IPS: L. American drug gangs create African “narco-state”

An article from Inter Press Service (IPS) and reported in The East African insinuates that Guinea-Bissau is becoming “the first African narco-state.” African according to the IPS piece, the grossly impoverished nation has become a safe haven for South American drug traffickers to smuggle their wares into the European market. The article notes that the country is on the verge of collapse:

“Today, Guinea-Bissau is literally fenced in. We must entertain no illusions: the state could collapse,” said Antonio Maria Costa, the head of UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), at the same time alleging that armed forces officers were suspected of collusion “and even involvement in drug trafficking.”

Costa maintains that South American traffickers chose Guinea-Bissau partly because of its convenient location in West Africa, but mainly because its authorities are incapable of combating organized crime.

He said that nearly all drug seizures have been carried out in international waters by European naval vessels, not by Guinean forces, which are not equipped to patrol the seas and airspace.

Costa warned about the growing use of Africa as drug smuggling routes in comments made last year. Several countries in western Africa have tried to unite their efforts in order to combat the drug trade though a spokesman for Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency acknowledged that the traffickers “have enormous resources at their disposal".

Sources- Associated Press, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, The East African,

Image- U.S. Department of State