US Drug Wars and Guatemala

"If your stance on the War on Drugs is because of ethical reasons. Then the more so you should be against it. Why? because the more you should be responsible for your own life and those of your kids. Don't delegate that responsibility to the US Government. Be responsible yourself, for ethical reasons."                 - Giancarlo Ibarguen 

Most of the cocaine shipped north from Central and South America these days travels through Guatemala and into Mexico before eventually crossing the border to the United States. The value of that cocaine, even before it enters the US market, is approximately $40 billion a year. That's nearly the size of Guatemala's entire economy.

The drug cartels in Guatemala act with impunity and effectively control much of the country. As Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom recently told Al Jazeera, "The drug traffickers are much better armed and financed than our military and our government." Guatemala, as a result, has become a very dangerous place to live.

What's the solution? According to Giancarlo Ibarguen, president of the Universidad Francisco Marroquin, the US government should end its war on drugs. REASON