It was common in Colombia for cops, judges, and politicians to be given a choice - cooperate, and get paid a LOT of money, or you and your entire family can die. That’s a pretty easy choice.

The cocaine cartels had so much cash that they spent thousands of dollars a month on rubber bands just to bundle the bills, and they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars a month to rats eating the cash. Giving hefty cash payments in return for protection was better than losing it to rats.