementation of anti-drug legislation (David, 2021). Since its inception, the term “narcoterrorism” has taken on two distinct meanings, both of which have evolved through time. One of them focuses on drug gangs employing terrorist tactics in order to defend their drug operations. The definition of terrorism used by the US Department of Defense is “terrorism carried out to serve the goals of narcotics trafficking.” (state.gov, 2003) Secondly, Narcoterrorism is the participation of terrorist groups in drug trafficking to fund their ideologically motivated activities as another way to define the term. According to this definition, Mexican drug cartels are not terrorists or rebels because their purpose is to maximise profit rather than fundamentally transform society and politics (García-Ponce and Lajous, 2014). According to Boyce (1987), “the participation of terrorist organisations and rebel groups in drugs trafficking”. To broaden the scope even further, Ehrenfeld defines drug trafficking as “the use of drugs to achieve the aims of some governments and terrorist groups.” (Gomis, 2015) Thus, Narcoterrorism may be described as part of an unlawful combination of drugs, violence, and power, where illicit drug trafficking has been combined with the illegal exercise of power in such a way as to undermine democracy and the rule of law. According to Makarenko, the complex may be seen as a continuum, with one end occupied by commercially motivated drug offences and the other by ideologically motivated terrorist acts (2004).

One of the most well-known and well-documented cases of narcoterrorism is Pablo Escobar’s use of violence against the Colombian government. When characterising terrorist-style attacks on Peru’s anti-narcotics police in 1983, former President Fernando Belande Terry invented the phrase itself. While non-state actors are often the only ones who are considered terrorism, this is not always the case. According to Meriners (2009) Terrorist groups that employ drug trafficking as a means of funding and recruiting new members and experts are increasingly referred to as “drug cartels.” FARC, ELN, AUC, PCP-SL in Peru, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Taliban are just some of the groups that have been linked to terrorism (Meiners, 2009).

There are number of examples of groups or extremists who are involved in Narcoterrorism. Narcotic traffickers carried out a number of terrorist attacks against Colombia between 1984 and 1993, making it one of the most targeted countries in the world (Ciccarone, Unick, and Kraus, 20-09). The DEA has retrospectively classified the leaders of drug cartels as narco-terrorists. “Terrorist operations,” such as the bombing of a commercial aeroplane by Escobar of the Medelln cartel in 1989, are now being referred to as such (Swanson, 2006). Many organised and trained gangs in Brazil govern territory, carry out offensives against state and federal security forces, control the illicit drug and weapon business, and use violence against civilians through psychological, racially biased and indiscriminate terrorism. In both the Middle East and Latin America, Hezbollah is reported to make money via drug trafficking (Noriega and Cárdenas, 2011). As part of the Janus Initiative, the Abba Eban Institute performed a study that found that Hezbollah profited from the cocaine smuggling business and used it to fund terrorist actions (Karmon, 2006). Hezbollah operatives are in charge of smuggling $200 million worth of illegal funds and drugs every month (America, 2004).

There are various committees and commission who have implemented a wide range of framework to stop drug trafficking which might have a positive effect in stopping terrorism and working of the extremists group. Each of the three major international drug control treaties, the 1961 Single Narcotic Drug Convention (as amended in 1972), the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, supports and complements the others in this regard (Taylor, 2007). International control mechanisms for narcotics and psychotropic chemicals are codified in treaties one and two, with the goal of ensuring their availability for medicinal and scientific reasons and preventing diversion into criminal channels (Reuter and Pardo, 2017). Drug trafficking and drug misuse are also addressed in the legislation. To combat illicit drug trafficking and money laundering, the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances extends control to precursors and strengthens international cooperation in criminal matters, including extradition and mutual legal assistance. UNODC also plays an essential role in aiding these entities in their treaty-based activities and in helping States Parties fulfil their commitments under international drug control treaties (WHO, 2021). According to the UNODC’s most recent report (2018), it is working with Balkan nations, a major drug-trafficking corridor, to curb trafficking. Heroin is mostly transported from Afghanistan via the Balkan and northern routes to markets in Russia and Western Europe. With an annual market worth of almost $20 billion, the Balkan route travels from the Islamic Republic of Iran (typically via Pakistan) to Greece and Bulgaria across South-East Europe. UNDOC recently set up a number of watchdogs institutions to work with the regional countries close the transfer of drugs through the region. UNDOC also working with a number of host countries to stop the follow of drug cartels. For example, UNDOC is working with Washington to focus on the supply side of narcotics. Investing heavily in the interdiction of drug traffickers and producers throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the destruction of illicit crops (UNODC, 2017). According to Bweley and Taylor (2002) over $1 trillion has been spent on US drug policy both domestically and in Latin America and the Caribbean in the three decades since. The U.S. Treasury is now working with governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat money laundering and other forms of corruption. Only two forms of money laundering have received substantial attention and countermeasures from the United States: the entrance of illicit monies into the official economy via financial institutions and bulk cash smuggling (Hall, 2018). It is possible for the United States government to do considerably more to analyse a third sort of money laundering that has a considerable impact on national security, law enforcement, and the collection of national revenue. The UK government also raises concern on the supply of the narcotics and financing of the extremist’s group in United Kingdom. According to a report published by the UK government on drug trafficking emphasised that rival organised criminal organisations compete fiercely and often fatally in all phases of the manufacturing and distribution of class A narcotics (UKGov, n.d.). Illicit drug proceeds fuel a wide range of criminal activities, including the purchase of illegal weaponry and the financing of terrorism, for organised crime groups involved in drug trafficking . According to a report by UK National crime agency (NCA) declared that NCA Authorities in nations like Colombia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan cooperate closely together to combat the production upstream (Nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk, 2017). NCA helps developing countries strengthen their defences by providing intelligence, training, tactical direction, equipment, and other sorts of assistance (Nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk, 2017). Intercepting shipments from the Caribbean to West Africa and Turkey to Belgium and the Netherlands is also part of their strategy. Due to their focus on the whole supply chain, from the farm to the street, they are able to disrupt and demolish trafficking rings at every level. European Union has also built strong policing mechanism to counter drug trafficking in the hands of extremists group (Chaona, 2015) To combat the flow of illegal commodities across borders, the European Union’s Global Illicit Flows Program brings together counter-narcotics personnel along so-called cocaine and heroin corridors. When these investigators learn to operate together, they will be able to quickly turn to one another for information and assistance in their criminal investigations. The EU has helped build multi-agency units at ports and seaports, bringing together personnel from several relevant agencies with a counter-narcotics mandate, including as police, border guards, coast guards, gendarmes, and customs, through the SEACOP and AIRCOP initiatives (Ikoh, 2013). In the past 10 years EU funded projects resulted in catching 79 metric tonnes of cocaine, 11 metric tonnes of heroin, 65 metric tonnes of marijuana; 20 metric tonnes of phoney pharmaceuticals; 3.5 metric tonnes of methamphetamines and other novel psychoactive drugs (Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, 2019). In South America new strong measures have also contained extremist groups to trade drugs which include enlarged police base in Tingo Mara, Peru, directing Peruvian workers that spread out to adjacent valleys to remove coca plants by hand (Van dun, 2019). The Merida initiative by the Mexican police with the help of US agencies has helped aids in the fight against illicit drugs trafficking and improves border security. Columbia’s Plan Colombo also helped to combat the illegal cocoa production from his land. Thus, many successful policies and policy action had been taken to combat extremism and drug trafficking in these countries (Campbell-Miller, 2021).

UK government is also concern about the rise of right-wing extremist group like the National Action, Sonnenkrieg Division and The Base (Macklin, 2018). Although no link has been found between the extremist group and drug traffickers but NCA is taking necessary steps to prevent any link with the globalised network. According to Abramsky and Drew (2014) border Force is an essential ally in the fight against drug trafficking and the protection of country’s borders. To combat drug trafficking, the police and regional organised crime units (ROCUs) are essential allies. It’s common for the investigations to shed light on other criminal activities since drug trafficking finances and facilitates other crimes. Another important way to cut down on the supply of illicit substances is to reduce demand. Mubinar Rahman was recently taken into custody by the NCA (Nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk, 2019). As part of a worldwide dark web organised crime ring, a drug trafficker acknowledged to sending more than 100 parcels of Class A substances all over the world. He was sentenced to nine years in prison. The overall strategy in combating drug trafficking and extremism is simple that is preventing the channels of supply, working closely with other countries and have a close watch on the financing of the extremist group (UKGov, 2011).

There is a significant amount of academia on drug trafficking and extremism. This research project is by no means intended to undermine any of those studies. It will provide a unique approach and insight into South American drug trafficking and its links to extremist activities. With a well-planned two-phase research collection approach, I will capture a true reflection of the current drug trafficking activities from South America and provide insight into how impactful policies and strategies are disrupting the flow of illegal drugs into the United Kingdom. Furthermore, identifying possible links between drug trafficking and extremism and examining what information is known about the connection between the two through freedom of information requests from various law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom and South America.

This project will build on academia and practical law enforcement knowledge, applying an analytical and methodical approach. New and ground-breaking findings will be a highly possible outcome for this research project. This research will provide a new, innovative, and detailed practical approach linking South American drug trafficking and extremism. The field research stage may strengthen or create partnerships between Guyana’s and the United Kingdom academic communities. Therefore, having an overall impact on preventing global drug trafficking and extremist activities. I am passionate about protecting lives as a security professional, and I know this PhD will be challenging. However, I am committed, focus and ready for the challenge as I know it will be rewarding.

Point the gaps in the section – lack of research/ identify the gap.

Why is the area of linking drug trafficking and Extremist groups in Europe and South America research so limited?

What gaps of research should be identified?

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