and Uruguay and is referred to as paco or pasta base in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile. Between 2001 and 2005, the use of paco in Argentina increased by 200%, with more than 150,000 young people taking it regularly.

In 2007, crackdowns in Peru and Bolivia forced traffickers to move to Argentina to produce cocaine which, according to the Los Angeles Times, is ideal for its "advanced chemical industry, [its]