It’s obvious that what is fueling the crime and violence in Central America and Mexico is the lucrative market for illegal drugs in the United States. This is not an excuse for the problems that plague the region; it is simply a fact. Without the huge U.S. demand for pot, cocaine, and synthetic drugs from South America, there would still exist massive poverty, unemployment, corruption, and violence in Central America… but there would not be anywhere near as much organized crime, and the drug cartels and gangs would not have so much dominion over the lives of so many people, particularly those charged with governing and maintaining security. So how do you go about reducing U.S. demand for illegal drugs?

via Marco Cáceres: The Darker Side of Free Trade.