Around 20 years ago, Colombia’s government was on the verge of collapse. Powerful drug cartels, such as Pablo Escobar’s Medellin cartel, were growing increasingly powerful to the point that the government was at risk of being overrun. In 1999, the country was one of the most violent places in the world, with almost 2,000 terrorist attacks and 3,000 kidnappings. Additionally, drug cartels and paramilitary organizations controlled vast swathes of territory, and around half of Colombia lacked a state-sponsored security presence.

Today, however, Colombia is regarded as one of South America’s greatest success stories. With some assistance from the United States as part of the “Plan Colombia” initiative, the country has gone from the brink of collapse to one of the continent’s most stable economies and represents a major US ally in the region. However, despite this massive transformation, Plan Colombia has failed to quell the country’s drug production. Moreover, the counternarcotics effort has been largely ineffective, causing drug production to expand into other countries and creating a militarized war on drugs that has victimized countless Colombian citizens.

Source: https://hir.harvard.edu/americas-failed-war-on-drugs-in-colombia/