The  new  “little  war”  against  drugs  By:  Daniel  Pacheco  *    The   president   of   Colombia   lowered   his   head,   reached   the   nose,   and   inhaled   a   block   of  compressed  marijuana.  The  image  filled  the  press  in  Colombia  on  April  1,  2013.  It  was  taken  in   the  Bronx,  one  of   the  most  violent  and  deprived  areas  of  Bogota,  after  a  police  operation  against   drug   sales   took   place.   "Santos   announced   a   war   against   the   'ollas'1",   and   so   was  recorded  the  photo-­‐opportunity  at  the  heading  of  the  country's  largest  newspaper.    In   the   event,   surrounded   by   the   Defense  Minister   and   the   chief   of   police,   President   Santos  announced   a   plan   to   eliminate   24   ‘ollas’   in   60   days.   Two   months   later,   Santos   announced  another  operation  to  end  with  other  (or  the  same?)  25  ‘ollas’,  and  the  promise  to  add  15.000  men  to  the  police  ranks  to  fights  against  small  trafficking  in  Colombian  cities.  The  total  cost  of  the  operation  was  announced  at  $200  million  dollars.      Paradoxically,   just   a   year   ago,   in   Cartagena,   Santos  was   together  with   the   presidents   of   the  region   at   the   Summit   of   the   Americas,   saying   the  war   on   drugs   had   failed   and   called   for   a  necessary  discussion   towards   its   reform.  Other  Latin  American   leaders,   such  as  Mexico  and  Guatemala,  supported  this  position.  The  result  of  the  summit  was  a  report  commissioned  by  the   Organization   of   American   States   (OAS)   to   discuss   the   issue.   At   the   presentation   of   the  report,  in  July  this  year,  the  Secretary  General,  José  Miguel  Insulza,  called  to  address  the  drug  problem  with  a   focus  on  "public  health",  and  not  by  criminalizing  drug  users.   In   the  air  was  posed  an  imminent  paradigm  shift  in  drug  policy  in  Latin  America.    And   certainly   there   has   been   a   rhetorical   change.   The   term   "war   on   drugs"   devised   and  disseminated   in   Washington,   has   been   eradicated   of   the   bureaucratic   language   of   Anglo  American  discipline.  Washington  is  now  looking  the  security  issue  starting  in  the  Rio  Grande  down  to  the  Patagonia  with  the  lens  of  "public  safety"  and  "transnational  crime".    However,  in  the  streets  of  Latin  America,  the  supposed  change  of  paradigm  has  not  been  yet  seen.   From   the   international   war   on   drugs,   it   shifted   to   the   war   against   "ollas"   and   "drug  shops".  Politicians  in  the  region  are  still  reacting  with  the  same  old  strategies  when  facing  the  political   pressure   caused   by   insecurity.   The  most   colorful   case,   from   Colombia’s   President,  being  at   the  same  time  the  regional   leader   for  a  drug  policy  reform  and,  at   the  same  time,  a  police  officer  seizing  drugs  at  every  street  corner.    But   the  diffuse  health  approach  has  a  different   impact  on  problematic   and  non-­‐problematic  drug   users,  where   official   response   remains   an   increase   in   the   use   of   force,   criminalization  and  repression.    

                                                                                                               1  Public  selling  places  where  ilegal  drugs  are  consumed.    

 

               There   is   some   kind   of   consensus   among   experts   and   politicians   that   the   reality   of   drug  trafficking  on  the  continent  has  changed.  We  are  now  exporters  and  transit  countries,  but  also  consumers.  From  former  presidents  to  captains  of  drug-­‐submarines,  all  are  now  speaking  of  the  increasing  problem  of  small  trafficking  mainly  caused  due  to  intermediary  payments  done  with  drugs.    But  a  new  phenomenon  it  is  been  faced  with  the  same  old  recipes.  Recently,  the  news  website  of   the   criminal   world   Insight   Crime   did   a   review   of   the   famous   Colombian   government  offensive  against  small  trafficking.  After  1.600  detentions  and  almost  800.000  doses  of  drugs  seized,   the   problem   remained   the   same.  Meanwhile,   arbitrariness   and   abuses   during   these  campaigns  of  public   safety  are   reported.  Frequently,   those  who  are  swelling  official   surveys  are  low-­‐income  youth,  consumers  or  sellers  of  drugs  in  small  amounts.    The  new  approach  on  public  safety  became  the  new  vehicle   for  supporting   the   fight  against  drug   trafficking   from   the  United  States  on  Latin  America.  Today,  people  are   speaking  about  the  Society  of  Public  Security  in  Central  America,  a  plan  of  about  $160  million  dollars  a  year.  On   the   cooperation   agendas  with  Mexico   and  Colombia,   the   fight   against   drug   trafficking   is  now  also  called  by  this  name.    In  the  end,  it  remains  a  feeling  that  a  new  language  is  being  spoken  but  in  reality  nothing  has  changed.  The  debate  has  advanced  more   than  anyone  could  have   imagined  a   few  years  ago,  but   the   consequences   of   the   use   of   force   are   still   a   reality   on   the   streets   of   Latin   America.  Although   the   recipe   of   a   new   approach   is   only   partly   outlined,   the   paradigm   shift   in  which  public  health  and  human  rights  of  drug  users  take  a  central  role  has  already  been  recorded  at  the  new  public  safety  manuals.    *  Columnist  at  El  Espectador