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Criminals, Cops, and Politicians: The Dynamics of Drug Violence in Colombia and Mexico A dissertation presented by Angélica Durán-Martínez B.A. in Political Science, Universidad Nacional de Colombia M.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, New York University To the Department of Political Science In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Political Science Brown University Providence, Rhode Island May 2013 © Copyright 2013 by Angélica Durán-Martínez All rights reserved ii This dissertation by Angelica Duran-Martinez is accepted in its present form by the Department of Political Science as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Date ___________ __________________________________ Richard O. Snyder, Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date ___________ __________________________________ Peter Andreas, Reader Date ___________ __________________________________ Pauline Jones-Luong, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date ___________ __________________________________ Peter Weber, Dean of the Graduate School iii Curriculum Vitae Angelica Duran-Martinez was born in Bogotá, Colombia, on May 14, 1979. She obtained a B.A. in Political Science from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and completed an M.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University thanks to a Fulbright Scholarship. She has been a Fulbright Fellow at the United Nations Secretariat and a consultant for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the UN Development Program, and Global Integrity. In Colombia she worked for the Foundation Ideas for Peace (FIP) and for several research projects about the armed conflict. Her dissertation research received funding from the Jennings Randolph Peace Scholarship of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the International Dissertation Research Fellowship of the Social Science Research Council (IDRF-SSRC), and the Drugs, Security, and Democracy Fellowship of the SSRC, Open Society Foundation, and IDRC. Her research also received support from the Graduate Program in Development, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Graduate School, and the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. She has authored “Presidents, Parties and Referenda in Latin America”, (Comparative Political Studies, 2012) and coauthored "Does illegality breed violence?: Drug trafficking and state-sponsored protection rackets" with Richard Snyder (Crime, Law and Social Change, 2009). She has also coauthored “The politics of drugs and illicit trade in the Americas” with Peter Andreas, in Kingstone and Yashar, eds., Handbook of Latin American Politics, Routledge (2012). iv Acknowledgements In 1989, when I was 10 years old, I was walking with my mom two blocks away from our home in Bogotá, and a bomb went off at a nearby mechanic shop. It was the time of the narcoterrorist terror. Only a few seconds saved us from being victims of that bomb. As people rushed into the scene, my mom ran away in the opposite direction, confused, scared, and thankful that we were safe. That was my closest experience to violence while growing up; living in Bogotá, I was relatively protected from the violence that besieged other rural areas, but in that period narcoterrorism overwhelmed the major cities of Colombia. Over the years, I have come to believe that such experience generated my interest in the topic of violence, drug trafficking, and crime. However, such interest would have never been materialized without years of discussion, mentoring, support, and valuable teachings, both at the core of family discussions, and during my years studying Political Science at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Thus it would be impossible for me to thank appropriately all the people that have been crucial in my intellectual formation, and thus, essential for the successful completion of this project. I have to limit for those who directly contributed to making this project possible. Since I started a Ph.D. at Brown, the intellectual guidance and personal support of Richard Snyder, Pauline Jones Luong, and Peter Andreas were crucial both in crafting out my research proposal, and in producing the dissertation. As the chair of my dissertation committee, Richard went out of his way to mentor me, and a combination of encouragement and thoughtful criticism always pushed me in new directions and forced v me out of my comfort zones. Peter always posed sharp questions that illuminated all the crucial holes in my thinking and thus encouraged me to sharpen ideas, to be careful with words, and to think broadly. Pauline’s comments always forced me to reflect on crucial methodological questions, on broader theoretical debates, and on key conceptual dilemmas. Barbara Stallings has provided feedback over the years and supported my project. My special thanks also go to Melani Cammett, Matthew Guttman, Kay Warren, and the entire faculty at Brown that at different points encouraged my work. I spent 15 months conducting fieldwork in Colombia and Mexico, and before the project actually took shape I carried out short trips to Cali, Medellin and Mexico City. All these trips were possible thanks to the generous funding from the United States Institute of Peace USIP, the Social Science Research Council SSRC, the Drugs, Security, and Democracy DSD Fellowship of the SSRC, Open Society and IDRC, and grants from the Graduate Development Program, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. This research would have not been possible without the generosity of those who shared their time, thoughts, and experiences with me while I was in the field. I cannot thank all of them directly because of anonymity concerns, but every person who shared experiences with me made this project what it is today. I am forever indebted to Maria Eugenia and Lucila in Medellin; Mireya and Blanca in Cali; Luz Maria, Pedro, and Pedro Pablo in Culiacan; Alan and Laura in Ciudad Juarez, who generously opened the doors of their houses and their hearts for me, and became a family in each of my research locations, making me feel safer and welcomed. Luis Astorga, both an intellectual guide and a friend, graciously introduced me to his family and provided key contacts and vi insights. My special thanks go to Angelika Rettberg at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Arturo Alvarado at Colmex in Mexico City, Alberto Hernandez at COLEF, Mauricio Romero at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Roddy Brett at the time at the Universidad del Rosario, and David Shirk at the Transborder Institute at the University of San Diego, for having provided key institutional support and space for me to share the preliminary findings of my research while in the field. The research assistance of Mundo Ramirez, Rocio Duran, and Luis Cañas was invaluable, thanks to them for their hard work, insights and patience to go through hundreds of news papers, in most cases dusty records, to create the dataset on drug violence. The work I present here reflects the knowledge that all my interviewees shared, and many discussions with friends and colleagues. The usual disclaimer is always necessary that my omissions are my sole responsibility. Colleagues at fellowship workshops with USIP, SSRC, and the DSD program, provided crucial insights, criticisms, and encouragement at different stages of the project. The intellectual community of the DSD program was essential in the latter part of fieldwork and has remained a highly motivating network for research on topics of security, criminality, and violence in Latin America. Special thanks go to Desmond Arias, Ana Arjona, Susan Brewer, Yanilda Gonzalez, Javier Osorio and Reynaldo Rojo for their feedback on the general ideas of this dissertation. My colleagues and friends at Brown were crucial and my special thanks go to Sinem Adar, Erin Beck, Jennifer Costanza, Susan Ellison, Eduardo Moncada, and Dikshya Thapa, who read earlier drafts of chapters and made great comments on them. Susan Hirsch and Suzanne Brough always provided essential administrative support throughout my years at Brown. vii Brown University was my intellectual home, and the friends that I made over the years became my family away from home, to all of them my special thanks because their trust and friendship made my journey special and unforgettable. I also thank my longtime friends from Universidad Nacional and New York University because they have always accompanied me, despite distance and time. Astrid, Jessica, and Paola will always be my accomplices. None of this could have ever been possible without the unconditional support of my family. Of my mom, whose endless love and trust in me keeps me going in moments of doubt, and whose sacrifices and guidance made me the person I am today. To Nancy and Rocio, my precious sisters, who never stop encouraging me, motivating me to go further, and teaching me about life. To my loving husband Jack, who came to my life when this project was just starting and has supported me through every single step of it, enduring moments of physical separation, editing chapters, inspiring me through long political conversations, reminding me about the value of my work, but also about the real important things in life. Jack you have been a light in my life and I can never express in words how grateful I am to have you in my life. Finally, to my dad, my hero, who left this world too early to see how his sacrifices pay off, but who, I am sure, still looks out for me from heaven. To them, I dedicate this dissertation. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………… v List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………….. x List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………. xi Glossary of terms and abbreviations………………………………………………… xii Chapter 1. State power, criminal competition, and drug violence: A systematic comparison between Colombian and Mexican cities………………………………… 1 Chapter 2. Silent traffickers or brutal criminals: defining and assessing the frequency and visibility of drug violence …………………………………………………………….

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