Mexico Goes To Pot, And Then Some

Posted 08/21/2009 07:21 PM ET

Drug War: Mexico surprised everyone Thursday by "decriminalizing" drugs for "personal use" to refocus its resources. This may sound good to some, but it's waving a white flag at drug cartels that will now take advantage.

President Felipe Calderon's signing off on a law to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, LSD, methamphetamines, cocaine and heroin for consumers was justified as a move to differentiate low-level addicts from powerful traffickers and direct enforcement resources to the latter. It may appeal to some who think legalization will end Mexico's violence, but it's more likely to undermine Mexico's fight against cartels.

The move will probably strengthen them, something that will prolong the war and weaken the will of the civilians in the middle to give up. If that happens, Mexico's small war will become a big one.

There are reasons why legalization won't work: Bitter historic experiences, like that of Alaska, Zurich and Amsterdam, which effectively legalized drugs for small users, all ended in a reversal of course. All found that consumption grows and addicts multiply.

After that, the state gets the near-futile task of treatment at high cost. Mexico's new law says all addicts shall be treated free of cost, but right now it has just 100 clinics and won't be able to deliver.

Meanwhile, new customers mean new cash for>>>

Iran anoints anti-Jewish bomb suspect as defence secretary

General Ahmad Vahidi – wanted for Buenos Aires attack that killed 85 – is due to be confirmed after no objections by MPs

The Iranian parliament is expected to approve today the nomination for defence secretary of a man wanted in connection with the murder of 85 people at a Jewish centre in Argentina.

General Ahmad Vahidi, who is wanted by Interpol, has been chosen for the post by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad despite international condemnation.

Vahidi faces charges in Argentina over his alleged role in masterminding the bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in 1994. At the time, Vahidi was the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's al-Quds force.

His nomination triggered an uproar in Argentina, but the Iranian parliament, the majlis, signalled its defiance yesterday as deputies chanted "death to Israel" when Vahidi addressed the chamber.

One member of parliament, Hadi Qavami, interrupted a speech by Vahidi to say he had initially opposed his nomination but had changed his mind after "the Zionists' allegations" and would now vote for him.

Under parliamentary rules, two MPs can take the floor to oppose a ministerial nominee. No one did in the case of Vahidi, a sign the legislature will back him.

Vahidi said his country faced numerous >>>

...And Latin America As Well

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, August 28, 2009 4:20 PM PT

The Hemisphere: With allies such as Honduras flatly condemned, and Colombia being left to defend itself over its ties with our military, the United States is squandering its influence in Latin America.

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The Obama administration further tightened the screws on Honduras last Thursday, declaring the ouster of President Mel Zelaya "a military coup." According to Honduras' constitution, Zelaya's removal June 28 was neither. Still, the hemisphere's third-poorest nation is being denied $150 million in aid.

The cutoff presumably is aimed at inciting a hungry-man's revolt and pressuring the government to reseat Zelaya. This is ironic: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Zelaya "irresponsible" for trying to re-enter Honduras in July because of likely violence. The aid cutoff, intended to do the same, is just as "irresponsible" — and insulting to Hondurans to boot.

Friday's news out of Latin America was no better. Colombia stood alone at a Star Chamber-like interrogation at the summit of the Union of South American Nations, a defense organization, in Bariloche, Argentina.

Its "crime"? It gave the U.S. military access to seven bases. All Colombia wants is to end what President Alvaro Uribe called "its long dark night" of struggle against murderous traffickers and terrorists.

South America's soft-leftist leaders have done little to help. Instead, they live as if it was still the 1970s, when regional armies, not terrorists, were the bigger threat. That's not the case today.

The leaders condemned Colombia's move as militarism, and contrary to the spirit of regional integration (read: closeness to the U.S.)

Neither Colombia nor Honduras, both U.S. allies, should have to answer for what are in fact internal affairs. But both are, and the Obama administration is doing nothing.

The one who should be answering questions is Venezuela's brutal dictator, Hugo Chavez, who has trashed democracy in his own country and precipitated both crises abroad through real meddling — buying off a leader in Honduras and bankrolling FARC terrorists in Colombia. Yet the U.S. acts as if good relations with Chavez is a high priority, but ties with allies Honduras and Colombia aren't.

In an atmosphere like this, is it any>>>

Honduras Has Won

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, August 07, 2009 4:20 PM PT

Diplomacy: In a quiet victory for a tiny democracy, U.S. buttinskies have stopped trying to restore a dictator to power in South America. Tiny Honduras is winning its fight for freedom.

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In a welcome about-face, the State Department told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Richard Lugar, R-Ind., in a letter Tuesday that the U.S. would no longer threaten sanctions on Honduras for ousting its president, Mel Zelaya, last June 28.

Nor will it insist on Zelaya's return to power. As it turns out, the U.S. Senate can't find any legal reason why the Honduran Supreme Court's refusal to let Zelaya stay in office beyond the time allowed by Honduran law constitutes a "military coup."

This marks a shift. The U.S. at first supported Zelaya, a man who had been elected democratically but didn't govern that way. Now they're reaching out to average Hondurans, the real democrats.

Sure, the U.S. continues to condemn Zelaya's ouster and still seeks mediation of the dispute through Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. But no U.S. sanctions means Hondurans have won.

Things could have worked out differently. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez first called for invading Honduras. That threat passed as it became clear Chavez couldn't project his power there.

Next, civil unrest was threatened by Zelaya. But Hondurans astounded the world by standing by their Congress, Supreme Court, attorney general, businesses and the church, all of which declared that Zelaya had violated the constitution and had to go.

Zelaya might have regained power,>>>

Chavez Calls Attack on Opposition TV Station 'Anarchist'

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday condemned an attack on an opposition-aligned TV station that he has threatened with closure, announcing that one of his radical supporters was detained for allegedly taking part in the assault.

Chavez called the attack "counterrevolutionary, anarchist and an attempt against peace in the country."

He said Lina Ron, leader of a far-left party that supports the government's socialist policies, was arrested over the attack. He said Ron and those who accompanied her "must face the force of the law."

On Monday, government supporters riding motorcycles and waving the flags of Ron's party tossed tear gas canisters at Globovision, the country's last over-the-air television station that is a strong critic of Chavez. Globovision broadcast video of the incident, allegedly showing Ron among the attackers.

Chavez has recognized Ron as an ally, but he has also criticized her in the past for going too far. Last year, she led Chavez supporters when they stormed and temporarily occupied the offices of the Vatican's representative in Caracas. She also led street demonstrations against Globovision to protest the channel's criticism of the government.

Globovision said one of its security guards suffered a burned hand when he tried to pick up a tear gas canister and a police officer posted outside was hit in the head by a hurled object and required stitches. Two Globovision employees were treated for inhaling tear gas.

Globovision's director, Alberto Federico Ravell, condemned the violence and urged Chavez to control his backers. He said some of the armed assailants threatened security guards.

Amnesty International expressed "profound concern" over the incident, urging Venezuelan authorities Tuesday to guarantee that those responsible are brought to justice.

The attack came as tensions are rising between Venezuela's government and private media.

Globovision is facing multiple investigations that could lead to its closure. Broadcast regulators, meanwhile, announced Friday that they were shutting down at least 32 radio stations. More than 200 other stations are also under investigation.

Media groups and human rights activists accuse>>>

From Petrostate To Narcostate

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, July 24, 2009 4:20 PM PT

Hemisphere: A congressional report released last week left little doubt that Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is turning his country into a narcotraffickers' paradise. So why isn't Venezuela an international pariah?

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A new report released last Monday, "U.S. Counternarcotics Cooperation With Venezuela Has Declined," by the Government Accountability Office, offers the harshest assessment yet about Venezuela's rising role in Latin America's drug trade.

The GAO said that state corruption, Chavez's aid to Colombia's FARC guerrillas, and Venezuela's refusal to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement agencies add up to trouble — an outlaw narcostate in the making and trouble for the U.S. on the horizon.

"The findings of this report have heightened my concern that Venezuela's failure to cooperate with the United States on drug interdiction is related to corruption in that country's government," said Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., who commissioned the report.

No kidding. But instead of taking the natural course of action from such a report and treating Venezuela like a dank, despicable narcostate it deserves to be treated as, the U.S. is going out of its way to make nice with Chavez, restoring diplomatic ties as of July 1, in the mere hopes that dialogue will persuade him to cut it out.

That misreads the situation, because what's happening isn't a consequence of weakness — it's a result of will.

For one thing, this isn't about a few low-level Venezuelan officials on the take from traffickers.

The GAO report says that Venezuela's government>>>

U.S. Interests In Honduras Matter

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, July 08, 2009 4:20 PM PT

Diplomacy: Outsourcing U.S. foreign policy to the OAS may sound good, but the reality remains that all nations, including ours, have interests. That may be why the U.S. is now shifting to a more workable stance on Honduras.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday announced a realistic plan to resolve the Honduras crisis by forging a deal with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to mediate a solution to the issue of who rules the Central American country.

Acting after meeting with ousted President Mel Zelaya, who was thrown out June 28 in a constitutional process, her initiative shows just how badly relying on the Organization of American States (OAS) has failed for the U.S. The new Arias plan may just succeed.

It couldn't come at a better time. Last Friday, OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza strutted like a colonial grandee into Tegucigalpa, threatening sanctions and the expulsion of Honduras if it didn't restore Zelaya. He refused to meet President Roberto Micheletti, warning: "We are not going to Honduras to negotiate."

It only strengthened Honduras' resolve against letting Zelaya return. After Insulza raised the stakes, Zelaya tried to fly into Tegucigalpa's airport, setting off riots that left two dead.

Government support strengthened though, with the Church, businesses and crowds in the streets all holding together.

"Honduras is an example to the world. We don't have money. We don't have oil. We have balls," read a hand-lettered sign from a defiant street protester in support of his government.

With sentiment like this, Hondurans signaled they would set their own course, follow their own constitution and pay whatever price, no matter what the OAS did. "Better six months of isolation than 20 years of Chavez," Micheletti said.

Arias isn't impartial as a mediator, given his vote to condemn and expel Honduras from the OAS. But he has a record of successful mediation in El Salvador, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987, and is willing to engage all parties instead of dictate a solution. The existing government in Honduras is still free to reject anything outrageous, which couldn't be any worse for Honduras than OAS threats.

For Clinton, it's a sign that reality has sunk in and Zelaya, an unpopular, vainglorious and anti-U.S. leader, is unlikely to be returned to power. Not only does Honduras' constitution forbid it, but Hondurans don't want it, and time is running out. Instead, elections may be moved forward, or amnesties issued as talks start Thursday.

Maybe history is forcing the new Clinton stance: The last time the U.S. tried to reinsert a deposed leader, in 1994 with Haiti's Jean Bertrand Aristide, the result was chaos. Clinton was first lady then.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, of course, thrives on chaos and is doing all he can to stoke it. But the U.S. in particular doesn't need chaos in Honduras, given the country's strategic location as a transit point for illegal drugs and the threat that criminal cartels pose to the political stability of regional governments.

The new Clinton plan also serves to strengthen the interests of Honduras' neighbors in the emerging bloc of Panama, Colombia and Mexico, all of which do not want a chaotic Honduras.

The three nations did stress earlier that there should be no foreign interference in Honduran affairs, even as they went with the OAS consensus, and all have moved in this direction. Panama offered mediation. Mexico offered asylum to Zelaya. Colombia stopped a 60-person Venezuelan convoy "battalion" of aid headed to Honduras at its border to ward off Chavista cash and interference.

What it adds up to is U.S. interests — not those of Venezuela or Nicaragua — becoming predominant in ending the crisis in Honduras, and in a way that's acceptable to Hondurans and their neighbors.

This will work far better than letting the OAS continue its grandstanding. Sure, some may say Hillary blinked. But it's a good blink.