drug war Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Enrique Pena Nieto and Mexico’s Drug War Opening

by Taylor Dibbert | Dec 4, 2012

On December 1, Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) assumed the Mexican presidency amid a flurry of protests against the party, whose previous 70-year rule defined the country’s authoritarian past. Yet it’s difficult to imagine that the new president’s term could be worse than the unmitigated disaster of his predecessor’s, which was marked by a dramatic militarization of Mexico’s drug war, widespread human rights abuses, and tens of thousands of deaths.

Obama Must Rewrite His Foreign Policy Legacy

by Laura Carlsen | Nov 8, 2012

The big question for foreign policy is whether Legacy Obama will be a bolder advocate for peace than the disappointing Campaign Obama. The president will need to recast a foreign policy that has been weak or downright contradictory in standing up for the principles he himself has espoused.

Six Global Issues The Foreign Policy Debates Won’t Touch

by Peter Certo, Foreign Policy In Focus | Oct 16, 2012

In the interest of keeping vital global issues in the discussion, Foreign Policy in Focus reached out to scholars at the Institute for Policy Studies—our institutional home—to sketch out progressive perspectives on the world issues we don’t expect to get fair treatment in the debates between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Without an informed citizenry, these crucial topics will always fall by the wayside. So read up, and share widely!

Heart-to-Heart on the Drug War

by Laura Carlsen | Sep 20, 2012

Javier Sicilia, a poet who lost his son to drug war violence in March of 2011, catalyzed the Caravan for Peace — a coalition of victims and Mexican citizens fed up with the bloodshed that has claimed more than 60,000 lives and left tens of thousands more disappeared since former President Felipe Calderon launched the drug war five years ago.

Our Unscientific Drug Control Regime

by Felipe Umana | Sep 19, 2012

Today’s drug scales do not adequately take into account the scientific and empirical evidence for proper scheduling, relying on anachronistic, ideological standards for classification and draconian legal penalties. This not only impedes more humane and effective health policy initiatives, but also champions antiquated norms that have not stood the test of time.

On Drugs and Democracy

by Inge Fryklund | Aug 6, 2012

The UN Office of Drug Control (UNODC) has thoroughly documented the violence, crime, and corruption linked with the worldwide heroin and opium trade. The U.S. news media report every day on the mayhem and corruption of government officials caused by the drug wars in Mexico, Colombia, and other points south of our border. In Afghanistan, the Taliban tax the opium trade and protect poppy farmers from eradication, fueling the insurgency and our 11-year war.

However, these problems are all consequences of drug prohibition, not of the drugs themselves.

The Honduran Military Shouldn’t Police

by Austin Robles | Jul 10, 2012

Shortly before midnight on May 26, 15-year old Ebed Haziel Yánez Cáceres left his home on his father’s motorcycle. As he drove through the country’s capital city, three members of the Honduran Armed Forces signaled the minor to pull over. When Ebed Haziel did not comply, the military troops opened fire, killing him instantly.

Uruguay Announces Unprecedented Plan for Legal, Regulated Marijuana Markets

by Coletta Youngers | Jun 25, 2012

In the latest challenge from Latin America to drug war orthodoxy, the Uruguayan government unveiled a proposal to create legal, government-controlled markets for marijuana.

Peru President Humala Can’t Put Drug Reform Genie Back in the Bottle

by Coletta Youngers | Jun 22, 2012

In Latin America, ex-officials, officials, and even sitting presidents question the drug war, but the Peruvian government is increasingly out of step with calls for reform.

U.S. Hand in Honduran Massacre

by Laura Carlsen | Jun 20, 2012

Hilda Lezama was taking passengers back upriver to the township of Ahuas after a fishing expedition in a remote area of the Mosquito Coast in Honduras. In the pre-dawn darkness, she could hear the helicopters buzzing overhead, but she thought nothing of it at first. Suddenly, bullets shot from U.S. State Department helicopters with DEA agents and Honduran police aboard penetrated both her legs.