Abstract
The drug trade has garnered significant attention as a critical funding source for various terrorist organisations. This systematic review summarises the existing empirical knowledge about the Taliban and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s (FARC) involvement, and profit from the drug trade, and methods of estimating drug trade revenue. Thirty-one studies were identified. Twenty-three about the Taliban, seven about the FARC, and one about both groups. Estimates of annual profit varied from US$19 to US$500 million for the Taliban and US$140 to US$3.5 billion for the FARC. Fourteen of the twenty-four studies about the Taliban provided an estimate and merely six studies discussed the methods used to generate those estimates. Among the eight studies about the FARC, four provided an estimate but one described the method employed. Studies used a variety of information sources. The review shows the need for caution regarding existing estimates and a more methodologically rigorous analysis of linkages.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 122-155 |
Number of pages | 34 |
Journal | Global Crime |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 16 May 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Keywords
- Drug trade
- Terrorism
- Crime-terror nexus
- Narco-terrorism
- Taliban
- Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
- narco-terrorism
- terrorism
- the Taliban
- crime-terror nexus