# Killing drug dealers en mass like the Philippines is doing. Has this been done elsewhere?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-drug-dealers-en-mass-like-the-philippines-is-doing-has-this-been-done-elsewhere/765171>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 6, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-drug-dealers-en-mass-like-the-philippines-is-doing-has-this-been-done-elsewhere/765171 "2016-09-06T04:45:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-drug-dealers-en-mass-like-the-philippines-is-doing-has-this-been-done-elsewhere/765171/21 "2016-12-08T04:45:10Z")

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> [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
>
> However who is to say that other criminals won’t just fill the vacuum. Also what is to stop the cops from becoming corrupt and dishonest?
> 
> [Brazil](http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/brazil-killer-cops)has death squads made up of police officers and military who targeted serious criminals. But I have no idea if it actually had a positive impact on Brazilian society. Crime still seems rampant.

Sure. When the police are considered criminals crime will probably increase.

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**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-drug-dealers-en-mass-like-the-philippines-is-doing-has-this-been-done-elsewhere/765171/22 "2016-12-08T05:18:15Z")

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Well, they knew the worst too young.

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**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-drug-dealers-en-mass-like-the-philippines-is-doing-has-this-been-done-elsewhere/765171/23 "2016-12-08T19:22:09Z")

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> [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
>
> I can see the point too. Assuming the police are targeting the worst of the worst, I could see how it could have appeal.
> 
> However who is to say that other criminals won’t just fill the vacuum. Also what is to stop the cops from becoming corrupt and dishonest?
> 
> [Brazil](http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/brazil-killer-cops)has death squads made up of police officers and military who targeted serious criminals. But I have no idea if it actually had a positive impact on Brazilian society. Crime still seems rampant.

I was thinking of it more of a thought experiment not an actual thing to do. If that nytimes article is accurate then it’s probably working about as well as I would have thought. It’s a big show of force, but in reality the cops really only have intel on the low level users. The Pablo Escobar of the Philippines isn’t getting killed.

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-drug-dealers-en-mass-like-the-philippines-is-doing-has-this-been-done-elsewhere/765171/24 "2016-12-08T19:55:40Z")

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> [@astro](#):
>
> the current policy in the Philippines re drug dealers just seems to be “kill them all” without even going to trial. Surprising in a nominally democratic country with rule of law.
> 
> Has this sort of targeted killing of drug criminals been done before in any country? How did it work out long term as a deterrent?

[China did it](https://www.quora.com/How-did-China-eradicate-the-opium-problem-given-that-opium-addiction-penetrated-all-the-way-up-to-the-Imperial-Court) in the mid-twentieth century, but it’s not clear how much due process might have been involved. Apparently it worked well for a while (not counting any human rights violations that may or may not have happened along the way):

> [@Quora](#):
>
> Opium eradication was one of the most positive legacies of Mao Zedong. By 1956, China was essentially drug free up and remained so until his death in 1976.

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