Caribbean and Latin American leaders seek fresh anti-drug strategy
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| Published on Saturday, March 17, 2007 |
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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AFP): Latin American, Caribbean, European and US officials participated in a summit here Friday to draw up new strategies against illegal drugs flowing from the Americas to the rest of the world.
Dominican President Leonel Fernandez opened the Santo Domingo summit on Drugs, Security and Cooperation saying its aim was to "bring attention to the great threat to the stability, democracy and security of our peoples."
The summit will seek to find ways to "reduce the supply and demand" of illegal drugs, he said.
Fernandez lamented that there was a drop in US action against drug trafficking in the region, saying Washington was focused on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"There has been a drop in the (US anti-drug) budget, that is why we all feel the increase of drug trafficking, violent crime and instability," he said.
Fernandez said US drug surveillance in the Caribbean has dropped by 62 percent with fewer boats and aircraft being used to combat the illicit trade.
Presidents Rene Preval of Haiti and Alvaro Uribe of Colombia were among the participants along with prime ministers Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago and Ralph Consalves of St Vincent & The Grenadines.
The leaders will discuss with experts and agents from several countries new measures against drug trafficking in the region, said Dominican Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso.
Organization of American States (OAS) chief Jose Miguel Insulza also took part in the summit along with representatives from the United States, Venezuela, Spain, France and the Netherlands.
Officials from the United Nations, the OAS's Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission and the European Union were also in attendance.
A final declaration will be issued at the end of the OAS-sponsored summit taking place at the foreign ministry. | | | | Reads : 3 |
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