Colombian leader uses Summit of the Americas to call for radical review of international policy on drugs
The government of Colombia pushed on Saturday for the most far-reaching change to policy on drugs since US president Richard Nixon declared war on narcotics four decades ago.
Hosting the sixth Summit of the Americas, for which 33 leaders of the hemisphere’s 35 nations ”“ including President Barack Obama ”“ have assembled in Cartagena, President Juan Manuel Santos proposed the establishment of a taskforce of experts, economists and academics to analyse the realities of global drug addiction, trafficking and profiteering, with a view to a complete overhaul of strategy.
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Last week Colombia announced the results of research which shows that only 5% of profits from Colombia’s drug trade remain in the country. Hhundreds of billions of dollars of drug money finds its way, said RodrÃguez, into “the distribution networks in the consuming countries, and the international banking system”.
The “real value of the drugs”, said the ambassador, “is not added in the countries of production, but once the product is moved ”“ mainly to the US and Europe. And it is therefore clear that more must be done to fight international money-laundering of drug profits by the banking community.”
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