War's Bastard Son

Many Western travelers tend to view drugs as a furtive part of their youth or something that affects only inner cities, but the adventurous traveler quickly learns just how vital a role drugs play in the world's most dangerous places. In fact, in many places, danger is a prerequisite to ensure the smooth flow of illegal goods and profits the drug industry needs to escape interdiction. Whenever there is drug activity there is corruption, AIDS and organized crime. Here you'll enter a shadowy world where guests are unwelcome. Typically narco-regions are run by warlords, corrupt politicians, dirty cops or criminals, all of whom can be considered tourism-unfriendly. Mexico City's former police chief built a mansion styled after the Parthenon and stashed away between $1 to $3 billion of corrupt profits during his six year term. But this is only a small piece of the pie, especially when you consider the Cali cartel made $30 billion last year and the Gulf cartel profited $20 billion by government estimates.

With the increased presence of U.S. government agents and operatives the drug lords have become more careful and wary of unfamiliar faces-your life could be at risk if you are tagged as someone who should be removed. U.S. government sources spend millions unsuccessfully to try to solve the entire world's drug problems. But the problem also may be found within our own borders. The indisputable fact is that the Bolivian peasant who grows coca to feed his family, or Baluchi gunmen who are paid to protect a shipment are not the criminals because these folks are doing something accepted in their own world. We create the drug problem by demanding more and more hard drugs which keeps a hundred or so druglords around the world very wealthy.

DP spends much of its travel time in drug-infested regions hobnobbing with gunmen, warlords, smugglers, fighters and mafia hoods. In some of these regions there is no business other than drugs. We also notice that in the absence of an economy, bribes and guns are used to enslave peasants, couriers, politicians and entire nations to feed the drug demands of Europe, Russia, Australia and the Americas.