Title: Timeline: America's War on Drugs : NPR
Headings: Timeline: America's War on Drugs
Timeline: America's War on Drugs
Content: In February 1986, Seal is assassinated in Baton Rouge, La., by gunmen hired by the cartel.) 1985: Colombia extradites drug traffickers to the United States for the first time. U.S. officials discover that the Medellin cartel has a "hit list" that includes embassy members, their families, U.S. businessmen and journalists. Mid-1980s: Because of the South Florida Drug Task Force's work, cocaine trafficking slowly changes transport routes. The Mexican border becomes the major point of entry for cocaine headed into the United States. Crack, a cheap, addictive and potent form of cocaine, is first developed in the early '80s; it becomes popular in the New York region, devastating inner-city neighborhoods. October 1986: