The War on Drugs is a prismatic, sentimental novel. The bad end unhappily, as indeed they often do in real life. But the good do not end happily. The supply of illegal drugs does not diminish. Addiction rages unabated. Lives go on being blighted, families go on being destroyed, communities go on being subjected to thuggery, exploitation and the endless draining of hope into the gutter of dependency.
But how did capturing El Chapo work out for the US Drug Enforcement Agency that is, according to these reports, now targeting Kinahan? Don’t get me wrong – these are desirable outcomes. The upholding of law, the proof that there is no impunity, the demonstration to the families of victims that their losses are taken seriously by the State – all good and necessary things. Gardaí and their international allies have an absolute duty to go after these criminals.
The economic mechanisms are wearily familiar by now. The percentage of illegal drugs seized on the way to markets is reasonably constant – hence the volume of seizures is a measure of failure, not of success.