The objective of this article is to offer a brief commentary, within a theoretical and conceptual framework, on the drug traffic (which could equally apply, for that matter, to any issue of worldwide import, such as the environment or human rights) that could serve as a point of reference in the relationship between the countries of Latin America (like Colombia) or the Third World and those of the industrialized North, such as the United States.

This article will argue that, in dealing with global issues, like that of the narcotraffic, it is necessary to take into account two components with close links to one another. The first of these arises from the fact that global issues require global politics to deal with them.