Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Armed Honduran military police escort us to the most dangerous neighborhood in San Pedro Sula, a city dubbed the "murder capital of the world." The gang comes in and charges every resident a war tax they call it. It's simply extortion.
Painful choices for residents: pay the phony tax, leave or face the wrath of the gangs. For a while there, most people did leave Chamelcon. Similar fears haunt communities in other Latin American countries also plagued by violent criminal gangs, whose power is connected to the drug trade. In El Salvador, the law-less MS-13. In Mexico the ruthless Cartels.
At the summit of the Americas in Panama, Latin American leaders will discuss the drug war. A potential new concern comes from an unlikely source: the united states where pot, is increasingly becoming legal.
Recreational marijuana is already legal in four states. All eyes are on 2016, when voters could see marijuana ballot initiatives in five more, including two along the U.S./Mexico border, the frontier of the U.S. war on drugs.
As much as 67 percent of the pot consumed in the U.S. comes from Mexico, putting about 1.5 billion dollars in the hands of drug traffickers. Some experts say that as states legalize marijuana and require it be grown in-state, the cartels could find themselves fighting for the shrinking illegal marijuana market or just move on to other illicit business dealings.
Beau Kilmer, co-director of the Rand Drug Policy Research Center, said, "They're not just involved in smuggling drugs into the us, there's also kidnappings, human smuggling, extortion."
All contributing to the deadly Mexican drug war, which has claimed more than 60-thousand lives from 2006 to 2012. Enrique Pena Nieto, President of Mexico, said, "Personally, I'm not in favor of legalizing drugs." But Mexico's President could be caught between two pot friendly countries.
Guatemala's president pushing for the legalization of marijuana as well. Otto Perez Molina, President of Guatemala, said, "There is a group of drugs that don't create addiction or damage to health, those kind of drugs we can regulate, we can liberalize, we can legalize."
And caught "literally" in the middle of the drug war, Honduras whose president has passionately spoken out against the war on drugs, blaming U.S. consumers of illicit drugs; all drugs, including pot, for the violence in his country.
Juan Orlando Hernandez, President of Honduras, said, "My country is the battleground of a war that's not ours. A drug war, whose policies are decided outside of Honduras, involve the countries who consume drugs to the north and those who produce drugs to the south."
As for Chamelecon, military police took over security and some families eventually returned. A small battle won at home-in Honduras. But the war is far from over, and many here say the us is partly to blame.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Will legalizing pot affect violence in Latin America? | WWLP.com
Author: Rosa Flores
Contact: Report It Submission | WWLP.com
Photo Credit: Jorge Duenes
Website: WWLP.com | Western Massachusetts Breaking News, Weather
Painful choices for residents: pay the phony tax, leave or face the wrath of the gangs. For a while there, most people did leave Chamelcon. Similar fears haunt communities in other Latin American countries also plagued by violent criminal gangs, whose power is connected to the drug trade. In El Salvador, the law-less MS-13. In Mexico the ruthless Cartels.
At the summit of the Americas in Panama, Latin American leaders will discuss the drug war. A potential new concern comes from an unlikely source: the united states where pot, is increasingly becoming legal.
Recreational marijuana is already legal in four states. All eyes are on 2016, when voters could see marijuana ballot initiatives in five more, including two along the U.S./Mexico border, the frontier of the U.S. war on drugs.
As much as 67 percent of the pot consumed in the U.S. comes from Mexico, putting about 1.5 billion dollars in the hands of drug traffickers. Some experts say that as states legalize marijuana and require it be grown in-state, the cartels could find themselves fighting for the shrinking illegal marijuana market or just move on to other illicit business dealings.
Beau Kilmer, co-director of the Rand Drug Policy Research Center, said, "They're not just involved in smuggling drugs into the us, there's also kidnappings, human smuggling, extortion."
All contributing to the deadly Mexican drug war, which has claimed more than 60-thousand lives from 2006 to 2012. Enrique Pena Nieto, President of Mexico, said, "Personally, I'm not in favor of legalizing drugs." But Mexico's President could be caught between two pot friendly countries.
Guatemala's president pushing for the legalization of marijuana as well. Otto Perez Molina, President of Guatemala, said, "There is a group of drugs that don't create addiction or damage to health, those kind of drugs we can regulate, we can liberalize, we can legalize."
And caught "literally" in the middle of the drug war, Honduras whose president has passionately spoken out against the war on drugs, blaming U.S. consumers of illicit drugs; all drugs, including pot, for the violence in his country.
Juan Orlando Hernandez, President of Honduras, said, "My country is the battleground of a war that's not ours. A drug war, whose policies are decided outside of Honduras, involve the countries who consume drugs to the north and those who produce drugs to the south."
As for Chamelecon, military police took over security and some families eventually returned. A small battle won at home-in Honduras. But the war is far from over, and many here say the us is partly to blame.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Will legalizing pot affect violence in Latin America? | WWLP.com
Author: Rosa Flores
Contact: Report It Submission | WWLP.com
Photo Credit: Jorge Duenes
Website: WWLP.com | Western Massachusetts Breaking News, Weather
