What can populist politicians learn from international drug dealers?

There seems to be no corner of the global economy that hasn’t been hit by the Trump-led retreat of globalisation. Supply chains are cracking, inflation is on the move, and isolationism is now the raison d'etre of the populist right. 

But there is one sphere that remains impervious to macro-economic headwinds: the black market of narcotics. The price of a bag of cannabis, cocaine, or heroin, for example, cost the same in 2020 as it did in 2010. The average price for a dozen eggs in the US, meanwhile, hit $6.23 in March 2025; breaking previous record highs in February and January. More often than not, it is drugs’ purity, not price, that shifts.

One of the reasons for this is that, despite the prevailing geo-political trend, international drug dealers are still adhering to the foundational tenets of globalisation, as orchestrated after the Second World War - whether they realise it or not. These principles include free trade, interdependence, supply chain resilience, and the proliferation of technology. 

Here are some ways in which organised drug gangs are flying the flag of globalisation - and proving why isolationism does not pay. 

Tech proliferation

It is a well-known fact that drug gangs are now leveraging cutting-edge technology to expand and streamline their operations. Innovations like encryption are serving to secure communication channels between suppliers and dealers, while decentralised cryptocurrencies that circumvent intermediary banks - like bitcoin - are being leveraged to launder dirty cash. 

According to UK Finance, an estimated $22.2 billion was laundered globally using cryptocurrencies in 2023. This marked a decrease on the 2022 estimate of $31.5 billion, which would either indicate that better controls are being put in place, or that criminals are becoming better at avoiding detection.

The technological sophistication of the black market drugs trade, in some areas, exceeds that of incumbent, legitimate markets. Almost half of maritime trade, for instance - which by volume accounts for 90% of global trade - was still using paper bills of lading in 2022, predicts McKinsey.

While technology is being exploited by the MAGA right, it is by no means to further trade or co-operation. Instead, Trump 2.0 leans on the tech-industrial complex - comprising the BigTech giants of X, Truth Social, and Facebook (essentially state-owned media) - to further its mission of dividing and suppressing domestic dissent.  

Interdependence

Another key tenet of globalisation is interdependence, and international drug dealers are using it to their advantage. 

It has been found that Mexican crime groups are now working with EU-based contacts on synthetic drug production, including MDMA, LSD, and Ketamine - the latter of which has seen its 16-24-year old users in England (referred to as Generation K) triple since 2016. These substances make their way into the UK in small quantities thanks to highly organised networks, via semi-legal routes. 

An analysis by the EU drugs agency and Europol described how, by 2020, an Albanian-speaking gang had seized control of both the importation and distribution of cocaine. Typically, importers work separately from the wholesalers and street dealers. The analysis noted that “the organisation’s ringleader, based in Ecuador, negotiated directly with the South American drug cartels, arranged huge shipments of cocaine to the major ports of Europe and, with the help of accomplices based in Italy, the Netherlands and Albania, also organised distribution to consumers throughout Europe.”

This represents an advanced level of co-operation and integration for the black market. All the while, the rules-based international order is splintering. 

Free trade

Finally, we reach the principle of free trade - and there’s certainly no government intervention in the drug market. Without tariffs, quotas, or other restrictions, drug lords are flying high on the breeze unfettered commerce. It is a level of exchange that even the Special Relationship has not been able to yield. Indeed, despite Starmer’s recent trade deal with Trump, blanket 10% tariffs on imports still apply to many UK goods. 

Organised crime groups, meanwhile, are thriving. In Mexico - which on 1 February 2025 was targeted by Trump with a 25% tariff on all goods - the cartels boast over 175,000 members; making them the fifth-biggest employer in the country. One of the most dominant of these groups, the Jalisco cartel - whose territory spans most of western Mexico - holds assets worth more than $20bn (£15.5bn). 

Globalisation ensures supply chain resilience

By leaning on the values of globalisation, illicit drug distributors have proven (as if it needed to be) its ability to deliver supply chain resilience. In doing so, the drug market has successfully immunised itself against inflationary shocks.

So, is it time for the embattled, trade-war wreathed leaders of the world to take a glance at international drug dealers to glean some masterclasses in co-operation and free trade? Their success (notwithstanding the arm-long list of suffering left in their wake, of course) shapes up to be an argument for drugs’ decriminalisation, as much as it does for a return to globalisation.