Rethinking Hemispheric Antinarcotics Strategy and Security (From Latin American Narcotics Trade and U.S. National Security, P 105-122, 1989, Donald J Mabry, ed. -- See NCJ-127031)

• NCJ Number: 127039
• Author(s): S I del Villar
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Greenwood Publishing Group
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The premises and consequences of the drug control policy of the United States have produced a disruptive relationship between the United States and Latin American policies and have endangered the regional security of the Western Hemisphere, including that of the United States.

Abstract

The source of the problem is the erroneous assumption that foreign drug producers and their governments, instead of the American consumers and the United States government, are responsible for drug abuse in the United States and for the resulting threat to national security. Further escalation of the current irrational strategy is both morally and politically intolerable for the security of the Western Hemisphere. Therefore, Federal antidrug resources should be redirected from eradication and interdiction to an emphasis on rehabilitation and treatment. In addition, the United States should replace its fragmented international enforcement efforts with a more appropriate structure. In addition, Latin American countries should place priority on targeting organized criminals and recovering their unlawfully obtained assets. Moreover, the overall hemispheric effort should be a cooperative one that focuses on eliminating large and violent organizations, based on the development of appropriate national capabilities and with respect for national sovereignty.