Latin America is on the losing side in the “war on drugs”, based on a report released by the International Crisis Group (ICG). The ICG study, entitled "Latin American Drugs: Losing the Fight", claimed high supply and demand for illegal narcotics are both high and this has hurt Latin America: “The threat posed by drug trafficking and organized crime and the failure of counter-drug policies are two sides of the same coin”, says Mauricio Angel, [ICG] Colombia/Andes Senior Analyst. “It is taking a heavy toll on democratic institutions, political systems and societies at large in several Latin American countries, including Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela and Mexico”.
The ICG’s Senior Vice President also warned that current counternarcotics efforts are useless unless governments tackle rural poverty and law enforcement authorities target the "high end...(of) the drug chain."
Previous studies on the “war on drugs” from U.S. State Department and the U.N. have also been highly critical of the lack of progress in the Americas.
Sources (English)- International Crisis Group, Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist
Sources (Spanish)- Milenio
Image- BBC News
2 comments:
Thank goodness I don't see Costa Rica on this list! We're thinking of checking out Costa Rica and staying at this place called Maquenqe
http://www.costaricahq.org/Maquengue/
Yes, it is a good thing that Costa Rica is not on that list as I've been thinking of paying a visit to Maquenque (http://www.costaricahq.org/Maquengue/).
I've been following this families site there and it seems like it is a peaceful place to visit.
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