The CIA's role in protecting drug traffickers and the establishment of Wa State.
How many of you have ever heard of Burma? You may have more recently heard of the earthquake that struck the country just days ago. Burma is a country in South-Eastern Asia that borders India, China, Laos, and Thailand. Burma is home to many ethnic groups, but the two focused on in this book are the Shan and Wa. Burma gained its independence from the British in 1948. It would then last as a democracy until 1962, when a military coup lasted for over twenty-six years. In 1989, the military junta changed the name of Burma to Myanmar and the capital from Rangoon to Yangon. Now that we have covered some basic facts about Burma's history, the book Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIA is a must-read to understand the global drug trade. Patrick Whinn does a fantastic job as a journalist in uncovering the creation of WA state. Writing about how the CIA protected drug traffickers and the DEA’s role in this story. For anyone unaware, WA state is a state within a state in Burma and is split between WA North and WA South. Patrick Whinn tells the story of the shady history of the CIA during the Cold War in Burma, their recruitment of the exiles, and how this changed one man's life. His name saw Lu. The book also details how Burma went from one of the biggest producers of opium then pulling a 360 turn, burning the opium that helped fuel and finance the United State Wa Army. This was done to have sanctions lifted from the country. Spoiler alert, they may have given up on opium but then turned to Methamphetamine, which continues to devastate countries in South-East Asia, particularly the Philippines and Thailand.
A picture of Saw Lu from the book in the year 1993
Map showcasing Burma and the countries that border it Burma, Laos and Thailand form what is known in the drug world as the golden triangle
My experience with this book was one of shock and disbelief. How could a state exist with another state while being solely reliant on the global drug trade for its economy?. As I kept reading more and more, it was all becoming more clear, while the United States vilifies WA State, they were hiding an ugly truth about their activities and failures in Burma during the Cold War and the War on Drugs. This book does a fantastic job of keeping the reader engaged and on the edge of their seat and constantly saying Just one more page, and I will put it down, while also humanizing the people involved and telling their stories. Stay tuned for next week’s post when we leave the Southeast Asian region and travel down under, not to Australia but to New Zealand, where methamphetamine is changing the criminal landscape. Remember to comment and subscribe down below so you never miss a post. Below is a link to the website where I got information on the history of Burma.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/myanmar-history-coup-military-rule-ethnic-conflict-rohingya
