Drug Busts Cause Recession

Cali, hometown of the world’s leading drug cartel, has fallen into deep recession since its top leaders were arrested last year.

The newspaper El Tiempo reported Monday that the number of unemployed people in Cali rose from 87,362 in 1995 to 109,088 by the end of April, as 210 businesses shut down.

In addition, the paper said, construction dropped 20.5 percent.

Analysts blame the recession in part on a shake-up in the cocaine trade stemming from the arrests of brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, leaders of the cartel

El Tiempo published statistics showing bank robberies and murders were on the rise in Cali, where former members of the Rodriguez brothers’ private armies are now unemployed.