Written by a former public servant of Venezuela before the left-wing regime came to power, so the woman should knowsomething.
Is Latin America Harboring a Mafia State?
By Guest Contributor
Last updated Nov 15, 2018
Drug trafficking has wormed its way into bureaucracies and governments throughout Latin America (DN).
Many analysts are shocked at the collapse of Venezuela, a nation that was once showcased as the cradle of modernity in Latin America. This surprise of course springs from the fact that most observers failed to realize that the ascent of the so-called Bolivarian movement to power was part of a complex network of intertwined interests between the Cuban regime and organized crime. Failure to identify the nature of the country’s dilemma, has led to the exhaustion of the most vibrant and heroic civic movement ever to act in Latin America.
Fighting the Venezuelan disease demands a deep understanding of the relationship between economic and technological development and institutional prowess. To be sure, every geographical or technological shift in the world economy and its production methods generates strong economic change that surpasses the capacities of political institutions to channel this change. Pockets of unregulated territories begin to mushroom, and these serve as theater to illicit activities. Those perpetrating illicit activities and enriching themselves from those activities take hold of the uncontrolled territories.
In ancient times, the Silk Road took hold to unite production and consumption between Asia and Europe. The voyage from Quanzhou to Xi’an was full of perils arising from bandits that would raid caravans to seize their riches. The outlaws would then hide in remote villages protected by a feudal lord that did not particularly like the rulers of Quanzhou or Xi’an. The goods were then sold at some city further east along the Silk Road. Bandits also conducted espionage activities that produced hefty income flows as most medieval lords were at odds with one another. They also engaged in paid assassinations and in the trade of deadly potions. Those bandits were eventually vanquished or subject to control as the Mongolian empire consolidated itself, Persia became a regional power, Venice ruled the Mediterranean Sea and Constantinople/Istanbul succeeded Rome as organizing node for the existing world trade. Yet it took at least three decades to annihilate criminal organizations that had mushroomed along the Silk Road. The Silk Road was closed by the Ottoman empire in 1453. This gave way to the Age of Discovery, when the world experienced yet another major economic shift.
Read more at: https://panampost.com/editor/2018/11/15/is-latin-america-harboring-a-mafia-state/
