Short answers, pulled from the story.
The illegal drug trade generated between US$426 billion and US$652 billion in 2014. This figure represents nearly 1% of total global trade and makes it one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises in history.
The roots of the modern illegal drug trade stretch back to the 18th century when the East India Company began smuggling Indian opium to Chinese merchants. This activity created an illegal market that eventually sparked war and established a pattern of government involvement that would define the drug trade for the next two centuries.
Countries of production and transit such as Colombia, Afghanistan, and Mexico bear the brunt of the violence and corruption associated with the trade. By the 1980s, Colombian cartels like the Medellín and Cali groups became the dominant cocaine distributors in the United States.
As of 2022, the Syrian government financed the biggest multi-billion dollar drug trade in the world, mostly focused on Captagon. Its revenues from Captagon smuggling alone were estimated at $57 billion annually, which is approximately thrice the total trade of all Mexican cartels.
Drugs are increasingly traded online on the dark web on darknet markets, with the platform Silk Road providing goods and services to 100,000 buyers before being shut down in October 2013. The online trade has made it easier for traffickers to reach customers directly, bypassing traditional distribution networks and making it harder for law enforcement to track and intercept shipments.
In 2025, by executive order, the United States expanded its approach in its counter drug campaign to designate foreign drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. launched a war-like effort and attacked three boats from alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers, killing several people without providing any evidence, in September 2025.