Lesson 22: The Geography of Cocaine
April 20, 2026
Review:
- Latin America videos
- Schedule
- Week of Apr 20 (this week): Geography of Cocaine + Review and Exam 3
- Week of Apr 27: Last two lectures
- Week of May 4: Review and cumulative Final Exam
- Presentation Scores in Bb, feedback in person
Presentation:
- The Geography of Cocaine
- Coca growing regions – anchors the supply chain initially
- Colombia (1970s–1980s): Rise of the Cocaine Industry
- Large-scale cocaine processing begins in Colombia
- Coca leaves and coca paste sourced from Peru and Bolivia
- Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel
- Cartels scale operations and build supply routes into the United States
- Cocaine becomes a global industry
- 1970s (Early Market Formation)
- Cocaine is a fringe, expensive drug used by elites
- Use concentrated in NYC, LA, and Miami
- U.S. enforcement focused on heroin (post-Vietnam)
- Trafficking networks begin forming
- 1980s (Expansion and Explosion)
- Price of cocaine drops and demand skyrockets
- Crack cocaine expands the market further
- Colombian cartels dominate global supply
- Violence increases in Colombia
- U.S. enforcement intensifies
- Air trafficking becomes riskier and more expensive
- 1990s (Transition to Mexico)
- Medellín Cartel collapses (Escobar killed, 1993)
- Cali Cartel dismantled
- Colombian cartels weaken overall
- Mexican traffickers shift from contractors to independent distributors
- Payment shifts from cash to cocaine (product)
- NAFTA increases cross-border trucking traffic
- More legal trade makes concealment of drugs easier
- Mexico (1990s–2000s: Rise of Distribution Power)
- Mexican cartels control key U.S. entry points (“last mile”)
- Use existing marijuana and heroin routes for cocaine trafficking
- Cartels consolidate around geography and border crossings
- Sinaloa: Pacific routes, long-distance trafficking
- Gulf: Texas border access
- Juárez: Chihuahua border crossing
- Tijuana: California border crossing
- Los Zetas: militarized enforcement (late 1990s)
- Fragmentation and regional specialization
- Geography matters
- The cocaine industry emerges in Colombia and proximity to the key ingredient, coca, matters
- Distribution network is established and expanded to meet soaring demand
- Power shifts away from production (Colombia) and toward distribution (Mexico)
- Proximity to the U.S. market matters more once the distribution network is established
- Role of Drugs and Violence on Migration
