Drug trafficking and police corruption a comparison of Colombia and Mexico
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Authors
De la Torre, Luis V.
Subjects
Political Criminal Nexus (PCN)
Mexico
Colombia
Police
Drug-related police corruption
plaza system
Partido Revolucionario Institucional
Federal Preventative Police (PFP)
Agencia Federal de Investigaciones (AFI)
Colombian National Police (CNP)
Pablo Escobar
Medellin Drug Cartel
Cali Drug Cartel
Mexican Drug Cartels
The Mexican Federation
Federal Judicial Police
de-centralized policing system
centralized policing system
Mexico
Colombia
Police
Drug-related police corruption
plaza system
Partido Revolucionario Institucional
Federal Preventative Police (PFP)
Agencia Federal de Investigaciones (AFI)
Colombian National Police (CNP)
Pablo Escobar
Medellin Drug Cartel
Cali Drug Cartel
Mexican Drug Cartels
The Mexican Federation
Federal Judicial Police
de-centralized policing system
centralized policing system
Advisors
Giraldo, Jeanne
Berger, Mark T.
Date of Issue
2008-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Police officers working in countries plagued by drug trafficking are often offered a choice between "plata o plomo" ("silver or lead"). Given this option, it is not surprising that levels of police corruption are high in these nation-states. Significantly, however, levels of police corruption do differ radically between those countries where the levels of drug production and trafficking are similar. This thesis examines the case of Mexico, where corruption has been historically high and has increased in recent times; and the case of Colombia, where levels of police corruption have been relatively low and might even be said to be on the decline. Specialists in police reform and anticorruption typically look at administrative factors such as ethics, salary levels, the purging of corrupt officials, and the recruiting and training of "clean" officers as essential elements in the prevention of police corruption. While these factors explain some of the differences in levels of corruption, this thesis fills an important gap in the existing literature by moving beyond these conventional explanations. In particular, it introduces a country-specific approach to drug-related police corruption, including factors such as the organizational structure of the police force (centralized or decentralized), the legacy of the "political criminal nexus" in the country concerned, and both the size and "ideology" of the drug trafficking organizations involved.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
Format
xvi, 123 p. : col. ill., col. maps ;
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.