Title: History of Drug Trafficking - Colombia, U.S. & Mexico - HISTORY
Headings: History of Drug Trafficking
History of Drug Trafficking
Contents
Early Opium Trade in the United States
Mafia Drug Smuggling
The Vietnam War and Drug Trafficking
Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel
Manuel Noriega and the Panamanian Drug Trade
The Cali Cartel
El Chapo, Los Zetas and Mexican Drug Cartels
Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel
CIA and Drug Trafficking
Drug Trafficking in Recent Years

Content: The Harrison Act of 1914 outlawed the use of opium and cocaine for non-medical purposes, but the illicit drugs continued to circulate. In 1925, a black market for opium opened up in New York’s Chinatown. At this time, there were about 200,000 heroin addicts in the United States. The distribution of opiates continued during the Jazz Era of the 1930s and 1940s. Marijuana also became a popular recreational drug in some communities during this era. Mafia Drug Smuggling
American Mafia families were caught smuggling and selling illicit drugs as early as the 1950s, in addition to gambling and other illegal activities. These organized groups paved the way for future drug cartels that focused on drugs for their revenue. The Mafia’s participation in drug trade was sometimes known as the “French Connection” because smugglers in New York City would seize shipments of Turkish opium that arrived from Paris and Marseilles, France. The Vietnam War and Drug Trafficking
The U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War led to a boost in heroin being smuggled into the United States between the years 1965-1970. Drug use among Vietnam soldiers was widespread.