Today, Explained The cocaine comeback
125 snips
Dec 30, 2025 
Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post's Mexico City bureau chief focused on drug trafficking, and Amelia Petrarca, a freelance writer known for her cultural insights, dive into the remarkable resurgence of cocaine. They explore record production levels and the global trafficking networks that have emerged. Schmidt explains Colombia's shifting power dynamics in cocaine production, while Petrarca discusses the 'boom boom' aesthetic, a vibrant cultural echo of the 80s, blending fashion with historical complexities. The conversation highlights cocaine's cultural revival and its darker societal implications.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Cocaine Production Has Surged Globally
- Global cocaine production and cultivation area have grown to record highs, far exceeding Pablo Escobar-era levels.
- Samantha Schmidt says both supply and demand have surged, turning cocaine into a truly globalized market.
Cocaine Moves Through Legal Shipping Networks
- The cocaine trade now runs like a global supply chain using legal ports and container ships.
- Schmidt highlights corruption and concentrated coca enclaves near coasts that speed shipments worldwide.
Fragmentation Opened New Drug Networks
- Colombia's armed group fragmentation after the 2016 peace process created many nimble criminal networks.
- That fragmentation let smaller groups and foreign mafias exploit new transit routes like Ecuador to Europe.