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Colombia and the War on Drugs

Bruce M. Bagley
Fall 1988
Summary -- 

Chronicles the rise to wealth and power of the Colombian drug lords and the efforts of the Bogotá government to destroy them, characterized as an extensive and protracted war often bilked by US policy. Examines how to make the war on drugs more co-operative and multilateral and concludes that "the principal challenge for US drug warriors is to develop a viable, long-term strategy for both demand and supply sides".

Bruce M. Bagley is Associate Professor of International Studies at the University of Miami’s Graduate School of International Studies and Director of the Andean Studies Project at the Institute of Inter-American Studies. He is co-editor of a forthcoming book, State and Society in Contemporary Colombia, and co-author of Contadora: The Limits to Negotiations.

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