Drug trafficking on an industrial scale is happening in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. The country is said to be the African gateway for European and South American cocaine. The country has also been ravaged by poverty, civil war (1998-1999) and a national culture of political murder.
It is also said that regional distribution of Guinea-Bissau cocaine occurs in Nigeria and other countries. The drug traffic volume has grown exponentially, and cocaine promises a future of violence in West Africa.
Guinea-Bissau has not yet turned into a narco-state. The cartels do not engage in bloody settling of dormant accounts in downtown streets. The leaders are more concerned with discretion. However, the local consumption of drugs has skyrocketed. The groups in the region involved in the drug trade such as Nigeria and Mauritania have also shown to be trigger-happy.
Despite the assistance of UNODC in the judiciary, traffickers live with impunity. Local politics is already under the influence of drug traffickers.
Antonio Mazitelli, Regional Representative of UNODC, said: “The cartels use the country as a logistical base by taking advantage of the existence of rival groups for authority. For now, the most dangerous is the competition between local groups that manage the local traffic.”
The intervention of the former military chief Tagme Na Waie has been crucial to block traffic, making close tracks and threatening to shoot down any aircraft flying over the territory of Guinea-Bissau.
Violence won, however, as it continues to triumph in the country. Tagme Na Waie was pulverized in a bomb attack in March, resulting in the assassination of President Nino Vieira.
Via VOA News/UNODC/Pulitzer Center
