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International Law

Failed US-Led Drug War Harms Foreign Judicial Systems, Report Says

Posted Feb 12, 2009 6:42 PM CST
By Martha Neil

Escalating violence in Mexico and Latin America from a failed U.S.-led war on drugs is putting democratic governments and their judicial systems and police forces at risk, says a report by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy.

Headed by three former Latin American heads of state, the group calls for a new, less-punitive approach to illegal drugs, including the decriminalization of marijuana use, reports the Wall Street Journal.

However, an unnamed senior U.S. official says that recent reports of exponentially increased violence are a sign that the war on drugs is working, the newspaper writes. "We're taking these guys out. The worst thing you could do is stop now," the official says.

President Barack Obama has not yet appointed a new director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The former director, John Walters, cites improved security in Colombia and says the U.S. hasn't lost the war on drugs, the newspaper reports.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Mexican Drug War Infiltrates All of US"

ABAJournal.com: "Former Mexican Drug Czar Got $450K to Keep Traffickers Informed, Authorities Say"

Los Angeles Times: "Phoenix, kidnap-for-ransom capital"

National Public Radio: "Mexico Drug Violence Spurs Worry In U.S."

Wall Street Journal (opinion, sub. req.): "Drug Gangs Have Mexico on the Ropes"

Comments

1.

B. McLeod
Feb 12, 2009 6:59 PM CST

Supposedly ongoing since the Nixon administration, the so-called “war on drugs” is clearly not working, no matter what bureacrats who get paid for it may say.  Our prisons are filled to overflowing, and the expense of it (and the further expense to constantly build more, newer and larger prisons) has exceeded what taxpayers are willing to bear.  Even so, the trade is so lucrative, as soon as dealers are put away, others take their place.  The policy needs to be reevaluated according to the actual risks these various substances pose, and some of them probably should be decriminalized.  This is especially so if the only real reason for banning them to begin with was their association with some disfavored counter-culture of a bygone era.

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2.

J.D.
Feb 13, 2009 10:08 AM CST

Ha, ha. CLEARLY this Latin American commission has fallen under the control of the powerful drug cartels. The REASON we are seeing so much more violence is because the border region is becoming more secure—slowly, but surely. See, e.g., the Merida Initiative, the Secure Fence Act, etc.

These foreign bureaucrats are basically concerned about their own well-being because the cartels are threatening their power and lives. At the same time, many of these countries are benefiting economically from the drug trade, so even the bureaucrats want it to continue. The line between legitimate government and drug cartel is more blurred than ever.

But instead of helping to clean up the mess, these bureaucrats want the drugs to continue to flow el Norte.

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3.

HH
Feb 25, 2009 12:45 PM CST

I’m not convinced that the increase in violence is a sign that the war on drugs is working. It seems more plausible that it is a sign that the downturn in the economy is also affecting the drug market and they are consolidating (by force), thus becoming better organized. I don’t think this bodes well for the safety of US citizens, and certainly not for Mexican citizens as evidenced by the surge in violence. Mexico will likely see its tourism dollars decline as well as reported by this newsy story http://www.newsy.com/videos/arming_against_drug_violence/

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