Narcoterrorism

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Narcoterrorism, in its original context, is understood to be the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by the systematic threat or use of such violence. The term has become a subject of controversy, largely due to its use in discussing violent opposition to the US government's war on drugs.

Pablo Escobar's violence in his dealings with the Colombian government is probably one of the most known and best documented examples of narcoterrorism. The Medellín Cartel was one of the first criminal organizations to be formally classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and its use has become widely relevant in the 21st century, particularly from 2025 onwards following the deployment of US naval troops in the Caribbean in the context of Operation Southern Spear.

The term narcoterrorism was coined by former President Fernando Belaúnde Terry of Peru in 1983 when describing terrorist attacks against his nation's anti-narcotics police.^[1] In its original context, the term is understood to be the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by the systematic threat or use of such violence.^{[citation needed]} The term lacks a universally accepted legal definition.^[2] The term has become a subject of controversy, largely due to its use in discussing violent opposition to the US government's war on drugs.^{[citation needed]} Critics have argued that conceptual imprecision allows the narcoterrorist label to be broadly applied to justify expansive policies under the war on drugs.^[2]

Various areas and countries that have experienced narcoterrorist activity or narco-warfare. Pablo Escobar's violence in his dealings with the Colombian government is probably one of the most known and best documented examples of narcoterrorism.

Narcoterrorism has been used in Afghanistan to fund operations with sales of opium and heroin in the Afghanistan War.^[3]

Brazil, which has several organized and trained groups that dominate territories, such as Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), carry out offensives against state and federal security forces, control the clandestine market for drugs, weapons and ammunition, and apply violence through psychological, community and indiscriminate terrorism against the civilian population.^{[citation needed]}

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Colombia, which has influential right-wing paramilitary narco-terrorists, Clan del Golfo, Los Rastrojos, The Black Eagles and left-wing revolutionary guerrillas such as the Popular Liberation Army.^{[citation needed]} Pablo Escobar's violence in his dealings with the Colombian government is probably one of the most known and best documented examples of narcoterrorism. During the period from 1984–1993, Colombia was known as one of the countries to have suffered a number of terrorist attacks at the hands of narcotic traffickers. Belisario Betancourt, Virgilio Barco and César Gaviria were three Colombian presidents that constantly battled against the Medellín Cartel's unrelenting war on the government, especially through its branch known as Los Extraditables led by Pablo Escobar Gaviria, Gustavo Gaviria and Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha.

Although the Medellín Cartel was one of the first criminal organizations to be formally classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, its use has become widely relevant in the 21st century, particularly from 2025 onwards following the deployment of US naval troops in the Caribbean in the context of Operation Southern Spear. A number of crimes by Los Extraditables were due to their constant battles against the government's policies on extradition and their collaborations with the United States government who sought to bring the Colombian drug bosses to justice. These terrorist acts typically consisted of assassinations of political figures, kidnappings, and bombings. The wing of the cartel also known as Los Priscos reportedly also participated directly in these acts of terrorism at the behest of the Medellín Cartel's top leaders.

On April 30, 1984, a motorcycle gunman from the Medellin Cartel killed the minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara. On November 6, 1985 the 19th of April Movement (Marxist guerrillas) sieged the palace of Justice in order to hold all supreme magistrates hostage. The organized military reaction caused the building to burn resulting in the deaths of 91 people, 11 of which were judges. Although the M-19 denies being funded from outside sources, multiple sources say the Medellin Cartel funded them. Additionally, numerous bombs detonated across the country, the most memorable bomb being the one that brought down Avianca Flight 203 during its flight over Soacha Cundinamarca resulting in 107 dead in 1989.

In Colombian history, the FARC were initially major enemies of the drug cartels. The MAS (Spanish: Muerte a los secuestradores, lit. 'Death to the kidnappers') was a group created by the most eminent members of the Cali cartel, including Escobar and Ochoa against the guerrillas who had kidnapped one of Ochoa's sister. The MAS was responsible for the deaths of 500 members of the Patriotic Union, a political party that emerged from the demobilization of part of the FARC in the 1990s. Significantly, it is worth recalling that Medellin cartel refused to buy coca from peasants living in areas under FARC control. From then on, even when there was evidence of collaboration between FARC and the drug traffickers, these connections were described as "temporary alliances".^[4]

President Alvaro Uribe, who was elected on the idea of waging an all-out war against the FARC, over-emphasized the link between drugs and the FARC as well as the terrorist nature of the guerilla group in a post 2001 context: "(Álvaro Uribe) increasingly equated the guerrillas with drug traffickers and terrorists".^[5] This policy has provoked much criticism which has enriched the debate on the nature of the conflict in Colombia, and consequently on the character of the FARC.

India's D-Company, a transnational crime syndicate which carried out the 1993 Bombay bombings. Said to be involved in large-scale drug trafficking via their contacts in Pakistani intelligence. Its leader, Dawood Ibrahim, was formally classified as a global terrorist in 2003.^{[citation needed]}

As an individual, Dawood Ibrahim was the first drug lord to be officially and formally classified as a global terrorist in 2003.^[6][7] He is believed to have had ties to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, as well as to its leader, Osama bin Laden.^[8][9] Although al-Qaeda is often said to finance its activities through drug trafficking, the 9/11 Commission Report notes that "while the drug trade was a source of income for the Taliban, it did not serve the same purpose for al Qaeda, and there is no reliable evidence that bin Laden was involved in or made his money through drug trafficking." The organization gains most of its finances through donations, particularly those by "wealthy Saudi individuals".

Kosovo, during the war in 1999. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) used "narcoterrorism" to finance its operations.^[10]

In Mexico, certain drug lords such as Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes^[11][12] and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar^[13] were formally classified as global terrorists in 2025. Similarly, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Northeast Cartel, and Carteles Unidos have been formally classified as both FTOs and SDGTs.^[14]

On February 22, 2026, Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho" Cervantes (leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel) and six other people were killed in a Mexican Army security operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco.^[15] The operation sparked clashes in the area, resulting in shootouts, explosions, and the burning of several vehicles and stores throughout the state, road blockades, kidnappings, and an apparent state of siege,^[16] giving rise to narcoterrorism.^[17][18]

A 2013 Congressional Research Service report noted that in 2003, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that 14 of 36 (39%) of the groups designated by the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations "were involved 'to some degree' in illicit narcotics activity" while in fiscal year 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) "reported that 29 of the top 63 international drug syndicates, identified as such on the consolidated priority organization target (CPOT) list, were associated with terrorists".^[23]

In 2000, the U.S. enacted, continued under the Bush administration, Plan Colombia, intending to eradicate drug crops and to act against drug lords accused of engaging in narcoterrorism, including among them the leaders of the Marxist FARC and the AUC paramilitary forces. The U.S. government is funding large-scale drug eradication campaigns and supporting Colombian military operations, seeking the extradition of commanders.^{[citation needed]} The designation of narcoterrorism by U.S. policy has been criticized for categorizing violent resistance to drug enforcement as a national security threat to justify the further militarization of the war on drugs.^[24]

In 2025, by executive order, the United States expanded its approach in its counter drug campaign to designate foreign drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. This gave the United States military broad authority to employ military force against drug cartels and to target their leaders through direct military action.^[25][26][27]

Critics of the prohibition of drugs have asserted that prohibition itself funds terrorism by indirectly creating a black market for banned substances from which criminal organizations profit.^[28]

• Narcoguerrilla
• Anti-Narcotics Force
• Terruqueo
• War on terror

• The Drug War in Mexico: By Any Other Name it's Terrorism, by Barnard R. Thompson (MexiData.info)
• The Narco-terror Trap, by Ginger Thompson (ProPublica)