How Terrorist Groups Use Drug Trafficking to Finance Their Terrorist Operations

Terrorism has always been linked to other forms of crime. But the most notable link is that between terrorism and guerrilla organizations and illicit drug trafficking. There are several examples that support this. Take the case of Colombia, where drug trafficker Pablo Escobar joined the National Liberation Army or the ELN guerrilla to execute a series of car bombs in 1993. The Basque ETA has been linked to a Spanish terrorist organization and a Colombian cartel of the dope for a bomb. explosion in front of the Administrative Security Department in Bogotá. This shows that there is a link between drug traffickers and terrorist organizations.

Why are terrorist organizations helping organized crime? The link between drug traffickers and terrorist organizations takes many forms ranging from facilitation to transportation and even taxes. The only similar need that drug traffickers and terrorist groups have is money. Terrorist organizations help traffickers and also get financial help from them.

The relationship between drug traffickers and terrorists is a form of symbiosis. Terrorists obtain a source of income through the illicit transfer of drugs and the laundering of proceeds from illegal transactions; while drug traffickers gain access to supply of weapons, military skills, and many other organizations to further their so-called businesses. Both groups depend on informal money transfer systems. There are several methods in which drug traffickers move and launder money to finance terrorist activities. Drug traffickers take advantage of the poorly regulated banking structure of some countries by transferring money to terrorist organizations through online transfers. This is easy enough for them, as there is no information about the owners. Additionally, bulk cash smuggling methods and informal systems are other ways to efficiently transfer money from drug traffickers to terrorist groups.