International:
Mexico,
Colombia,
Australia
9/20/97
The entire 18-member staff of a special anti-narcotics unit of the Mexican Attorney General's Office (PGR) were arrested recently when drug-sniffing dogs discovered 3 suitcases full of cocaine in their aircraft. The unit, which was returning from a fifteen-day duty tour at a remote outpost, according to the PGR, was responsible for intercepting aircraft suspected of carrying narcotics. The Washington Post reports that members of the unit had previously been trained in the use of sophisticated radar equipment by U.S. Customs officials. The incident is only the most recent in what has been described as a widespread corruption problem within Mexico's top anti-narcotics agency. MEANWHILE: Testimony in the trial of a top Mexican General, arrested earlier this year on charges of corruption in connection with the narcotics trade, is nearing a close. The case has provoked intense debate as to whether the Mexican military ought to be trusted with a primary role in Prohibition enforcement. Mexican Senator-elect Francisco Molina Ruiz says that putting the military in such a role would be "like inviting a criminal into a casino." Other questions concern the military's deteriorating record on human rights, stemming from recent cases of torture and kidnappings, and also the constitutionality of its already- expanded role in domestic narcotics suppression. But the most damning charges stem from corruption, highlighted by the arrest this past February of Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, then-Mexican Drug Czar, who had been praised by his U.S. counterpart Barry McCaffrey as a man of "great integrity." Guillermo Garduno, a Mexican scholar who studies the military, speaking to the Dallas Morning News (DMN), expressed curiosity over why the U.S. seemed surprised at revelations of General Gutierrez' conduct. Mr. Garduno said that the general had been stationed in Guadalajara, a notorious drug hot-spot, for seven years, far longer than the two year tour which is the norm, and that his possible ties to traffickers were openly gossiped about around town. "I find it incredible that the Americans didn't know that Gutierrez might have been corrupt. What has the DEA been doing all this time?" Rosa Ibarra, federal deputy and former Mexican presidential candidate, told the DMN, "The (military) network of corruption is gigantic." (DRCNet says: another good reason to get the U.S. military out of drug enforcement.) IN COLOMBIA: Just one week after the release of a report which found that the Colombian government could not win its war with rebels militarily, and which called for negotiations, and only days after Colombian President Ernesto Samper came under attack by General Bedoya, the retiring Commander in Chief of the military for being "soft" and for running a "sham" drug war, the Colombian army has launched a major counterinsurgency drive in southeast Colombia. Government officials admit that at least nine members of a nearly-extinct indigenous tribe were killed in the region in the first day of the operation. Coletta Youngers, Director of the Washington Office on Latin America (http://www.wola.org), told The Week Online "The military has made it clear that it is not interested in a peace settlement. They know that they are losing, and they don't want to be put in the position of negotiating from a position of weakness. There is reason for hope, however, in that segments of the business community, who have long been opposed to negotiations with the rebels are beginning to look interested in non-military solutions." AUSTRALIA: The Australian Drug Abuse Strategy Office is considering the implementation of a pilot study in the availability of Naloxone (brand name Narcan), a medication that is used to treat heroin overdoses. The agency recently completed research which found that 86% of injection drug users had witnessed friends or acquaintances overdosing, while ambulances were only called in 56% of cases. The study would mandate that specific instructions be given to Narcan purchasers by a pharmacist and would consider the possibility of re-scheduling Narcan as a Schedule III substance to allow regulated, over the counter sales. David Purchase, Director of the Point Defiance AIDS Project in Tacoma Washington and North American Syringe Exchange Network (http://www.nasen.org), one of the pioneers of American Harm Reduction, told The Week Online, "I'd love to see a trial like that here in the U.S. Clearly, this has the potential to save lives. Just as clearly, however, we need to find out what the risks and benefits would be. The Australians seem to be doing the right thing. I'm waiting for the day when the United States takes such enlightened approaches to our own drug problems."
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