Transformaciones discursivas en el proceso de securitización del narcotráfico. Un análisis de los actos discursivos oficiales de Colombia y Estados Unidos en la Guerra contra las drogas 1986 - 1990

Abstract

The drug issue incites a debate between those who defend its prohibition and repression, and those who defend alternatives as legalization or regulation, or even more moderate alternatives like decriminalization. Although both perspectives demonstrate evidence that support them, from the discursive field, the repressive vision has been positioned as the most widely accepted in America, more specifically, in Latin America. This paper makes a case study of the securitization process of drug trafficking between the presidents of United States and Colombia during the period 1986-1990. Throughout the text, the official speeches of the presidents of both states are analyzed, highlighting the rhetoric strategies and their transformations that legitimized repressive political-military actions against drugs. At the end, the paper aims to reclaim the speech as an instrument to reproduce beliefs about phenomena, in this case, the belief that drugs are an existential threat to the political-military security of the states.