Jul 22, 2012

U.S. Drug War Expands to Africa

In a significant expansion of the war on drugs, the United States has begun training an elite unit of counternarcotics police in Ghana and planning similar units in Nigeria and Kenya as part of an effort to combat the Latin American cartels that are increasingly using Africa to smuggle cocaine into Europe. 
The growing American involvement in Africa follows an earlier escalation of antidrug efforts in Central America, according to documents, Congressional testimony and interviews with a range of officials at the State Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pentagon.
Read more here (NYT).
The war on drugs has brought unspeakable violence to Mexico and Central America. What makes US government officials think that the results would be different in West Africa? Do these officials have any idea of the suffering and pain that the war brings especially to the poorest in Central America? 

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