The Powers That Narcotised the World: China, the USA, and Iran
In a world where wars are fought not only with missiles but with white powders and lethal pills, three powers emerge as the invisible architects of global chaos: the United States, China, and Iran. While Latin America bleeds in rivers of violence and corruption, these nations extract economic, strategic, and political benefits from drug trafficking. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2025, global illicit drug use reached 316 million people in 2023—an all-time high, up 6% from 2010—with an estimated market value of $150 billion annually. But behind these figures lies a brutal asymmetry: the US consumes, China manufactures the ingredients, and Iran finances proxy wars. Countries like Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela act as mere "workshops" in this chain, absorbing 80% of the deaths (over 100,000 homicides a year in the region) while profits flow North and East. This article unravels how these powers "n...