The US Drug Enforcement Administration estimates the Colombian cocaine cartels gross about $50 billion a year, yet only $2 to $4 billion accrue to the Colombian economy. Doria Medina calculated that 15 percent of the total value of cocaine from Bolivian coca stayed in the national economy. Clearly, the greater part of profits from the western hemisphere drug nexus is invested outside source countries or held in overseas bank accounts. The cocaine industry is a major employer in the three key nations of Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. Warlords operating inside the "Golden Triangle" were estimated to be producing 60 tons of heroin per year in the mid-1980s. Of these, 20 tons were directed to European and North American consumers. Global economic reform is essential to the elimination of illicit trafficking. 3 notes.