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The US Military and the War on Drugs in Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Donald Mabry
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Extract

In The Face Of The Unsuccessful Efforts of law enforcement agencies (including the Coast Guard) to staunch the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States, Congress and the public have been demanding that the military increase its role in the nation's anti-drug campaign. These demands vary in scope. The minimum demand is that the military provide more logistical support and intelligence data. Another, which was approved by Congress in 1988, is also to give military personnel powers of search, seizure, and arrest outside the land area of the United States. Some also advocate giving civilian police powers to the military to patrol the national borders, including ports of entry. In May 1988, the US House of Representatives voted to demand that the military “seal the borders” to drug traffic within 45 days, an effort which would require both naval and border interdiction, and the Senate voted overwhelmingly to expand the role of the military in the anti-drug campaign. The most extreme demand has come from Representative Arthur Ravenel, Jr. (R-SC) who has called for the military shoot-down, on sight, of any aircraft suspected of smuggling drugs.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 30 , Issue 2-3: Special Issue: Assessing the Americas' War on Drugs , Summer 1988 , pp. 53 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1988

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