Homegrown Solutions to Central America's Narco Nightmare
Homegrown Solutions to Central America's Narco Nightmare
Washington's drug war distorts Central American priorities, but some homegrown steps are worth considering.
Six months after getting elected on a tough-on-crime platform, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández blamed his country’s spiraling crime problem on U.S. drug policy. Washington’s strategy of pouring funds into drug interdiction efforts — first in Colombia, then in Mexico — had actually pushed cartels and gangs to safer havens in Central America, he charged. President Hernández added that drug trafficking was the “root cause” of Honduras’ staggeringly high murder rate, and drove thousands of locals to seek safety and a better life abroad.
“A good part...
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