The Indicator from Planet Money How cocaine smuggling through Latin America really works
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Jan 6, 2026 
Jan Grillo, a seasoned journalist and author of the El Narco trilogy, delves into the intricacies of the cocaine trade. He explains how coca is cultivated in the Andes and transformed into market-ready products. As U.S. enforcement strategies shifted, traffickers adapted their routes, now using Mexico and Central America extensively. Grillo also uncovers Venezuela's emerging role as a vital transit hub and discusses troubling reports of government complicity in trafficking operations. This engaging conversation reveals the complex dynamics of a thriving illicit market.
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Close-Up With Seized Cocaine
- Jan Grillo described being offered a taste of seized cocaine by a Mexican general at a military base.
- He licked it and the general pointed out the tongue-numbing effect, illustrating close-up encounters with enforcement officials.
Kilo Bricks Are The Trade Unit
- Coca production begins with small high-altitude farmers who sell leaves or produce paste for upstream processors.
- Producers turn paste into standardized kilogram bricks which serve as the primary tradable unit in the cocaine chain.
Routes Shifted To Avoid Enforcement
- Traffickers shifted routes away from direct Colombia-to-US paths due to enforcement, routing product through Mexico and Central America.
- Mexico's existing smuggling networks for other drugs let cocaine trafficking scale rapidly there.
