Cuba and Drugs Dominate the Sixth Summit of the Americas

Written for the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and The Global Ethics Network.

http://www.globalethicsnetwork.org/profiles/blogs/cuba-and-drugs-dominate-the-sixth-summit-of-the-americas

The sixth Summit of the Americas took place in Cartagena, Colombia on April 14–15 and raised some interesting questions about the future of U.S. policies in the region.

Global drug policy appeared to dominate center stage as the American "war on drugs" was criticized for its lack of evident success. Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina encouraged the introduction of global drug market regulation, while Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla advocated for legalization, and Mexican leader Felipe Calderon placed the onus on the United States to reduce demand.

Although a joint declaration was not produced at the summit, Markus Schultze-Kraft of the IDS Governance and Development blog commented that the 2012 summit was perhaps more fruitful than previous iterations: "Never before did a group of Latin American heads of state challenge the prevailing, US-backed drug policy orthodoxy with such solid arguments, political acumen and determination to find alternatives." This challenge to U.S. policy suggests a growing confidence to question American decisions in the region.

For example, U.S. policy toward Cuba and the country's exclusion from the Summit of the Americas also met resistance from the Latin American leaders. Calling the U.S. attitude toward Cuba a remnant of the Cold War, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said, "Hopefully within three years we will have Cuba as part of the summit."

With a more assertive South America can the United States afford to ostracize Cuba? John McAuliff of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development suggests not: "Bottom line, the Administration could have used the Summit to increase US stature by showing we have finally moved beyond the Cold War… instead we are at best going to stay even."

In March 2012, the Economist reported that Cuba is transitioning to a more capitalist system, and that Raul's successor will face growing pressure to respond to socioeconomic problems from a pragmatic perspective rather than a revolutionary one. Will Cuba be included in the next summit as Santos and other Latin American heads of states demand? With a growing and confident Latin America, the 2012 summit at least opened the debate.

Further Reading:

"A Moral Argument against the War on Drugs,"Julian Savulescu, Bennett Foddy, Practical Ethics.
"Globalization and the Financial Crises in Latin America,"Roberto Frenkel.
"Democratic Dilemmas in the U.S War on Drugs In Latin America (Case... Eva Bertram, Bill Spencer.
"The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States, and the Next Revol...
"Digital Rations: Internet Policy in Castro's Cuba," Ellery Roberts Biddle, Policy Innovations.
"U.S Free Trade Agreement Won't Benefit Colombia,"Kevin Gallagher, Triple Crisis