Les guerres contre la drogue. Armées, sécurité intérieure et narcotrafic en Amérique latine Focus stratégique, No. 83, August 2018
In the context of a persistent impunity enjoyed by organized crime and drug trafficking groups, many countries in Latin America, and especially Mexico and Colombia, have opted to assign military personnel to internal security tasks.
Although this militarized response to interior security issues is deeply rooted in the region’s political and military history, it has accelerated in the 21st century under the common influence of the United-States’ counter-narcotics policies as well as the perceived lack of legitimacy of the police forces. Mobilized to wage the “war on drugs” on their national soil, armed forces find themselves at the heart of new political, strategic and constitutional dilemmas which lead to rethinking civil-military relations in Latin America. The expansion of this new normative framework across the region (Brazil, Argentina, etc.) increasingly questions the role of the military in undertaking internal security missions.
This content is available in French: Les guerres contre la drogue. Armées, sécurité intérieure et narcotrafic en Amérique latine.