Introduction
The illegal drug business is a critical problem affecting the world and people’s development worldwide. The matter destabilizes communities, kills regions’ economies, and induces fear among citizens. Accordingly, not all nations or regions face the same challenges relating to illicit drug issues. That is because specific factors exist that influence people’s involvement in the illegal trade. The Caribbean is a renowned section for illegal drug activities. The region comprises several islands, including Jamaica, Guyana, Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago. Most people living in the isles are minorities, consisting mainly of blacks of African origin. Moreover, the area has a unique religion identifying Makonnen and the Ethiopian ex-emperor, Haile Selassie, as their royals. The Rastafarian sect of the Caribbean embraces abusing illicit drugs such as marijuana as part of their standard practices, making the drug abuse exercise a norm in the locality. As such, negative publicity, excessive crimes, political, economic, and socio-economic instabilities, lack of opportunities, poverty, and illegal entrepreneurs’ growth are some of the consequences for the Caribbean’s involvement in illegal drugs.
Literature Review
Special Factors Leading to Illegal Drug Dependence in the Caribbean
The Caribbean’s geographical location, economic status, and leadership play a major role in determining citizens’ involvement in the drug business. Dawkins (2018) describes the area as an excellent transit route for illegal drugs moving from Latin America to America and other northern sections. Unlike many other nations in the world, the Caribbean presents a special case in drug abuse dealings (Horace 2019). Dawkins (2018) maintains that many people engaging in drug production and distribution in the Caribbean do that out of desperation. According to Dawkins (2018), colonization and unfair colonial policies are to blame for the excessive illegal drug dealings in Jamaica and neighboring islands. The U.K. and other developed nations undertook significant exploitation of the Caribbean’s natural resources for years before the areas’ independence, making surviving on legal means in the isles post-independence difficult (Schulting et al. 2021). Consequently, the about 10 million people surviving in the region struggle to live legally because of a lack of opportunities. Unemployment rates further remain significantly high in the islands, as per Dawkins (2018). Therefore, such factors make the Caribbean unique, explaining the significant dependence on illegitimate practices for survival.
Poverty and political corruption also influence the Caribbean’s illegal drugs business’s notoriety. Dawkins (2018) points out that about 20% of the people in the West Indies live below the poverty line. The aspect results from the poor economic conditions in the islands due to excessive dependence on tourism (Jakovljevic et al. 2021). Being poor makes a majority of the islanders an easy target for the global drug cartels, as per Dawkins (2018). Dawkins (2018) argues that many tourists visiting the Caribbean do not target to help the region grow but rather aim to witness the locals’ nativity. The visitors utilize the poorly constructed roads traveling in fuel guzzlers owned by underprivileged drivers who use poor-quality fuel to run them. Tourists visiting most of the areas in the Caribbean spend time in luxurious guest houses owned by politicians and wealthy foreigners (Dawkins 2018). Local drivers earning from the tourism business spend much of their income servicing hefty car loans, with the money going to corrupt politicians (Gahman et al. 2021). The matter leaves many islanders poor and vulnerable to the illicit drugs business to make an extra coin.
Geographical alignment, poor leadership, and a weak justice system facilitate illegal drug business in the Caribbean. According to Dawkins (2018), the West Indies have one of the world’s largest unmanned sea lines and airstrips. For instance, Jamaica’s unguarded sea line exceeds 600 miles, while the nation has above one hundred landing strips free for drug barons’ utilization (Dawkins 2018). Cumulatively, the Caribbean’s sea line exceeds 200,000 miles, thus offering excellent distribution platforms for illicit substances arriving and heading to various parts of the world (Dawkins 2018). Poor leadership elements vital for the illegal drug business’s survival in the region include the formation of drug cartels involving political leaders and the drug “dons” (Gahman et al. 2021). Dawkins (2018) purports that politicians in Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago depend on drug lords for campaign finances. The facet indicates poor governance as leaders fail to establish effective policies to fight the illegal substances trade. Similarly, weak justice systems in the Caribbean fail to charge the real illegitimate substances’ culprits due to corruption. The courts target the minor distributors while leaving the “big fish.”
Discussion
Impact of Illegal Drugs in the Caribbean
The illegal drug business causes immeasurable vices to communities and individuals practicing them. The trade’s prevalence in the Caribbean has real consequences that make the region unlike the other parts of the globe. For example, the illicit drug trade in the islands leads to negative branding of the islets and the people living in them. Chaitram (2020) notes that many individuals and governments worldwide relate Jamaica and Jamaicans to crimes due to their extensive involvement in prohibited substances dealings. Such an aspect denies the nation and several others in the Caribbean the opportunity to realize significant global benefits. Chaitram (2020) reports that many people from the Caribbean seeking asylum or new life in areas such as the U.S. and Europe do not access them because of the fear that they are involved in the drugs business. The U.S. exhibits stern anti-drug policies courtesy of the long-time war against illicit substances. The nation also leads the others in offering protection to immigrants fleeing domestic challenges but applies several measures before granting the opportunity. Consequently, illicit drug dealings in the Caribbean deny most islanders fundamental aid necessary for their survival.
Illegal drugs dealings in the Caribbean increase security issues and murder cases. According to Adams and Claudio (2018), Jamaica dominates the top position among nations with the highest number of murder cases for years. Research into the matter links the issues to the illicit drug business. Adams and Claudio (2018) purport that conflicts between drug cartels lead to massive killings. The illegal drug leagues often seek dominance in specific areas or the entire region. Those intending to outdo the others use force, intimidation, and killings to frighten or lessen the other groups (Adams and Claudio 2018). The large number of drug unions in the Caribbean thus implies the unending wars and murder cases, explaining the area’s leadership in the heinous acts. Moreover, drug lords demand full compliance among their partners and workers. Parties suspected of leaking information to competitors or the government are always punished, mostly through assassination. The killed individuals end up in the police records as murder cases, leading to the high prevalence of reported assassination rates in the locality.
Economic instabilities experienced in the Caribbean have a substantial connection to the illegal drug business in the area. Griffin (2020) maintains the necessity of social order in nations intending to realize fiscal success. The scholar insists on the inability of crime-infested markets to thrive. That is because citizens lack the opportunity to focus on economically productive endeavors under such difficult conditions. The Caribbean provides per excellence of the situation described by Griffin (2020). Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana exhibit substantially suitable areas to conduct legal business. The countries depend on tourism, and citizens can realize substantially stable cash flow by creating products buyable by the visitors. Marine products’ collection also offers a viable business opportunity to the many literate islanders currently depending on illegal drugs for survival (Polejack and Luciana 2021). However, crimes and insecurity make working significantly hard for the Caribbean people. The region operates as a producer, distributor, and market for illicit substances such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin (Dawkins 2018). Accordingly, most young folks abusing drugs lack employment, forcing them to engage in robbery and other crimes to get money, destabilizing the economy.
The Caribbean has numerous illegal businesses courtesy of the illegitimate drug trade networks. Legal businesses are the backbone of many stable economies globally (Dawkins 2018). The companies pay taxes to the government, supporting the sovereignty and economicsteadiness. Moreover, the legally employed workforce remit levies to the government to support social welfare plans to improve a state’s condition. However, such benefits are not available for the countries with excessive illegal entrepreneurs, such as the Caribbean. The individuals running this kind of investment hardly pay taxes, while their employees operate secretly without remitting duties (Mohammadi et al. 2021). The situation leads to gradual economic assassination resulting in economic failure. The illegal investors further increase social harm by exposing youths and the public to dangerous substances, jeopardizing the nation’s wellbeing. The killings were undertaken by drug gangs and cartels serving the unlawful venture capitalist in the Caribbean cause economic under-performance. Polejack and Luciana (2021) report that many potential foreign investors shun the Caribbean due to the insecurity problem resulting from illegal entrepreneurs. Accordingly, the illegitimate drug trade in the West Indies nurtures illegal investors who kill the economy.
West Indies’ flourishing illicit substances industry causes political unsteadiness among the islands. According to Knight (2019), many parts of Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Haiti, Granada, and almost all the other parts of the Caribbean, do not experience the direct influence of the government. The numerous spots survive under specific drug lord’s control, thus not connected to the state. The issue is more prevalent in Jamaica, where the “dons” dominate particular sections. Accordingly, the smugglers establish definite operation zones where they recruit distributors and sell their illicit substances, primarily marijuana, heroin, and cocaine (Dawkins 2018). Dawkins (2018) reports that chief drug lords in Jamaica dominate their regions to the point of providing security and other basic requirements to the locals. The condition often makes the citizens in different locations pay allegiance to the gang leader instead of the state. Such occurrences cause political instability as the government regularly conflicts with the barons for sidelining it. Consequently, businesses in parts facing political wrangles close, insecurity rises, and the people live in fear. Therefore, conflicts between financially stable smugglers and law enforcement agencies create instability that jeopardizes peace.
The illicit drugs trade in the Caribbean promotes income inequality and poverty. The illegal business mainly benefits chief smugglers and politicians providing security to the unlawful fellows. Griffin (2020) maintains that most Caribbean citizens lead impoverished lives, including those serving in the drug distribution channels. A standard practice among the drug lords is to offer meagre wages that support only the daily survival. The workforces engaged in the banned substances distribution systems thus have nothing to save for the future or emergencies. Most of the folks also meet untimely deaths due to conflicts with rival gangs, meaning that the partakers in the illegal trade do not have hope for the future. Adeleye et al. (2020) note that income inequality is real in the Caribbean. About 97% of the wealth in the region belongs to less than two percent of the population. The wealthy fellows comprise government officials and drug lords, with politicians running unlawful drug deals benefiting the most. As such, the unlawful drug business worsens the Caribbean’s economic fairness.
The socio-economic instability affecting the Caribbean is significantly linked to the banned drugs trade. Some parts of the West Indies, such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti, have unemployment rates as high as 36% Schincariol et al. (2021), implying the region’s socio-economic volatility. Persons living under the poverty line in the area also exceed 14% (Schincariol et al. 2021). Most of the West Indies’ governments’ trials to run social welfare schemes to support impoverished citizens’ lives fail to make an impact (Emanuel et al. 2018). Furthermore, facing increasing pressure from global players such as the U.S. to curb illegal drug deals forces many Caribbean states to divert their welfare finances to drug wars. The changes make hospitals and schools inaccessible to the many poor islanders. The lack of education indicates a worsening future where most dwellers will be illiterate and more vulnerable to the charms of the wealthy drug barons in the Caribbean and the world. Stabilizing the West Indies socioeconomically is necessary for the region to win the illegal drugs war and make people free.
Lastly, the West Indies face an excessive lack of opportunities and brain drain due to the trade of proscribed drugs. Persons free to explore life in the Caribbean are the financially stable drug lords and politicians, according to Schincariol et al. (2021). Individuals operating without these two categories lead a poor life even when highly educated. That is because of the scarcity of employment opportunities and the locals’ inability to start profitable ventures due to crimes and insecurity. Subsequently, most of the high potential persons from the West Indies often leave the islands for other destinations where they can operate peacefully. Schincariol et al. (2021) report that the natives’ hospitality and hard work allow many of those successfully leaving the islets to lead a better life relative that lived in the islands. For example, Caribbean citizens getting into the U.S. through the South Florida corridor lead successful lives but fear going back to their motherlands. Schincariol et al. (2021) argue that most West Indians in America opt to bear the racial discrimination than return home. The condition implies a dangerous future for the Caribbean if the illegal drugs business continues.
Conclusion
The above discussion provides some of the fundamental factors supporting the illegal drugs business in the Caribbean and the vice’s effects on the region. The Caribbean consists of several islands geographically placed between the South and North Americas. The isles form a belt-like structure that makes movement across them laidback. Moreover, the West Indies’ extensive coastline and many unmanned airstrips make them perfect distribution centers for the global illegal drugs trade. Similarly, the islands are mountainous, forming perfect zones for cultivating some dangerous drugs, particularly marijuana. The effects of illicit substances on the islands are numerous, including insecurity and crime promotion, poverty, and economic instability. Furthermore, the Caribbean faces political volatilities, social disintegration, brain drain, and negative publicity due to unlawful drug dealings.
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