ABSTRACT
The Andes stretches from the Venezuela–Colombia border to the southern tip of South America, technically running through seven countries. It is the longest mountain chain in the world, and the second highest, with peaks reaching over 22,000 feet. Costa Rica, Chile, and Uruguay also have strong democratic traditions relative to the rest of Latin America, and though they have also experienced violence at times, Colombia has suffered the most violence per capita of all of South America. A chance meeting in a Danbury, Connecticut prison in 1974 forever altered the landscape of drug trafficking in the Americas. The Medellin Cartel was able to rapidly expand its reach into the US market through its contacts with several Americans in the 1970s. American and Colombian pilots began ferrying enormous shipments of cocaine back and forth between Colombia and the US. Barry Seal, Mickey Monday, and many others, some with combat flying experience in Vietnam, became flying smugglers for the Medellin Cartel.
