English Translation

The United States will not react to concepts such as “depenalization, decriminalization, or harm reduction” of drugs, rather, to concrete and detailed proposals, William Brownfield, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, said on Wednesday.

Although the presidents of the Americas were unable to come to a consensus on drug legalization at the Summit of the Americas, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said that the meeting was a success because “there was a debate for the first time” where “all the issues were put on the table and all the issues were debated. Before this wasn't done." The Organization of American States (OAS) was given a mandate to study the region’s strategy in fighting organized crime and drug trafficking.

In an interview with Univision’s Enrique Acevedo prior to the Summit of the Americas, President Obama said: “I don’t mind a debate on issues such as decriminalization. I personally don't agree that that's a solution to the problem, but I think that, given the pressures that a lot of governments are under here -- under resourced, overwhelmed by violence -- it’s completely understandable that they would look for new approaches and we want to cooperate with them."

In a historic meeting on March 24, 2012, Central American presidents will meet in Antigua, Guatemala, to discuss alternatives to the war on drugs.

Recent public statements by Latin American presidents, including the heads of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica, on the need for discussing the legalization or decriminalization of drugs has put the Obama administration on the offensive, including sending Vice-President Biden to the region.