Cocaine has never been more abundant, more profitable, or more widely consumed. Record production in South America is fuelling a surge in shipments to Europe, now the most lucrative market for the drug. RFI maps the new power structures driving the boom – not the cartels of legend, but a web of armed groups and brokers managing the trade.
Gone are the days when cartels operated as rigid pyramids under a single boss like Pablo Escobar. Today the cocaine economy relies on flexible alliances that connect producers, transporters and distributors across continents – a structure designed to withstand seizures and police crackdowns.
