San Malverde, Mexico's patron saint of narco-traffickers
This Year's Top 10 International Drug Policy Stories
It's been a busy year on the global drug policy front. Here, we look at some of the biggest stories.
Andean Drug War
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Senators Introduce Bill to Create Western Hemisphere Drug Commission
Three senators have introduced a bill to set up a commission to evaluate the efficacy of US anti-drug programs in the hemisphere. But is it about ending the war on drugs or just making it more efficient?
Mexican Marines being trained by US Marines
Election 2010 and US Drug Policy in Latin America [FEATURE]
Will US drug policy in Latin America change for the better or the worse after the 2010 elections? Or will it stay the same? We ask the analysts.
Time for Latin America to Reconsider Prohibition (Opinion)
Erika De La Garza, program director of the Latin American Initiative at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice, and William Martin, the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy at the Baker Institute, opine on the general failures of drug prohibition and what direction Latin America should go.
coca leaves drying by highway, Chapare region (Phil Smith for Drug War Chronicle, 2007)
Bolivia Repeals New Law Limiting Coca Leaf Sales
Bolivian President Evo Morales is a former coca growers' union leader, but that doesn't mean everything is swell between Evo and the cocaleros. This week is a case in point.
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Peruvian President Equates Drug Legalization with Barbarism and Euthanasia
In a bizarre denunciation of drug legalization, Peruvian President Alain Garcia warned legalizing pot would lead to euthanasia of the elderly and fascist barbarism.
Fultility 101: Torching a Drug Lab in Peru, the No. 1 Coca Grower
Drug prohibitionists are still playing one of their favorite games -- "whack-a-mole" with cocaine in South America. Peru's anti-drug police are locked in an ongoing game of cat-and-mouse in the Ene and Apurimac River Valleys against drug runners, many of whom are aligned with a remnant band of about 200 leftist Shining Path guerrillas. But, as usual and for ever more, the government appears to be losing the battle.
Colombia Court Declares Military Base Deal With U.S. Unconstitutional
The U.S. was denied greater access to Colombian military bases when a joint base deal aimed at combating drug trafficking among other things was deemed unconstitutional by Colombia's Constitutional court. The deal was reached after Ecuador refused to renew the lease on the US military base of Manta almost three years ago. During his refusal, President Rafael Correa said, "If there's no problem having foreign soldiers on a country's soil, surely they'll let us have an Ecuadorian base in the United States."
Colombia: Welcome to a drug lord's playground
Drug prohibition is responsible for a lot of harm to poorer people, with unequal ratios of land distribution being a type rarely discussed. Over the years, traffickers are believed to have acquired more than 9 million acres â representing about 8 percent of Colombia's best grazing and farm lands. So far, the government has managed to expropriate only about 250,000 acres, less than 3 percent of the total land.
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Huff Post: UN Drug Policy in the Dark Ages
I'm on Huffington Post again tonight, with a post chastising the UN (and western governments generally) for: 1) continuing the ludicrous coca runaround in South America's Andean region for another year; and 2) turning a blind eye year after year to the indirect support that western funds and cooperation gives to the death penalty for nonviolent drug offenses, mostly in Asia and the Middle East. Check it out here -- comments welcome in either location. If you haven't already, check out our Chronicle articles on these two topics here and here.