U.S.-Vetted Sensitive Investigative Units Rack Up Impressive Successes In The Drug Wars Using American Technology And Training At A Relatively Low Cost. CARTAGENA, Colombia - Under cover of a moonless night in early July, the crew took no more than five minutes to load more than a ton of cocaine on a motorboat beached on a deserted shore of the Guajira peninsula in northeastern Colombia. Equipped with three 200-horsepower engines, the "go-fast" craft then roared off toward the Dominican Republic, the first stop on the drugs' way north. [continues 866 words]
Special Units Rely on American Technology and Training, Racking Up Impressive Successes at a Relatively Low Cost. CARTAGENA, Colombia - Under cover of a moonless night in early July, the crew took no more than five minutes to load more than a ton of cocaine on a motorboat beached on a deserted shore of the Guajira peninsula in northeastern Colombia. Equipped with three 200-horsepower engines, the "go-fast" craft then roared off toward the Dominican Republic, the first stop on the drugs' way north. [continues 1543 words]
Canada, U.S. oppose country's involvement in next gathering Political leaders from the Western Hemisphere ended their summit Sunday seriously divided over the contentious issue of Cuba, as Canada and the United States blocked an attempt by Latin American nations to bring the communist Caribbean country into their fold. The weekend summit ended frostily when the leaders of more than 30 countries failed to produce a final declaration about their work. The reason for that failure was that the leaders were un-able to reach a consensus on a key issue - the Latin American countries want Cuba to be invited to the next summit of the Americas in three years, in Panama. [continues 835 words]
It's a valid discussion for U.S., Mexico and others Latin American leaders, weary of the drug war, are calling for an important discussion on drug legalization. The U.S. should not turn away. April 15, 2012 The Summit of the Americas is more often a photo opportunity than a forum for bold policy initiatives. When issues of substance are discussed, the meeting of the hemisphere's 34 leaders has generally yielded more clashes than regional pacts. But some saw a chance for a little more action this year when leaders from several Latin American countries came to this weekend's summit in the Colombian seaside city of Cartagena complaining of drug war fatigue. [continues 288 words]
Resource development has power to change nation, Harper tells summit CARTAGENA, Colombia - Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a pitch for Canada's mining industry Saturday as Western Hemisphere leaders gathered to discuss critical issues such as whether to decriminalize the illegal drug trade. In a speech to senior business executives, Harper said a strong mining sector - assisted with a low-tax regime and environmental regulation without excessive delays - can help the Canadian economy and provide a lesson to the countries of Latin America. [continues 512 words]
Something is just not working with the way the hemisphere has tackled powerful and violent drug traffickers, Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged Sunday as he wrapped up a meeting with the leaders of the Americas. It was the first time Harper has suggested he is open to discussing new approaches to the war on drugs. Several Latin American countries, including Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia have called for an open and frank discussion about how to deal with the cartels. "There is increasing doubt about whether we are taking the best approach to doing that, but nobody thinks these transnational networks are good guys, or that changing the law is somehow going to make them good people," Mr. Harper told reporters at a news conference following the close of the Summit of the Americas. [continues 348 words]
Leaders at the Summit of the Americas Want to Discuss What They Consider a Failed Policy CARTAGENA, Colombia - President Obama sought Saturday to emphasize the robust economic relationship between the United States and Latin America, and he flatly ruled out legalizing drugs as a way to combat the illegal trafficking that has ravaged the region. Facing calls at a regional summit to consider decriminalization, Obama said he is open to a debate about drug policy, but he believes that legalization could lead to greater problems in countries hardest hit by drug-fueled violence. [continues 448 words]
A Global Taskforce to Rethink the Approach to Narcotics Is Proposed at the Americas Summit The government of Colombia pushed yesterday for the most far-reaching change to policy on drugs since US president Richard Nixon declared war on narcotics four decades ago. Hosting the sixth Summit of the Americas, for which 33 leaders of the hemisphere's 35 nations including President Barack Obama have assembled in Cartagena, President Juan Manuel Santos proposed the establishment of a taskforce of experts, economists and academics to analyse the realities of global drug addiction, trafficking and profiteering, with a view to a complete overhaul of governmental strategy. [continues 576 words]
Latin American leaders consider decriminalization policy Prime Minister Stephen Harper is flying to a weekend summit in Colombia where his hard line on drugs will put him at odds with some Latin American leaders who are calling for a debate over whether drug use should be decriminalized. Harper's position on Cuba also could run afoul of a possible consensus by countries in central and South America. Harper is attending the Summit of the Americas, a conference of leaders from 34 nations that is held every three years. [continues 429 words]
Latin American leaders are pushing to make a Cartagena summit a moment that sparks the world to redefine its approach to drugs. Stephen Harper, like U.S. President Barack Obama, has vowed to stand in the way. Make no mistake, as presidents from Colombia to Mexico flirt with the idea of legalizing or decriminalizing drugs, the notion is a challenge aimed at the nations to the north, the United States and Canada, the big consumer markets for the smuggled drugs. At the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, Mr. Harper will tell them they've got it all wrong. [continues 1147 words]
Latin America Leaders Differ on Decriminalization, Cuba Prime Minister Stephen Harper is flying to a weekend summit in Colombia where his hard line on drugs will put him at odds with some Latin American leaders who are calling for a debate over whether drug use should be decriminalized. Harper's position on Cuba also could run afoul of a possible consensus by countries in central and South America. Harper is attending the Summit of the Americas, a conference of leaders from 34 nations that is held every three years. The talks this year will include such issues as trade expansion, and Harper will meet with senior business executives from Canada and elsewhere who are attending the summit to discuss investment in the Western Hemisphere. [continues 340 words]
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is flying to a weekend summit in Colombia where his hard line on drugs will put him at odds with some Latin American leaders who are calling for a debate over whether drug use should be decriminalized. Harper's position on Cuba also could run afoul of a possible consensus by countries in central and South America. Harper is attending the Summit of the Americas, a conference of leaders from 34 nations that is held every three years. [continues 295 words]
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is flying to a weekend summit in Colombia where his hard line on drugs will put him at odds with some Latin American leaders who are calling for a debate over whether drug use should be decriminalized. Harper's position on Cuba also could run afoul of a possible consensus by countries in central and South America. Harper is attending the Summit of the Americas, a conference of leaders from 34 countries that is held every three years. The talks this year will include such issues as trade expansion, and Harper will meet with senior business executives from Canada and elsewhere who are attending the summit to discuss investment in the Americas. [continues 362 words]
Cuba Policy May Also Rile Some OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is flying to a weekend summit in Colombia where his hard line on drugs will put him at odds with some Latin American leaders who are calling for debate over whether drug use should be decriminalized. Harper's position on Cuba also could run afoul of a possible consensus by countries in central and South America. Harper is attending the Summit of the Americas, a conference of leaders from 34 nations held every three years. [continues 397 words]
Some Leaders at the Summit of the Americas May Urge Decriminalization, a Move That the President Opposes. CARTAGENA, Colombia - President Obama will highlight trade and business opportunities in Latin America at a regional summit in Colombia this weekend, but other leaders may upstage him by pushing to legalize marijuana and other illicit drugs in a bid to stem rampant trafficking. Obama, who opposes decriminalization, is expected to face a rocky reception in this Caribbean resort city, which otherwise forms a friendly backdrop for a U.S. president courting Latino voters in an election year. But the American demand for illegal drugs has caused fierce bloodshed, plus political and economic turmoil, across much of the region. [continues 697 words]
BOGOTA -- As the hemisphere's leaders gather in Colombia this week for the VI Summit of the Americas, their on-camera discussions will be dominated by perennial convention topics: poverty, cooperation, the need for roads. But behind closed doors, they are expected to tackle a more contentious issue: the narcotics trade. The 40-year-old war on drugs has cost billions in treasure and countless lives, but has produced mixed results. Drug abuse rates in the United States have been virtually unchanged over the last decade, as dips in cocaine use have been offset by rising consumption of marijuana, heroin and methamphetamines. The United States has the highest overdose rates in the world - almost four times higher than Europe, according to the United Nation's 2011 World Drug Report. [continues 1223 words]
At Hemispheric Summit, Obama Will Hear Calls for Broad Changes in Tactics BOGOTA, Colombia - When President Obama arrives in Colombia for a hemispheric summit this weekend, he will hear Latin American leaders say that the U.S.-orchestrated war on drugs, which criminalizes drug use and employs military tactics to fight gangs, is failing and that broad changes need to be considered. Latin American leaders say they have not developed an alternative model to the approach favored by successive American administrations since Richard Nixon was in office. But the Colombian government says a range of options - including decriminalizing possession of drugs, legalizing marijuana use and regulating markets - will be debated at the Summit of the Americas in the coastal city of Cartagena. [continues 1025 words]
CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA - President Barack Obama will highlight trade and business opportunities in Latin America at a regional summit in Colombia this weekend, but other leaders could upstage him by pushing to legalize marijuana and other illicit drugs in a bid to stem rampant trafficking. Obama, who opposes decriminalization, is expected to face a rocky reception in this Caribbean resort city, which otherwise forms a friendly backdrop for a U.S. president courting Latino voters in an election year. But the American demand for illegal drugs has caused fierce bloodshed, plus political and economic turmoil, across much of the region. [continues 310 words]
President Santos Moves To Build On Security Gains Of His Predecessor To Address Root Cause Of Conflict: Land Ownership BOGOTA - President Juan Manuel Santos has surprised friends and foes alike during his first year in office by distancing himself from his onetime boss, former President Alvaro Uribe, and setting an ambitious agenda to try to repair the damages from a long-running civil war. With approval ratings at over 75% and a solid majority in congress, Mr. Santos has secured a package of groundbreaking laws, including one to return nearly 16 million acres of land-equal to West Virginia-taken from peasants during the war. [continues 693 words]
BOGOTA, Colombia-Mexico's biggest cartels are expanding their operations throughout Central and South America, gaining power as they diversify and consolidate in new regions but also exposing themselves to new challenges, according to top law-enforcement officials. Cartels like the Sinaloa gang and the Zetas are sending more operatives to South America than ever before, seeking to fill the void left by the demise in recent years of powerful Colombian drug organizations. "There are more Mexican drug-cartel emissaries in South America than in any other time in the history of Mexican cartels and drug operations," said Jay Bergman, Andean regional director for the Drug Enforcement Administration, in an interview this week. [continues 530 words]
Inside Colombia
