The problem of illegal cocaine trafficking from a multiscalar and multiterritorial approach

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the global problem of illegal cocaine traf-ficking, from a multi-scale and multi-territorial approach that identifies the emerging dynamics and their multi-scale articulations. A qualitative approach based on the inductive method is used, which is complemented by consultation with secondary sources, such as reports from official organizations and the written press,which allow for a deeper analysis and understanding of the prob-lem of illegal cocaine trafficking. The study is approached through the re-newed theoretical framework of Political Geography and Economic Geogra-phy, mainly rescuing the ideas proposed by Haesbaert (2013) about multiterri-toriality and mobility and, by Sack (1986) on the control of the territory. Re-garding the results of the research, the need to adopt an integrative territorial approach that allows a better understanding of the ways in which these illegal economies operate and interact, in the overlap of legal and illegal territories, is highlighted.