Violence and Drugs, a Forgotten Issue of the Summit

Colombian Police Officer Cheking for Drugs

The topic introduced itself as one of the most worrying problems in the region and as one of the greatest challenges to be discussed and analyzed in the last Summit of the Americas, held last weekend in Cartagena, Colombia.

A serious and rigorous debate enabling each country to find the best solutions to their reality was expected from those attending the summit. But the issue of violence and drug trafficking in Latin America stood aside, polarized by the inclusion of Cuba in these quotations, and the Falklands, in which Argentina was expecting a statement of support for sovereignty over the archipelago.

The Summit was presented as the right time to continue discussions on violence in Latin America, which did not happen. As a premonition of what was coming, the Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin questioned on the eve of the summit: “Could it be that this is the reality we got and there is no alternative to drugs or is there another way and we are closed to see another possibility?” (ARL)