Colombia’s Defense Minister, Gabriel Silva, defended results of Plan Colombia with regard to drug trafficking and terrorism on Thursday, following a meeting held by the Chamber of Representatives for the U.S. in which a complete review of the U.S. drugs policy was ordered.
The Minister told news station RCN that there had always been a small group within the U.S. Democratic Party who are interested in a different system for the fight against drug trafficking in Colombia, reported news site CMI on Thursday.
“I think that they are totally mistaken, for if you look at what is happening in Mexico one sees that what they lack is more collaboration and joint effort,” claimed Silva.
Silva further emphasized that he strongly rejected the suggestion that Plan Colombia had failed and he called on the critics of the Plan to consult the thousands of Colombians who had benefited from the stragegy’s successes since it’s establishment in 2000.
CMI reported a statement made my RCN which claimed that the group of critics seeking a turn around in the war on drugs ought to consider the U.S. consumer demand – the United States allegedly accounts for 17% of the world’s drug users. Critics should also evaluate the many successes of policies in ‘producer’ countries – such as Plan Colombia and the Merida Initiative in Mexico.
The review proposed by the Chamber of Representatives was triggered by the acknowledgement that the U.S. has invested some $15 billion into the anti-drug policy over the last two decades, yet this has entirely failed to reduce consumption and the demand for drugs throughout the country.