How the Militarized War on Drugs in Latin America Benefits Transnational Corporations and Undermines Democracy

Sunday, 05 August 2012 00:00
By Mark Karlin, Truthout | News Analysis

Is the So-Called War on Drugs in Mexico and Latin America Being Used to Advance US Military and Economic Interests?

In an article that explored myths about the war on illegal narcotics, "Drug War Capitalism," Canadian journalist Dawn Paley dispels the notion that nearly a trillion dollars spent on eradicating illegal drug trafficking (since Richard Nixon's administration) has shown any serious success.

Paley noted, "In the 11 years since Plan Colombia was launched [for example], the US government has spent over $3.6 billion on narcotics and law enforcement initiatives. Yet the US government reports that 'Colombia remains one of the world's largest producers and exporters of cocaine, as well as a source country for heroin and marijuana.'" Indeed, Paley cited a 2008 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found the "estimated flow of cocaine towards the United States from South America rising from 2000-2006."

As Truthout pointed out in "The US War on Drug Cartels in Mexico Is a Deadly Failure," the attempt to curtail trafficking in narcotics "in many of the southern nations of the Western Hemisphere is basically a bloody game of whack-a-mole.... There is no measurable indicator that the supply of illicit drugs into the United States is decreasing as a result. So, there is no end game here."

Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, professor of international relations at the Universidad de Di Tella, Argentina, substantiated this failure in an article, "Beating the Drug-War Addiction": "Indeed, USSOUTHCOM [United States Southern Command, headquartered in Miami, which oversees the US military in Latin America] has controlled 75% of the more than $12 billion that the US government has allocated to anti-drug activities in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2000. But, despite this expensive military campaign, all evidence shows that the 'war on drugs' has been a fiasco." Read more. 

Mexican drug war's innocent victims: 'They tried to kill me with my kids'

The Guardian: Claims that 90% of Mexican drug war victims are criminals is a statistic far removed from Cristina Roman's experience in a country where police and military have fallen into corruption.

Daniel Hernandez. Cristina Roman didn't know where to begin. When asked how the epic violence and criminal impunity in her native Ciudad Juarez invaded her own life, she paused, then asked: "How far should I go back?"

She decided to begin from May 2010. It was then at the height of the bloodletting there in Mexico's deadliest city when, one night at 4am, she, her husband and three sons awoke to a terrible pounding at their front door. "My husband went to see who they were. Then he said: 'Go hide with the kids. They have guns,'" she recalled.

"By the time I had my baby in my arms, the gunmen were already in the house." Read more.

Human Rights: Increasing Numbers of Mexican Citizens Being Granted Asylum In United States

Justice in Mexico: "In the past year, the U.S. government has granted political asylum to four Mexican citizens, which is an impressive figure considering that prior to 2010 it was nearly impossible, say activists and lawyers in El Paso, Texas.

The most recent of these approved asylum cases is that of Saúl Reyes Salazar. ... Reyes Salazar’s request for political asylum in El Paso, Texas was granted by the U.S. government on January 19, 2012. Having to denounce death threats against himself and his family, Reyes Salazar is now currently speaking out at universities and forums against the violence and lack of security guarantees in Mexico." read more