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verely affected rural subsistence farmers.
Transnational organized crime does not
recognize borders and the money the cartels
use comes from consumer countries.
Those markets, not the producer or transit
countries, set the price for illicit drugs.
When discussing narco-trafficking,
people talk about a “balloon effect,”
which is a basic way of describing how
the “drug wars” and cartels relocate from
one geographic region to another depending
on the pressure of counter-narcotic
initiatives. Hence, when you press a balloon
in one place it bulges in a new place.
This metaphor has been used to advance
a holistic approach to counter narcotics —
one that simultaneously addresses most
components of a security strategy in many
geographic regions.
Far from regarding the “war on drugs”
as a failure — as some do loudly these
days — the efforts that have been accomplished
in counter-narcotics and in
strengthening the rule of law in Latin
America point to a comparative success.
Organized crime wouldn’t “balloon”
elsewhere if there were no achievement to
using these strategies. The U.S. tackled the
problem in the early 1980s in their southern
states, and expanded operations to
northern Latin America under programs
like “Plan Colombia” in the late 1990s and
later in Mexico with the “Merida Initiative”
(which also includes programs for
Central America) in 2006.
Colombia has improved, showing progress
in the past 10 years with strengthened
state institutions, a stronger rule of law
and a healthier democracy, which may
also be the case in Mexico. In these examples,
the counter-narcotics programs
“ballooned” the trafficking elsewhere, and
this is why a comprehensive approach in
addressing security issues and transnational
organized crime is necessary.
A comprehensive approach is essential
to address most (if not all) issues in the
crucial regions of this hemisphere. Indeed
to address the “drugs and thugs” reality,
we need more than a Plan Colombia or
a Merida Initiative. A Trans-American
initiative is essential, one which must,
of course, include Canada. As the U.S.
assistant secretary for the bureau of international
narcotics and law enforcement
affairs, William R. Brownfield, said: “Our
starting point is that these are regional
threats, not country specific.”
Guatemala and Central America welcomed
Canada’s high-level delegation at
the conference, as well as its heightened
engagement and awareness of these issues.
Nearly 40 countries participated, as
well as the United Nations, the Organization
of American States, the World Bank,
the Inter-American Development Bank
and the Central American Bank of Economic
Integration (among others).
Some senior policy advisers and civil
servants propose that as Canada winds
down its presence in Afghanistan, it
should establish a larger commitment in
Central and Latin America. Increased aid
to Latin America in fighting this scourge
could become a new priority. Already,
Canada’s noticeable contribution to a UN
commission in Guatemala (the CICIG)
is making visible progress. By joining
Ameri-Pol, Canada could also benefit
from enhanced hemispheric participation
on the issue, while brandishing increased
involvement in the region.
In the fight against transnational organized
crime in this hemisphere, Canada
should raise its involvement in the security
aspect as part of its trident “Americas
Strategy.” Without success in security,
Canada’s other two objectives — prosperity
and democratic governance — could
prove a futile pursuit. D
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