Southeast Asia's Drug Wars: Control and Marginalization
Southeast Asia's performative drug policies have been criticized for marginalizing migrants and minorities, while leaving criminal networks untouched.
A notable example is the case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina human trafficking victim who was sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking charges in 2010. Despite being denied adequate legal representation, she spent nearly 15 years on death row before her eventual release.
Her story reflects a regional pattern of performative border control, where drug wars are mobilized as populist tropes.
Governments across Southeast Asia have used public outrage over drug use and foreign drug smugglers to define drugs as national security threats, justifying the politicization of borders, minority targeting, and harsh sentencing. This approach has its roots in the Philippines' 1970s martial law.
Author's summary: Southeast Asia's drug wars marginalize migrants and minorities.
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