Podcast Summary: Today, Explained — "The Cocaine Comeback"
Date: December 30, 2025
Host: Jon Glen Hill (for Today, Explained)
Main Guest: Samantha Schmidt (Mexico City bureau chief, The Washington Post)
Contributing Guest: Amelia Petrarca (Fashion writer)
Episode Overview
This episode dives into the global resurgence of the cocaine trade, examining how trafficking networks have evolved into nimble, international enterprises, shifting away from their 1980s archetypes. The conversation covers the explosive growth of coca cultivation, the changing face of criminality, and the shifting markets—especially the rising prominence of Europe alongside the US. The latter half explores "Boom Boom," the contemporary aesthetic inspired by 1980s "cocaine chic," and how culture is both echoing and subverting the capitalist flash of that era.
The New Cocaine Boom: Scale and Spread
[02:09] Cocaine Is Breaking Records
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Samantha Schmidt explains that the land used for coca cultivation in Colombia is over five times greater than during the Pablo Escobar era.
"We are seeing from the origin, the land in Colombia that is used to cultivate cocaine is about more than five times the size during the Pablo Escobar years." — Samantha Schmidt [02:18]
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Both demand and supply are surging, with Europe now rivaling the US as a destination.
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The days of cocaine as a mostly US problem are over:
"Now it is globalized... Many people will say Ecuador is now the world's cocaine superhighway." — Samantha Schmidt [03:39]
[03:13] A Globalized Trade
- Cartels are being replaced by a proliferation of smaller, strategic trafficking groups across South America, often using places like Ecuador as major transit hubs.
- Production methods have improved: coca crops are more productive, enclaves are closer to borders/ports, and smuggling techniques are sophisticated.
What’s Fueling Growth?
[05:03] Demand & Supply
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Demand is soaring in Europe and elsewhere, driving traffickers to target new markets (e.g., Europe is “oversaturated”).
"Europe now is a top destination alongside the United States." — Samantha Schmidt [05:08]
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On the supply side:
- The productivity of Colombian coca crops is unprecedented.
- Cocaine enclaves are strategically situated for export.
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The trade is fragmented; following the collapse of major groups like the FARC, international criminal networks (like Albanian mafias and Mexican cartels) have increased cooperation and reach.
Logistics: The Business of Moving Coke
[07:35] Trafficking Tactics Resemble Legal Logistics
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Cocaine now moves globally, often via legal container ships.
"Much of this is happening on legal container ships... buying off people in the ports, in the police, in the courts." — Samantha Schmidt [07:47]
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Corruption, rather than violence, is now often at the heart of the trade.
The Face of the New Trade: Dritin Rajepi
[08:34] The Albanian Kingpin in an Ecuadorian Jail
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Dritin Rajepi, an Albanian criminal, runs a transatlantic cocaine empire from behind bars in Ecuador:
"He actually built his cocaine business out of a prison cell... using these connections to find new ways to move large quantities of drugs through Ecuador and primarily to Europe." — Samantha Schmidt [08:49]
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The business is now about connections and logistics, not about large, hierarchical organizations:
"You just need to know the right people in the right ports... it's a low bar of entry." — Samantha Schmidt [10:14]
Law Enforcement and Policy: Two Americas
[10:40] How is Law Enforcement Responding?
- Schmidt draws a distinction between the previous US policy (focused on dismantling leadership) and current Trump administration policy (military escalation in the Caribbean, bombings of suspected drug boats).
"The Trump administration has taken a vastly different approach." — Samantha Schmidt [10:55]
- Trump frequently conflates the cocaine trade with the fentanyl crisis in public messaging:
"They talk about it in a way that implies that fentanyl is moving on these boats when we know that it is predominantly cocaine." — Samantha Schmidt [12:29]
The Cultural Resurgence: The “Boom Boom” Aesthetic
[15:35] Cocaine as a Cultural Symbol, Again
- The 1980s, when cocaine’s influence reached from party scenes to music and film, are back as a reference point for fashion and attitudes in 2025.
- New "cocaine chic" is called "Boom Boom," a term for a conspicuously flashy, high-powered look:
"It's looking like you've spent money for the sake of looking like you spent money... shameless pursuit of the bag." — Amelia Petrarca [16:26]
[17:07] Examples of the Aesthetic
- Appears in restaurant design (“dark wood...where you would go with your guys after work”), fashion (pinstripe suits, broad shoulders, Saint Laurent loafers), and music:
"One of the lyrics is 'I'll do coke, but I'll judge boo. I met a cool white bitch in the bathroom.'" — Jon Glen Hill [18:31]
- Boom Boom is visually and culturally coded as "corporate baddie," both embracing and poking fun at power looks.
[19:02] Pop Culture and Political Associations
- Boom Boom is seen as associated with Trump and the political right, but also subverted by queer/feminist interpretations (e.g., suits worn by Chapel Roan, Doechii).
Subtext and Critique: The Dark Side
[20:38] Is Trump Fueling the Trend?
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Trump’s personal aesthetic and the broader return of 80s-style capitalism feed into the trend:
"His sort of gilded toilet, bad suit look, you know, had seeped its way into fashion, into culture." — Amelia Petrarca [20:51]
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But, Petrarca notes, these days trends move quickly and mostly emerge in niche online pockets, not as all-consuming shifts.
[23:11] The Double Edge of Boom Boom
- The flashy aesthetic is alluring but Petrarca finds its core values troubling:
"To me, at its core, it represents something a bit rotten... just sort of shameless capitalistic impulses and not having a regard for anything other than... making as much money as you possibly can." — Amelia Petrarca [23:11]
[24:26] The Past Isn’t Just Glamour
- The hosts remind listeners that the last cocaine era also had a dark side: the crack epidemic and the war on drugs. The appeal of the look is complicated by this legacy.
Memorable Quotes & Standout Moments
- "It's not about hierarchy, it's about being strategic, it's about developing alliances, it's about who you know." — Samantha Schmidt [09:46]
- "The Trump administration is saying that this is a threat, that these are narco terrorists flooding the United States with drugs. And they talk about it in a way that implies that fentanyl is moving on these boats, when we know that it is predominantly cocaine." — Samantha Schmidt [12:29]
- "It's about looking rich, feeling rich, feeling like you're moving fast and breaking things." — Amelia Petrarca [16:26]
- "At its core, it represents something a bit rotten... shameless capitalistic impulses and not having a regard for anything other than... making as much money as you possibly can." — Amelia Petrarca [23:11]
Key Timestamps
| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|----------------------------------------------| | 02:09 | Global scale and record growth | | 03:39 | Modern trafficking networks and routes | | 05:03 | Demand in new markets (esp. Europe) | | 07:35 | Logistics: ports, corruption, container ships| | 08:49 | Dritin Rajepi & new "kingpins" | | 10:40 | Law enforcement response; Trump admin tactics| | 15:35 | Cocaine’s cultural comeback—“Boom Boom” | | 17:07 | Manifestations of the new aesthetic | | 20:38 | Ties to Trump and capitalism | | 23:11 | Critique of “Boom Boom” & cultural meaning | | 24:26 | Reflection on 1980s cocaine era’s dark side |
Conclusion
This episode of "Today, Explained" unpacks the complexities behind the global cocaine resurgence—demonstrating how crime, commerce, and culture have all evolved since the 1980s. With both the illicit trade and its attendant visual cues returning to the limelight, the show interrogates what drives demand, how traffickers adapt, and how fashion and aesthetics absorb (and sometimes critique) this energy. The ultimate message: while history rhymes, it rarely repeats, and every resurgence has a dark underside as well as cultural flash.