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Charting a New Path Forward CHARTING A NEW PATH FORWARD REPORT OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE DRUG POLICY COMMISSION DECEMBER 2020 Cover photo caption: A soldier standing guard in a coca field in Pueblo Nuevo, in the municipality of Briceño, Antioquia Department, Colombia, on May 15, 2017. Photo credit: RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images Design: Kashir Aboud Layout: Stacey Pirtle Charting a New Path Forward Report of the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission December 2020 This page intentionally left blank SHANNON O'NEIL COMMISSIONERS CHAIR SAM FARR DOUGLAS FRASER CLIFFORD SOBEL PETE GALLEGO VICE-CHAIR Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission JUAN GONZÁLEZ DAN RESTREPO MATT SALMON 1800 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 Washington, DC 20006 December 1, 2020 Rep. Eliot Engel Rep. Michael McCaul Chairman Ranking Member House Foreign Affairs Committee House Foreign Affairs Committee Sen. James Risch Sen. Bob Menendez Chairman Ranking Member Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senate Foreign Relations Committee The Honorable James W. Carroll The Honorable Mike R. Pompeo Director Secretary of State Office of National Drug Control Policy Department of State Dear Sirs: On behalf of the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission, and pursuant to Public Law 114-323, we are pleased to submit the following report with our review of US foreign policy in the Americas to reduce the flow of illicit drugs and the damage associated with drug trafficking. Our recommendations provide a roadmap for cost-effective, evidence-based drug control policies that will address their fundamental objective: reducing the number of American lives lost to drug abuse. Drug trafficking is a complex, constantly evolving threat that requires a comprehensive but flexible approach. We believe our recommendations will enable the US government to implement a long-term, inter-agency strategy that can be adapted to the needs of our Latin American partners. It also provides for an evidence-based approach based on relevant indicators and periodic assessments. Over the past year and a half, the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy (WHDPC) has held meetings and workshops with US officials, foreign diplomats, and independent experts in the fields of drug control and foreign assistance. Commissioners and staff members also traveled to Colombia, Mexico, and Central America to assess US policies in the field. The findings and recommendations in this report have been agreed to unanimously by the eight Members of the Commission. We call on Congress and the President to consider this report fully and take action to address the ongoing tragedy of illegal drug abuse and trafficking. Page 2 December 1, 2020 Finally, we would like to thank Congressman Eliot Engel, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, for his leadership on this issue. As Representative Engel remarked in May 2019 when he swore the Commissioners in: “It is long past time to take a fresh look at U.S. drug policy and make sure we have the best strategy moving forward.” Respectfully yours, Shannon O’Neil, Chair Clifford Sobel, Vice Chair Sam Farr Douglas Fraser Pete Gallego Juan González Dan Restrepo Matt Salmon Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: Overview of Counternarcotics Policies ...................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 3: Colombia, Eradication and Alternative Development ...................................................................... 22 I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................. 22 II. ERADICATION ................................................................................................................................................................ 24 III. ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT ....................................................................................................................................... 29 IV. POST-CONFLICT ASSISTANCE ...................................................................................................................................... 32 V. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 4: Mexico, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Reform ................................................................. 37 I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................. 37 II. MEXICO’S CRIMINAL LANDSCAPE ................................................................................................................................ 39 III. THE MÉRIDA INITIATIVE ................................................................................................................................................. 42 IV. MEXICAN SECURITY POLICIES ....................................................................................................................................... 43 V. US ASSISTANCE: OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES .................................................................................................. 48 VI. RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................................................... 50 Chapter 5: Central America’s Northern Triangle, Violence Prevention and Police Reform .................... 52 I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................. 52 II. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................................... 53 III. VIOLENCE: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, TRENDS ......................................................................................................... 56 IV. VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND CRIME CONTROL ........................................................................................................ 58 V. POLICE REFORM ........................................................................................................................................................... 61 VI. RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................................. 66 Chapter 6: Countering Illicit Financial Flows .............................................................................................................. 68 I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................. 68 II. MAGNITUDE OF NARCOTICS-RELATED ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS .......................................................................... 69 III. METHODS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 71 IV. DRUG MONEY, TERRORISM, AND DICTATORSHIP .................................................................................................... 72 V. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................................... 79 Appendix A: Measuring the Impact of Counternarcotics Policies ..................................................................... 81 Appendix B: The Country Certification/Designation Process .............................................................................. 90 About the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission .................................................................................. 99 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................................... 106 This page intentionally left blank Executive Summary Our collective failure to control either drug abuse or drug trafficking has exacted an enormous human toll. In the United States more than 500,000 people have died from overdoses over the past decade, soaring to an unprecedented 71,000 deaths in 2019. In Latin America, increasing substance abuse combined with drug-related homicides have ruined many more lives. The illicit drug industry has evolved far more rapidly than our efforts to contain it. Traditional dichotomies no longer apply. Developed nations both manufacture and abuse synthetic opioids; developing countries both produce and consume dangerously addictive plant-based substances. Throughout our hemisphere, the poor suffer most. Those who are socially and economically marginalized are more likely to develop drug use disorders and more likely to be victimized by criminal gangs. The Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission is an independent, bipartisan entity with a two- fold mission: evaluate a range of US counternarcotics programs in the Americas and then make recommendations
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