Profits from drug trafficking have distorted investment, the development of legitimate enterprise, inflation, employment, trade, and finance in the economies of most countries in Latin America. Although law enforcement has made major achievements, drug traffickers may become so institutionalized in the economic networks of some countries that they are all but invincible. Drug Enforcement Administration official Greg Passic moved to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network due to his belief in the importance of focusing on money laundering rather than street-level drug sales and the interdiction of drug products into the United States. The multinational Financial Action Task Force estimates the global trade in illicit funds to be $300 billion; the United National Commission on Narcotic Drugs estimates the total from the drug trade as $400-500 billion. That would mean that the drug industry accounts for 10-13 percent of total international trade. Drug money results in parallel financial systems, economic distortions, and harm to traditional industries. A major commitment from many countries, together with cooperation with institutions in the financial securities markets, will be required to counter these problems. Photographs and case examples