US: Mea Culpa

Published in El Nacional
(Dominican Republic) on 4 May 2013
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Alison Woods. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
Never before has a resident of the White House admitted, like Barack Obama did Friday in Costa Rica, that U.S. consumers form a part of the problem that represents the rise of drug trafficking in Central America and the Caribbean. This historic mea culpa should push for the revision of the entire strategy for prevention and combat against this disaster.

Before eight heads of state from the region, Obama said, "The United States recognizes that we've got responsibilities, that much of the violence in the region is fueled by demand for illegal drugs, including in the United States,” at the same time that he rejected the possibility of "militarizing" the fight against drug trafficking, as has been suggested by numerous Washington hardliners.

A report from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, based on results from a survey carried out in October 2012 about the use of narcotics and updated in January 2013, reveals that 22.5 million Americans older than 12 consume some sort of illicit drugs. This statistic represents 8.9 percent of the population.

Obama is right in suggesting an integral approach against drug trafficking that includes the financing of public policies that promote education and the fight against poverty as a focal point. What is applied today is a type of repression that doesn't reach the leadership of the drug traffickers, nor the bodies that wash the assets that are generated by this crime against humanity.

The presidents of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala attributed the growth in violence and criminality within their territories, known as "the Northern Triangle," to the expansion of drug trafficking encouraged by the increased consumption of drugs in the U.S., a cause that doesn't figure as a main reason in any of the manuals against drug traffickers.

Obama himself admits that the strategy to fight against drug trafficking has failed or hasn’t produced the desired effect, stating that "since I've been president ... my administration has spent approximately $30 billion in reducing drug demand in the U.S.," but that "progress sometimes is slower than we'd like it to be."

The president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, said that her republic's people "have to admit that the issue of organized crime continues to be important on the institution of stability and the integrity of our nations." El Salvador President Mauricio Funes said that the drug trafficking problem would decrease significantly in the region if cocaine consumption in the U.S. were reduced.

Even though Barack Obama admitted that the U.S. is part of the problem that creates an increase in drug trafficking, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes is in charge of throwing a bucket of cold water on Central America and the Caribbean in order to show that "we won't launch any new important initiatives."* This is what they call driving in circles.

*Editor's note: The original quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.


Nunca antes un inquilino de la Casa Blanca había admitido, como lo aceptó el viernes el presidente Barack Obama en Costa Rica, que Estados Unidos como nación consumidora forma parte del problema que representa el auge del narcotráfico en Centroamérica y el Caribe, histórico mea culpa que debería impulsar la revisión de todo el esquema de prevención y combate a ese flagelo.

Ante los ocho jefes de Estado de la región, Obama dijo “reconocemos que tenemos responsabilidad en el problema de las drogas, que parte del problema viene del consumo…”, al tiempo que rechazó la posibilidad de “militarizar” la lucha contra el narcotráfico, como han sugerido no pocos halcones de Washington.

Un informe del Instituto Federal sobre Drogadicción, basado en los resultados de una encuesta sobre uso de estupefacientes realizada en octubre de 2012 y actualizado en enero de 2013, revela que veintidós millones 500 mil estadounidenses mayores de 12 años consumen algún tipo de drogas ilícitas, lo que representa el 8,9% de la población.

Tiene razón el presidente Obama al sugerir un abordaje integral contra el tráfico de drogas que incluya como eje básico el financiamiento a políticas públicas que promuevan la educación y la lucha contra la pobreza, porque lo que se aplica hoy es un tipo de represión que no alcanza a la cúpula del narco ni a los entes que lavan los activos que genera ese crimen de lesa humanidad.

Los presidentes de Honduras, El Salvador y Guatemala atribuyeron el auge de la violencia y la criminalidad en sus territorios, denominados como “Triángulo del Norte”, al la expansión del narcotráfico alentado por el elevado consumo de estupefacientes en Estados Unidos, un elemento que no figura como ente principal en ninguno de los manuales de combate al narco.

El propio Obama admite que la estrategia de lucha contra el narcotráfico ha fracasado o no ha surtido el efecto deseado, al señalar que “desde que asumimos el cargo hemos gastados 30 mil millones de dólares en reducir la demanda de drogas”, pero que “el progreso ha sido más lento de lo que nos gustaría”.

La presidenta de Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, dijo que “tenemos que admitir que el tema del crimen organizado pesa con crudeza sobre la integridad de nuestras naciones”, y el mandatario salvadoreño, Mauricio Funes, dijo que el problema del narcotráfico se reduciría significativamente en la región si se reduce el consumo de cocaína en Estados Unidos.

A pesar de que Barack Obama admitió que Estados Unidos forma parte del problema que genera el auge del narcotráfico, el asesor de la Casa Blanca para la Seguridad Nacional, Ben Rhodes, se encargó de lanzar el balde de agua fría” sobre Centroamérica y el Caribe, al señalar que sobre el tema “no lanzaremos ninguna iniciativa importante nueva”. A eso se llama navegar en círculo.
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