Illegal drug trade of cocaine following the establishment of a communist government in 1959. As a result, Miami and Union City became the sole locations for trafficking. The relations between Cuban and Colombian organized crime remained strong until the 1970s, when Colombian cartels began to vie for power. In the 1980s and 90s, Colombia emerged as a key contributor of the drug trade industry in the Western Hemisphere. While the smuggling of drugs such as marijuana, poppy, opium and heroin became more ubiquitous during this time period, the activity of cocaine cartels drove the development of the Latin American drug trade. The trade
Illegal drug trade in Colombia while weakening many of the FARC's political-military opponents. This provided the FARC with unprecedented opportunities to extract resources from the cocaine industry to deepen its long insurgency against the Colombian state." General: Illegal drug trade in Colombia Illegal drug trade in Colombia refers to a practice of Colombian criminal groups of producing and distributing illegal drugs. Colombia has had four major drug trafficking cartels and several "bandas criminales", or BACRIMs which eventually created a new social class and influenced several aspects of Colombian culture and politics. The Colombian government efforts to reduce the influence of drug-related criminal organizations is one