Extremely wealthy, they have attempted to gain legitimacy by purchasing political candidates and newspaper organizations; many members of the groups have themselves been elected to public office. When unable to buy support, the drug groups often intimidate government and business officials through death threats, kidnappings, bombings, and murders. A brief history of the Columbian drug groups and a description of their organizational structure and main characteristics are provided. Each of the four major Columbian cartels is described: the Medellin Cartel, the Cali Cartel, the North Atlantic group, and the Bogota/Barranquilla group. The author concludes with an assessment of the impact of Columbian organized crime on Columbia, Panama and the Bahamas, and the United States. 32 notes