How cocaine smuggling through Latin America really works

The cocaine supply chain transforms ordinary coca leaves from high-altitude Andean farms into a high-value global commodity, escalating in price from $2,000 per kilogram in South America to over $60,000 on United States streets. Journalist Jan Grillo explains how traffickers shifted routes from direct Caribbean flights to overland transit through Mexico and Venezuela to evade law enforcement, utilizing standardized "kilo bricks" as the primary unit of trade. Recent U.S. military actions and legal indictments against Nicolás Maduro highlight Venezuela's evolution into a critical transit hub, where the "Cartel of the Suns"—allegedly led by the Venezuelan military—facilitates drug movement through state-controlled airports. While the Trump administration justifies aggressive interventions and maritime strikes as necessary to dismantle this narco-state infrastructure, the trade remains fueled by persistent consumer demand in the U.S. and Europe, which funds the systemic corruption of officials across Latin America.