 who was in Mexico City on March 5th to meet the three main contenders in July’s presidential race. Mr Biden arrived under unprecedented pressure from regional presidents for the United States to give way on prohibition, which many in the region blame for generating appalling violence.
Vice President Joe Biden heads to Latin America Sunday amid unprecedented pressure from political and business leaders to talk about something U.S. officials have no interest in debating: decriminalizing drugs. Presidents of Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and Mexico, all grappling with the extremely violent fallout of a failing drug war, have said in recent weeks they'd like to open up the discussion of legalizing drugs. Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Mexico already allow the use of small amounts of marijuana for personal consumption, while political leaders from Brazil and Colombia are discussing alternatives to locking up drug users.
Guatemala’s first president with a military background in 25 years said Tuesday the drug war can’t be won with arms alone, and pledged that his administration will focus on fighting hunger, which he called a security problem. In an interview with The Associated Press one day after he promised to propose legalizing drugs in Guatemala, President Otto Perez Molina said the Central American country isn’t following U.S. orders, despite American opposition to legalization.
U.S. inability to cut illegal drug consumption leaves Guatemala with no option but to consider legalizing the use and transport of drugs, President Otto Perez Molina said, a remarkable turnaround for an ex-general elected on a platform of crushing organized crime with an iron fist. Perez said he will try to win regional support for drug legalization at an upcoming summit of Central American leaders next month.