Latin American Drugs Ii: Improving Policy and Reducing Harm

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Latin American Drugs Ii: Improving Policy and Reducing Harm LATIN AMERICAN DRUGS II: IMPROVING POLICY AND REDUCING HARM Latin America Report N°26 – 14 March 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................i I. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................1 II. COUNTER-DRUG POLICY .........................................................................................2 A. THE UNITED STATES.............................................................................................................2 1. Supply reduction........................................................................................................3 2. Demand reduction......................................................................................................7 B. EUROPE ................................................................................................................................8 1. Supply reduction........................................................................................................9 2. Demand reduction....................................................................................................14 C. THE ANDEAN REGION.........................................................................................................16 1. Colombia .................................................................................................................16 2. Bolivia .....................................................................................................................19 3. Peru..........................................................................................................................21 4. Venezuela ................................................................................................................23 5. Ecuador....................................................................................................................26 D. MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN............................................................28 1. Mexico and Central America...................................................................................28 2. Haiti and the Dominican Republic ..........................................................................30 E. BRAZIL AND THE SOUTHERN CONE .....................................................................................32 1. Brazil .......................................................................................................................32 2. Argentina .................................................................................................................33 3. Chile.........................................................................................................................34 III. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HARM...........................................................................35 A. UNDERMINING INSTITUTIONS AND DEMOCRACY.................................................................35 B. FUELLING ARMED AND CIVIL CONFLICT.............................................................................37 C. WEAKENING LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT ....................................................38 D. OBSTRUCTING INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION...................................................................39 IV. CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................40 APPENDICES A. COCAINE USE PREVALENCE RATES IN THE U.S., EUROPE AND LATIN AMERICA ........ 41 B. ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP .......................................................................43 C. CRISIS GROUP REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS ON TK .................................................................44 D. CRISIS GROUP BOARD OF TRUSTEES................................................................................. 45 Latin America Report N°26 14 March 2008 LATIN AMERICAN DRUGS II: IMPROVING POLICY AND REDUCING HARM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS The policies of a decade or more to stop the flow of attempts to guard its borders closer to home and cocaine from the Andean source countries, Colombia, suffers from inadequate law enforcement cooperation Peru and Bolivia, to the two largest consumer markets, within the EU. the U.S. and Europe, have proved insufficient and ineffective. Cocaine availability and demand have In the absence of better coordination between counter- essentially remained stable in the U.S. and have been drug authorities on the three continents, highly efficient increasing in Europe. Use in Latin American transit and sophisticated transnational trafficking organisations countries, in particular Argentina, Brazil and Chile, is on adapt rapidly and continue to find ways to cater to the the rise. Flawed counter-drug polices also are causing world’s most lucrative markets. The harm they do is considerable collateral damage in Latin America, multiplied by their symbiotic relationships with illegal undermining support for democratic governments in armed groups, most spectacularly the insurgents and the some countries, distorting governance and social new groups that have sprung up following disarmament priorities in others, causing all too frequent human rights of the paramilitaries in Colombia. violations and fuelling armed and/or social conflicts in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. A comprehensive shared Crisis Group’s detailed study is divided into two policy reassessment and a new consensus on the balance complementary reports published simultaneously. The between approaches emphasising law enforcement and first, Latin American Drugs I: Losing the Fight, approaches emphasising alternative development and principally examines the scope of the problem, including harm reduction are urgently required. a detailed examination of cultivation and trafficking. This report analyses policies and their political and social Counter-drug policies such as the U.S.-Colombian Plan ramifications and presents policy recommendations. Colombia and the European Union (EU) Drugs Strategy have not found an effective mix of supply and demand RECOMMENDATIONS reduction measures. While on both sides of the Atlantic the lion’s share of counter-narcotics funds are invested To the U.S. Government: in controlling the drug problem at home, neither the Washington law-enforcement orientation nor the 1. Increase demand reduction efforts by: Brussels public health orientation (which is not homogeneously shared across the EU) has significantly (a) expanding public drug education and reduced cocaine use. Policy coordination between the prevention programs at high schools and U.S., Europe and Latin America is severly hampered developing high-impact programs targeting by the marked differences on both how best to address other cocaine and crack cocaine users; the world’s overall drug problem and how to reduce (b) increasing drug courts and improving cocaine supply, as well as by unrelated political treatment referral and treatment programs disputes. for chronic users; While the U.S. runs large supply reduction programs in (c) offering more and more effective in- the Andean source countries, in particular seeking to prison, transition and treatment follow-up eradicate coca crops through aerial spraying in Colombia programs; but also investing considerable money in alternative (d) increasing systematic information exchange development, the Europeans contribute on a smaller on drug prevention, treatment, rehabilitation scale to the establishment of alternative livelihoods and and law enforcement with European and strengthening of institutions. Drug-shipment interdiction other drug authorities; and and law enforcement in many of the transit countries are relatively major elements of U.S. policy, while Europe Latin American Drugs II: Improving Policy and Reducing Harm Crisis Group Latin America Report N°26, 14 March 2008 Page ii (e) developing modern communication programs in particular at high school approaches to stigmatise recreational students and middle-high and high income users of cocaine. groups; 2. Refocus supply reduction efforts by: (b) expanding treatment programs specifically tailored to cocaine and crack cocaine (a) increasing massively the alternative and users, particularly in Italy, Spain and the rural development, institution-strengthening UK; and local governance components of Plan Colombia and the Andean Counter-Drug (c) evaluating rigorously the impact of harm Initiative (ACI); reduction and law enforcement measures on reducing cocaine demand and taking (b) changing the Colombia coca crop appropriate action to improve performance; eradication program from all too often and indiscriminate aerial spraying to manual eradication, linked to immediately available (d) increasing systematic information exchange economic incentives for farmers, and on drug prevention, treatment, rehabilitation limiting forced eradication to a last resort and law enforcement with the U.S. and there and in Bolivia and Peru; other drug authorities. (c) increasing information exchange with the 4. Increase supply reduction efforts through: EU and Latin American source countries (a) expanding significantly support for on supply reduction; alternative and rural development, (d) reinstating Drug Enforcement institution-strengthening and local Administration (DEA) helicopter governance programs in source and transit interdiction operations in Haiti based on countries and improving coordination and the successful
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