Politics Outside US

Authorities say gunmen have killed the mayor of a northern Mexican town — adding to a string of attacks on political figures in the drug prohibition-plagued region. Mayor Prisciliano Rodriguez Salinas was gunned down yesterday along with another employee of the town named Doctor Gonzalez, about 50 kilometers east of Monterrey. Rival gangs have been battling to control drug routes through Nuevo Leon and neighboring border states.

Mexican journalists gathered yesterday to denounce the violent retaliation they have suffered for reporting on the drug prohibition war and questioned the federal government's ability to protect freedom of expression.

Quoting great minds such as Milton Friedman, Gary Becker and Mario Vargas Llosa, Spain’s former drug Czarina Araceli Manjón-Cabeza endorsed drug legalization in a compelling op-ed [in Spanish] published in El País, Spain’s leading newspaper. Just a week ago, Felipe González, Spain’s former Prime Minister, also came out in support of drug legalization.

Mexico's government has scoffed at the idea of a truce in the country's drug prohibition war after a newspaper which has seen two of its journalists shot dead pleaded with the drug trafficking organizations to name their terms.

In the lead-up to Myanmar's first elections in two decades the flow of drugs from the country has become a flood as drug-producing rebels prepare for a showdown with the junta, experts say. Thailand has seen the amount of illicit drugs seized surge this year and observers say nervousness about a possible military crackdown in Myanmar on armed minorities could be fueling the increase. Thailand-based Saw David Taw of the Ethnic Nationalities Council - a coalition of Myanmar ethnic groups - said there was "a rumour going around that people are preparing for war".

For the first time, Costa Rica has been named a major transit point for drug trafficking, and the United States ambassador to the country, Ann S. Andrews, is blaming the Mexican drug cartels. Costa Rican officials say they lack the resources to combat drug traffickers, to guard its coastline to keep drug traffickers from using the nation to further their illicit activities.

The drug prohibition violence that's forced about 230,000 Juárez residents to flee their homes is likely to continue for several years, experts said. Edgardo Buscaglia, a global organized crime expert, said Mexico's president does not have the political support in his country to do what is needed to make a lasting change, which is to arrest and prosecute high-level politicians and business owners who protect the drug traffickers. Last year, the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute published a study by Hal Brands, "Mexico's Narco-Insurgency and U.S. Counterdrug Policy," that states "Narcotics-driven corruption is rampant, government control of large swaths of the country is tenuous at best, and predictions that Mexico is on the way to becoming a failed state are frequent."

After several scientific experts have recently put forth their view with regards to decriminalizing drug use, Tim Hollis, a senior UK police official has also joined hands with the scientists and has voiced his opinion about decriminalizing personal use of drugs such as cannabis. In addition, both PM David Cameron and Deputy PM Nick Clegg are said to be questioning the effectiveness of Britain’s drug policies.

The Liberal Democrats were told that their drug policy is wrong and the party should support the legalization of cannabis and moves to provide pharmaceutical heroin to addicts instead of methadone. Ewan Hoyle, founder of Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform, accused candidates and MPs of being "silent" on drugs since the issue was last discussed at conference in 2002.