Recorded December 4, 2004
Below is the original description of the event.
Although the U.S. has spent more than $25 billion on international drug-control programs over the past two decades, it has failed to reduce the supply of cocaine and heroin entering the country. It has, however, succeeded in generating widespread, often profoundly damaging, consequences, most notably in Latin America and the Caribbean. The authors of Drugs and Democracy in Latin America (Westview Press, 2005) offer a comprehensive review of U.S. drug-control policies toward the region and assess the impact of those policies on democracy and human rights.
A project of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), this major work is the first systematic, region-wide documentation and analysis of the collateral damage caused by the U.S. war on drugs.
Coletta A. Youngers is a Senior Fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).
Joy Olson is Executive Director of WOLA.