CANADA PLEDGES $5-MILLION TO FIGHT DRUG CRIME IN THE
AMERICAS

The Canadian government is stepping up aid packages to help fight
destabilizing crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, but is warning
that radical suggestions like legalizing drugs are no easy solutions.

At the annual general meeting of the Organization of American States
in El Salvador, nations have once again focused official talks on
combating organized crime that is destabilizing governments in Central
America and leaving large regions of Mexico hostage to a bloody drug
war.

But this year's meeting comes amid calls for a dramatic change in
approach to the war on drugs. In Mexico, there have been major
protests against President Felipe Calderon's war on drug cartels, as
some blame the crackdown for a rise in violence. And last week, an
international blue-ribbon panel, the Global Commission on Drug Policy,
judged the war on drugs "a failure," and called for countries to
consider legalization.

Canada's Minister of State for the Americas, Diane Ablonczy, said
there will have to be a broad international strategy for combating
crime in the hemisphere that goes beyond interdiction to strengthening
government institutions and reducing drug demand - but warned against
a rush to radical steps like legalization.

"We need to focus on all aspects. We need to look at interdiction, we
need to look at strong justice institutions that can hold criminals to
account. We need to look at new developments in the criminal
organizations. We need to look at stopping demand," Ms. Ablonczy said
in a telephone interview from the OAS meeting.

"With respect to legalization of marijuana or any drug, there's a
vigorous debate, but there's a lot of red flags about moving in that
direction. I think we have to be aware and sensitive to the fact that
many in law enforcement, many crime fighters, have serious
reservations about going that route."

Ms. Ablonczy went to the meeting with a pledge to put $5-million into
programs to fight drug crime in the Americas, with much of it focused
on the Caribbean. And she said the government plans to roll out
further anti-crime packages in the hemisphere for areas like Central
America.

The $5-million package announced Tuesday will contribute to nine
programs, including funding a Caribbean anti-drug intelligence centre,
training for police investigators to fight internet drug sales, and
centres to collect information on crime. A $500,000 sum will be
earmarked to developing a plan to fight trans-national crime in
Central America, using El Salvador as a "pilot" case.

But although Prime Minister Stephen Harper proclaimed the Americas a
Canadian foreign-policy priority in 2007, with improving security a
key goal, Canadian anti-crime programs for the region have been
criticized as too slow in coming, and too small. In 2009, Mr. Harper
announced a $15-million fund to help countries fight crime.

Carlo Dade, executive director of FOCAL, an Ottawa-based think tank
focused on the Americas, said the Canadian government has been slow to
work out what part it can play to help anti-crime efforts. "The good
news is we're starting to turn the ship to deal with it," he said.

Ms. Ablonczy argued that the amount Canada spends on anti-crime
programs has to be seen as part of broader development assistance
efforts, including programs to bolster democracy and the rule of law,
and support for multi-lateral organizations in the region like the
OAS.

She noted that tough-on-crime policies are a big part of the
Conservative government's domestic political agenda, so aid for
anti-crime efforts in the hemisphere are a "logical extension."

In large swaths of Mexico and Central America, drug cartels have
established a reign of terror that has challenged the authority of
local governments, which are often undermined by deep corruption. In
Mexico, 40,000 troops have been dispatched to fight drug cartels, in
part because corrupt police forces cannot be trusted. The country is
essentially trying to rebuild its federal police.

An estimated 40,000 people have died in Mexico's drug wars since 2006,
and Mr. Calderon now faces widespread protests calling on him to end
the offensive against the cartels. The gangs have spread terror across
the border to nations like Guatemala, already destabilized by rampant
crime.

And while the United States has poured hundreds of millions of dollars
into equipping security forces in Mexico and neighbouring countries
through its Merida Initiative, some in the region have argued it is a
war that can't be won if the big-money demand for illegal drugs from
markets like the U.S. isn't reduced. There are, however, sharp
differences over whether legalization of drugs would reduce drug
smuggling or fuel it.