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Upon Taking Office, “Iron Fisted” President of Guatemala Calls for Decriminalization

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In a weird-but-promising turn of events, Guatemala’s new president, who campaigned on the promise of a Mexico-style crackdown against drug traffickers, has called for drug decriminalization:

The former general argued on Mexican television that a regional strategy for decriminalization should be looked into as soon as possible. “Here we are speaking from the southern area, where it occurs, through all the countries like Guatemala that are transit points to Mexico and the United States,” Pérez Molina said, according to El Nuevo Heradlo newspaper.

Pérez Molina added that Mexican President Felipe Calderón had made a great effort in combating drug trafficking, but criticized the United States for not matching Mexico’s effort and for being the world’s largest drug consumer.

Pérez Molina made no mention of decriminalization during his campaign, and less than a week ago, directly after his inauguration, he promised to send in the military to “neutralize” organized crime. So what exactly is going on?

It seems likely that Pérez is using the drug threat as a means to regain US military aid, which has been forbidden to Guatemala since 1978, when the country’s military- government, in which Pérez served as intelligence chief, was waging a genocide campaign against indigenous Mayans. Meanwhile, Pérez’ call for decriminalization signals solidarity with other Latin American countries (Columbia and Mexico’s presidents have both demanded a new approach to drug policy while remaining fully engaged in US-supported military offensives aimed at traffickers). Of course, considering that the drug war provides the only possible justification for renewed US military aid, it seems quite reasonable to doubt whether Pérez is seriously devoted to drug reform.

There is reason for optimism though. Pérez and the other heads of state who have called for decriminalization clearly do realize that a drastic change is necessary for the stability of their region; they simply lack the political capacity to implement it individually. If Latin American leaders do make a unified endorsement of an alternate strategy, as Perez is seemingly suggesting, they may well succeed in bringing it about, regardless of their individual motivations.

Related:
Latin American Countries at Risk of Collapse, US Policy Fuel on the Fire
The Nightmare Continues in Latin America