Gorilla in the Room: The Expert View on Drug Legalization

InSight Crime: "As the debate over drug prohibition develops, InSight Crime reviews the positions of leading thinkers on drug decriminalization and legalization, finding that the debate is often more nuanced than a simple yes or no.

When Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina said in January 2012 that he would support a debate over drug decriminalization, he ignited a conversation that has drawn the attention of the entire region. Even the message from Washington has shifted, with Vice President Joe Biden reiterating that the US opposes legalization, but acknowledges that it is a legitimate topic for discussion. As the sixth Summit of the Americas approaches, to be held April 14 and 15 in Cartagena, Colombia, Western Hemisphere leaders are preparing for the next stage of the debate, even though drug policy reform is not an official item on the event's agenda." read more

Drug War: Cartel Members Call for Drug Legalization in Guatemala

Reverse psychology from the drug barons? The supposed support for the decriminalization of drugs by the Zetas in Guatemala should draw skepticism.  

Latin American Herald Tribune: "Supposed members of Mexico’s Los Zetas drug cartel hung bedsheets Monday over heavily traveled boulevards in Guatemala City bearing messages of support for President Otto Perez Molina’s proposal to legalize drugs.

The messages signed by “Zeta 200,” the supposed boss of the Mexican cartel’s cell in Guatemala, also called for a crackdown on youth gangs, which are known as “maras” and blamed by officials for much of the crime in this Central American country.

“Perez and (Vice President Roxana) Baldetti, go through with legalizing drugs, and we support fighting the maras ... Zeta 200” and “A thousand thanks general Otto Perez and Roxana Baldetti for legalizing drugs ... Zeta 200,” the messages left on pedestrian bridges in southwestern and central Guatemala City said.

Police pulled the bedsheets off the overpasses a few hours after they appeared and officials have not commented on them.

Perez Molina has been promoting international debate on the legalization of drug production, transportation, sales and consumption for about a month as a strategy for fighting drug traffickers." read more

Drug Policy Debate: Legalization Debate Takes Off in Latin America

Huffington Post: "Something incredible is happening right now in Latin America. After decades of being brutalized by the U.S. government's failed prohibitionist drug policies, Latin American leaders, including not just distinguished former presidents but also current presidents, are saying "enough is enough." They're demanding that the range of policy options be expanded to include alternatives that help reduce the crime, violence and corruption in their own countries -- and insisting that decriminalization and legal regulation of currently illicit drug markets be considered." read more

Drug Policy Debate: Why Guatemala’s Pérez Molina Is Considering Legalizing Drugs

Latin America's Moment: "(Guatemala President) Pérez Molina’s most recent about face has drawn annoyance and even anger from the United States. Last Saturday he raised the possibility of legalizing drugs in Central America, saying he’d put the debate on the table in future meetings with regional leaders.

...So what is Pérez Molina’s endgame? A popular theory is that he’s trying to pressure the United States into lifting its ban on weapons sales to Guatemala, instituted in 1978 due to the military’s role in human rights abuses during the civil conflict. This makes sense. The president has spoken openly and frequently about his desire to buy U.S. arms, ... Threatening to decriminalize drugs as a last resort solution the problem of organized crime could pressure the United States to offer an alternative: renewed military aid.

... But Pérez Molina may also be making a more ambitious attempt to alter the long-standing foundations of U.S. relations with Guatemala and Central America more broadly. ... The legalization debate is a way of putting Central America – and Guatemala in particular – on the United States’ radar screen. It is also a way of asserting the country’s autonomy from Washington." read more

Drug Legalization: Guatemala president to propose legalizing drugs

Wow! We'll have to see where this goes.

The Associated Press: "Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina said Saturday he will propose legalizing drugs in Central America in an upcoming meeting with the region's leaders. Perez Molina said in a radio interview that his proposal would include decriminalizing the transportation of drugs through the area. "I want to bring this discussion to the table," he said. "It wouldn't be a crime to transport, to move drugs. It would all have to be regulated."" read more

Drug Policy Reform: Guatemala's Otto Perez Molina Calls for Drug Decriminalization

Fox News Latino: "Only days after taking office on the promise of an "iron fist" approach to security, Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina called for a discussion about decriminalizing drugs.

The former general argued on Mexican television that a regional strategy for decriminalization should be looked into as soon as possible. “Here we are speaking from the southern area, where it occurs, through all the countries like Guatemala that are transit points to Mexico and the United States," Pérez Molina said, according to El Nuevo Heradlo newspaper.

Pérez Molina added that Mexican President Felipe Calderón had made a great effort in combating drug trafficking, but criticized the United States for not matching Mexico’s effort and for being the world’s largest drug consumer." read more