Hungary could have been the happiest barracks under socialism only because, with the involvement of the Colombian drug cartel, it smuggled several tons of drugs into the United States every year. The Hungarian mafia from Los Angeles was also actively involved in the distribution of the drug methaqualone produced in Újpest. Since the psychotropic drug, also known as Quaalude, generated millions of dollars in profit for the comrades on the Danube, Budapest used this amount to feed the population, plug the budget deficit and build hotels. Of course, it didn't take long for the American Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, to eavesdrop on the action and blackmail the People's Republic of the Carpathian Basin.
