Corruption, chronic instability, and deep poverty have created fertile ground for powerful drug-trafficking networks in Guinea-Bissau, where the military justified this week’s coup by claiming “drug barons” were plotting against the state.
The latest takeover has cast a stark light on the entrenched ties between traffickers, politicians, and security forces in a nation long labelled one of West Africa’s most fragile.
Luxury SUVs gliding through Bissau’s potholed streets and sudden bursts of extravagant construction—often by individuals with no clear source of income—are familiar signs in a country the United Nations describes as a key transit hub for cocaine moving from Latin America to Europe.
According to an August report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), Guinea-Bissau remains a critical node in the international cocaine pipeline, and the trade is again booming. “Bissau’s cocaine market is thriving, possibly more profitable than at any moment in its history,” the report noted, adding that Colombians are increasingly visible in top hotels and that the price of cocaine and crack continues to fall.
Cocaine and Chronic Instability
Violence and coups have punctuated Guinea-Bissau’s political life since independence from Portugal in 1974. The growth of the drug trade has deepened this instability, prompting analysts to dub the country a “narco-state.” The United States has gone further, designating several top officials as drug traffickers.
General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, said Wednesday’s coup was launched to shield the country from an alleged plot by “national drug lords.” Intelligence reports, he claimed, revealed a plan to smuggle weapons into the country to overturn the constitutional order.
Poverty remains pervasive—more than a quarter of the population lived below the poverty line in 2023, according to the World Bank—while the enormous profits generated by drug trafficking foster fierce competition and systemic corruption.
The coup unfolded as Guinea-Bissau awaited results from presidential and legislative elections held on November 23. GI-TOC warned earlier this year that the booming cocaine economy, combined with the cost of political campaigns, had positioned the country on the brink of another major upheaval.
Nexus of Drugs and Politics
A source familiar with trafficking operations told AFP that foreign networks rely on local partners who maintain close ties with security forces to ensure the safe passage of drug shipments. “Scouts” stationed along the coast alert contacts in Bissau to arriving vessels or aircraft from Latin America, after which “handlers” accompany the cargo into the capital.
Senior military officers and high-ranking civil servants have been implicated repeatedly. In March 2024, Malam Bacai Sanha Junior—the son of a former president—was sentenced in the United States to several years in prison for participating in an international heroin-trafficking scheme.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, ousted in the coup, had in 2021 refused to extradite General Antonio Indjai, a former coup leader wanted by the U.S. for alleged cocaine trafficking linked to Colombia’s FARC rebels.
Traffickers are also widely suspected of bankrolling political campaigns, with some parties suddenly able to deploy fleets of new 4×4 vehicles during election season.
Recent Blow to Trafficking Networks
Despite the pervasive influence of organized crime, enhanced cooperation among Guinea-Bissau, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and the United States has led to several arrests.
In January, a local court sentenced four Latin American nationals to 17 years each for drug trafficking. They were transferred to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in April.
West Africa has long been a strategic transit corridor for Latin American cocaine headed to North Africa and Europe, according to a 2024 report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
While maritime routes dominate, traffickers increasingly use overland pathways. Neighbouring states—including Guinea and Sierra Leone—are also battling rising consumption of crack cocaine and a synthetic cannabinoid known locally as kush.
Guinea-Bissau’s latest coup underscores how deeply the global drug trade remains woven into its politics—and how difficult breaking that cycle will be.
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