Clinton says US demand for narcotics drives Central American narco-violence

Clinton: US demand to blame for drug violence

GUATEMALA CITY — Demand for illegal narcotics in the United States is fueling drug violence in Central America, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday, acknowledging a measure of U.S. responsibility for what she called a “terrible criminal scourge.”

“The United States under the Obama administration recognizes and accepts its share of responsibility for the problems posed by drug trafficking in this region,” she told reporters ahead of the talks in the Guatemalan capital.

“The demand in the large market in the United States drives the drug trade,” she said. “We know that we are part of the problem and that is an admission that we have been willing make this past year.”

Clinton made the same admission last year on a trip to Mexico, which was then beginning major military operations against drug cartels. At the time, her comments drew fierce criticism from U.S. conservatives who said she was unfairly blaming America for the situation overseas.

Some Republican lawmakers and commentators accused Clinton of blaming America for social and criminal ills in other countries. They said such admissions were unwarranted. President George W. Bush’s administration had tacitly acknowledged the problem of U.S. demand but had always kept the focus on the war on drugs in narcotics producing and trafficking countries.

Clinton was in Guatemala for a meeting with leaders and senior officials from eight Central American nations at which she also urged recognition of the new, post-coup government of Honduras.

On Friday, Clinton said U.S. demand for narcotics was “one of the reasons why we feel so strongly about trying to help countries like Guatemala fight this terrible criminal scourge” that is largely responsible for major corruption.

She did not announce any new programs or specific additional assistant but vowed to work with Central American states to help them as gangs and traffickers target the region to escape from major security operations in Mexico and Colombia. She said she would be seeking advice from regional leaders on what would help them most.

As U.S.-funded wars pressure cartels in Mexico and Colombia, drug gangs are increasingly infiltrating vulnerable countries, particularly in Latin America and Africa. Drug profits total about $394 billion a year, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime — dwarfing the gross domestic products of many nations and making them easy prey for cartels.

Guatemala is a case in point, Clinton said, noting the arrests last week of the country’s drug czar and national police chief on narco-related corruption charges.

Besides promising counternarcotics help, Clinton was making the case to Central American regional leaders to restore full relations with Honduras that some suspended after a coup last June and to support its readmission to the Organization of American States.

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo was among those attending Friday’s meeting and Clinton said it was time to normalize relations. She added that she had announced a day earlier that the U.S. was resuming more than $30 million in suspended aid to the country.

“We support the work that President Lobo is doing to promote national unity and strengthen democracy,” she told reporters after talks with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom.