DAKAR: Corruption, instability and poverty have opened the door to powerful narcotics traffickers in Guinea-Bissau, where the military justified this week’s coup by alleging “drug barons” were plotting against the state.
Wednesday’s military takeover cast a harsh light on how the murky links between traffickers, politicians and officials deepen political turmoil in the coup-prone West African nation.
Luxury 4x4 vehicles cruising through the streets and lavish villas, suddenly acquired by owners with no visible income, are tell-tale signs in Guinea-Bissau, described by the United Nations as a gateway for drugs from Latin America bound for Europe.
“Guinea-Bissau has long been a central cog in the international cocaine trafficking system,” said the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) in an August report.
“Today, Bissau’s cocaine market is booming once again, and has arguably become more profitable than at any point in the country’s history,” it added.
