Ecuador: President may pardon drug “mules”

During a speech given over the weekend, Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa proposed pardoning low-level drug smugglers commonly known as “mules.” Correa said that these and similar drug enforcement laws were drafted years ago under pressure from the U.S. and are unfair to the poor:

The current law "treats as the same the boss of the Cali cartel and a poor unemployed single mother who dared to carry 300 grams of drugs," Correa said, referring to an amount equal to about 10 ounces. "It's a barbarity."

According to a 1997 New York Times article, nearly half of the country’s inmates at the time were in jail over drug-related charges.

Earlier this year, the Ecuadorian and Colombian governments quarreled over aerial spraying near both countries’ border. Meanwhile, Ecuador’s government supposedly offered China control of the Manta air base after the contract with the U.S. ends in 2009.

Sources- Reuters, Associated Press, New York Times, The Latin Americanist

Image- Town Topics (Still shot from 2004 film “Maria, Full of Grace”)