IPFS News Link • Drug War
Latin American Leaders to Question U.S. Drug Policy at Summit
• http://online.wsj.com, By DARCY CROWEBOGOTA—A subtle revolt against U.S. antidrug policy is spreading within the top echelons of Latin American governments and promises to be on display this weekend at a hemispheric gathering at which U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with the rest of the region's leaders.
The uprising is being led by some of Washington's closest allies in Latin America. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who will host 32 heads of state at the Summit of the Americas in the colonial city of Cartagena, is openly, and increasingly, questioning U.S. drug policy.
The Andean country remains the world's top cocaine producer after more than $8 billion in military aid was spent over the last decade largely to destroy crops of coca, the base ingredient for cocaine, and dismantle drug networks.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who declared war against Mexico's drug cartels in 2006, has suggested that Washington needs to retool its antidrug policy and has blamed his country's drug-related violence on consumption in the U.S.