Colombia’s Narco Legacy: A New Approach to the War on Drugs?

Illustration by Will Allen/Europinion

When Richard Nixon declared that drug abuse is the public enemy number one of the U.S back in the 1970s, he unintentionally created a chain reaction of events that would haunt his administration, and all the next administrations up until this day. The problem of drug abuse and drug violence affected the U.S, but to a greater extent, it damaged the socio-economic fabrics of Colombia. To this day, Colombia has been battling narco-organizations that seek to undermine democracy and the rule of law in the country. The War on Drugs internationally has been described as a failure, and Colombia is unfortunately the biggest victim in this war for power and control. The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, recently pursued a controversial radical change to the drug problem in his country. The opening of the first supervised drug consumption room in South America, located in Bogotá, puts the country at a crossroads. Is it time to pursue a more open-minded approach to the issue of drug abuse in Colombia, or is it a recipe for disaster considering the infamous legacy of the country?

Colombia’s Drug Crisis

Up until the 1970s, Colombia did not play any role in the production and distribution of drugs on an international level. Apart from some illegal smuggling of cigarettes and marijuana, Colombia was not known as a major supplier of narcotics on a global scale. However, after the crackdown on drugs in the U.S, the demand for illegal drugs, particularly cocaine, skyrocketed. As a result, according to Colombia historian Lina Britto, Colombian smugglers stepped in to fill this vacuum. Thus, since the 1980s, Colombian Narcos have become the top suppliers of cocaine in the U.S. The rise of infamous drug lords like Pablo Escobar, who formed the notorious Medellín cartel, is a direct unintended consequence of the War on Drugs. Escobar rose to power quickly and effectively hijacked the country of Colombia, which was a direct victim of his criminality. His ascent was further enabled by President Ronald Reagan’s South Florida Task Force, launched in 1982. It was an exceptionally ambitious and expensive federal programme, which included the DEA, Customs Service, the FBI, the Armed Forces and secretly the CIA.

While the program had some surface success with the seizure of massive quantities of drugs, the reality was that the programme had minimal impact, though it did boost the image of Reagan and his administration as hard-line combatants of illicit drugs. Cocaine imports increased potentially by 10% or more, and it was clear that the Reagan administration measured success on the seizure of copious quantities rather than disrupting the smuggling routes. Drug lords such as Escobar took advantage of those public relations stunts, smuggling cocaine through Mexico, which would later become another major drug distribution hotspot.

Cartels and Political Violence

A direct consequence of the power struggle in the illicit drug business was the rise of political violence from far-left and far-right paramilitary groups. Years before Nixon’s declaration on drug abuse, the U.S. had invested millions into combatting communism in Latin America. After a ten-year civil war in Colombia known as La Violencia (1948-1958), the U.S started funding right-wing anti-communist groups to contain communism and establish its presence in the country. Later, these paramilitary groups would work closely with the Narcos to secure their interests. As a response, Marxist-Leninist groups such as FARC would form guerrilla groups to fight back, plunging a whole nation into a constant state of violence and political chaos. In 2025, the legacy of these policies still persists. New armed groups, remnants of paramilitaries and FARC dissents compete with each other for control of drug trafficking routes. The government's pursuit of peace with the various armed groups has been stalled, and new fronts of fighting have appeared throughout the country. President Petro promised a change. Can he deliver?

Illustration by Will Allen/Europinion

The 2025 Colombian Approach

Since taking office in 2023, President Petro has argued about the failures of the War on Drugs, advocating for a better understanding of the problem and a new approach that prioritises public health and social justice. I am sceptical of this approach. Just in 2023, cocaine production increased by 53 percent, reaching a record high, while the country is still regarded as the top global exporter of cocaine. President Petro however, argues otherwise. His 2023-2033 national drug policy drastically emphasises voluntary crop substitution, environmental restoration and reduction of cultivation through eradication. The landmark moment of this new approach came in April 2025, when Bogotá opened the first supervised drug consumption room. The facility allows users to consume drugs under medical supervision, aiming to reduce overdoses, mirroring already established facilities in Europe. It might be seen as a progressive step, but given the ongoing drug violence and drug trafficking in the country, this can be seen as a step to normalise drug use while emboldening traffickers. If there is a financial gain, there will always be a way to bypass the system.

Petro’s reforms, while innovative, still mirror the same policies of his predecessors and his counterparts in the U.S, underscoring the tension between addressing addiction and dismantling the narco-economy. Ongoing political violence adds more fuel to the fire. Meanwhile, record cocaine production reveals the difficulties of breaking free from the decades-long cycle of policy failures, corruption and political tensions. Colombia’s drug crisis was born in the midst of a global drug demand, which only allowed the situation in the country to become worse by failed external and internal interventions. Petro’s social policy experiments offer a potential path toward reducing drug consumption and violence, but I do believe they are missing the big picture. You cannot achieve societal change while your country is deeply affected by a shadow narco-economy. If anything, the Colombian government can take lessons from the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele. El Salvador decreased the criminality and societal violence in the country by focusing on the big picture; the gangs and the shadow organisations that were profiting from violence. For Colombia, I honestly believe this step was taken too early. You cannot focus just on one tree and miss the whole forest. To be able to move forward, Colombia needs to address its narco-past and not just cover it up. Because it is a ticking bomb that, when it explodes, Colombians will once again pay the price.