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Narcokleptocracy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A narcokleptocracy is a society ruled by "thieves" involved in the trade of narcotics.
The term has its origin in a report prepared by a subcommittee of the United States Senate Foriegn Relations Committee, chaired by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry.[1] The term was used specifically to descibe the regime of Manuel Noriega in Panama. The term's construction builds on the already existing pejorative term "kleptocracy"- which is a government run by thieves. That is more precisely, a government run expressly for the benefit of those who govern.
When used specifically to refer to a nation-state which is ruled by explicitly self-serving drug-dealers, Noriega's Panama is the only precise modern example of a narcokleptocracy. However, sub-national regions have often fallen under the de-facto, if not de-jure, rule of "narcokleptocrats." These include the Medellín region of Colombia as well as regions of other Latin American nations and, arguably, even large swaths of American cities.
Additionally, many nations have been involved directly in the drug trade as a means of increasing their wealth and power. An historical example is that of the British Empire during the Opium Wars in which is was the policy of the British Empire to encourage opium addiction in China.