Following the fall of the Assad regime, Syria launched a war on drugs in an effort to dismantle the Captagon empire that had flourished under Bashar al-Assad’s rule. Known as the “poor man’s cocaine,” the highly addictive stimulant has been wreaking havoc across communities in the Middle East. Can the new authorities in Syria succeed in dismantling the country’s Captagon trade?
This briefing featured Charles Lister and Caroline Rose. Lister is a Senior Fellow with MEI and Director of its Syria Initiative. Rose is Director of the Crime-Conflict Nexus and Military Withdrawals portfolios at the New Lines Institute, where she researches the intersection of defense, security, illicit trades, and geopolitical landscapes.
Our experts discussed Syria’s status as a narco-state under the Assad regime; challenges the current government faces in its war on drugs; and the Captagon trade’s impact on Syria’s neighbors such as Iraq, Jordan, and Gulf countries.