Abstract"The fight against transnational crime must be redirected towards fighting the money generated by crimes. This means shutting down the global shadow financial system that facilitates displacement and kidnapping of illicit assets and funds generated". The statement by Raymond Baker, president of Global Financial Integrity (GFI), in a press release dated March 2017, confirms the concern about the growing problem of transnational crime, which in his opinion lacks attention from the law The application of financial characteristics of transnational crime is a contributing factor to its growth. Research shows that transnational organized crime uses cybercrime and fraudulent schemes to finance weapons and terrorist campaigns. Crimes that pose an international threat to the financial systems include, but are not limited to, extortion. identity theft, prostitution rings, human trafficking, arms trafficking, drug trafficking, video and software piracy, and cybercrime. The countries targeted by these crimes are those with limited resources where people are willing to accept monetary favors in exchange for assistance in the illicit trade. A 2011 Congressional Research Service report, “Latin America and the Caribbean: Illicit Drug Trafficking and U.S. Counterdrug Programs,” explains that the illicit drug industry has created a multibillion-dollar black market in which criminal and terrorist organizations thrive. Governments are corrupt and terrorist groups challenge authority. International terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah, have formed alliances in drug trafficking activity in the South American countries of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. While terrorism cannot be defeated, it could be weakened by targeting drug trafficking. Poor border security in South America makes it easy for terrorists to participate in illicit drug trafficking. Terrorism plays a major role in South America's drug trafficking problem, which funnels illegal drugs into the United States. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayTerrorism and drug trafficking at the South American bordersMany will remember the anger and anger that after September 11, 2001 led the United States into the war against terrorism. President George W. Bush declared war on Al Qaeda, promising that the war would not end until all terrorist groups were identified and defeated. Since the beginning of the war on terrorism, terrorist attacks around the world have become more extreme: beheadings, suicide attacks, suicide bombings, mass shootings have been carried out by individuals. The history of drug trafficking, poverty and religious extremism presents the profound and prevalent reasons for the existence of terrorism, thus making its defeat practically impossible. The opposing views series, “Terrorism,” explains that terrorism is caused by a combination of human rights issues and religious desires. Muslim extremists have a strong desire to form a global caliphate, an Islamic state that unites all Muslim countries. After the death of the prophet Muhammad and the subsequent appointment of the first caliph Abu Bakr, who was the father of one of Muhammad's wives, there was a great division between Sunnis and Shiites. However, Sunni caliphates mainly ruled the Arab world. In 1924, the caliphate was abolished in Türkiye and Muslim countries adopted the Western way of life. The Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni fundamentalist movement, formed to oppose itto the Westernization of the Islamic world. The rejection of Westernized ideologies was presented after the September 11 attacks, when Osama bin Laden said the attacks were “just a copy of what we tasted.” In 2008, a Hamas member of the Palestinian parliament announced on Islamic television networks that Islamic militants would take over the world. The Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) noted that Muslims view the caliphate period as a “golden age” in Muslim history. At a young age, Muslims in the Middle East are educated about the caliphate through speeches in schools and mosques. In his 2016 Nobel Peace Prize speech, Muhammad Yunus said: “I believe that investing resources to improve the lives of the poor is a better strategy than spending them on weapons.” There is a strong belief that there is a correlation between poverty and terrorism. While poverty may not necessarily be the cause of terrorism, studies have shown that terrorists come from richer families than the average person in their societies. However, poverty creates opportunities for terrorists to employ the poor and take advantage of social services. (Whitehead, 2009) In Iraq children are employed by insurgents and are paid to make and transport bombs and weapons. For many families this is the only source of income where the unemployment rate is high. Terrorists also seek public support through the provision of social services where services that would normally be provided by the government are underfunded. The Council of Foreign Relations reported that Hamas spends about $70 million a year on schools, mosques, health care and sports. Terrorist groups are heavily involved in social services provided to countries around the world. These groups contribute to countries in the hope of gaining popular support in return, and through popular support, terrorist groups gain recruits, political positions, and hideouts for members and cells. Egypt recognized a relationship between poor economic conditions and violence committed by terrorists when it saw increased unemployment and foreclosures on homes and businesses between the years of 1991 and 1995. During this period, the number of deaths due to terrorism-related violence increased. When the Egyptian government intervened and developed programs that created jobs and expanded social services, the number of terrorist attacks began to decline. After a series of terrorist attacks in Egypt in recent years, Kamal Amer, head of the Egyptian parliament's defense and national security committee, expressed his views on terrorism to the Arab Weekly. He said: “Poverty is a threat to national security, as are unemployment, disease and the state's inability to provide quality healthcare and education to its citizens.” Amer also lamented that the problems could be more devastating to national security than terrorism itself, as the failure to address poverty issues puts the country's security at risk. Terrorism is expensive and the expenses incurred to support it require funding. Money is needed for recruitment, training, equipment, travel documents, bribery, to name a few. Therefore, terrorists must find ways to solicit funds to maintain operations. Terrorist organizations have realized that the illegal trafficking of heroin, cocaine and hashish represents a huge form of income for the groups. Attorney General John Ashcroft once said, “Terrorism and drugs go together like rats and bubonic plague.” Even if terrorism cannot be defeated, it could.