A group of Latin American leaders declared Monday that votes by two U.S. states to legalize marijuana have important implications for efforts to quash drug smuggling, offering the first government reaction from a region increasingly frustrated with the U.S.-backed war on drugs.The declaration by the leaders of Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Costa Rica did not explicitly say they were considering weakening their governments’ efforts against marijuana smuggling, but it strongly implied the votes last week in Colorado and Washington would make enforcement of marijuana bans more difficult.The four called for the Organization of American States to study the impact...

Illegal drugs use globally is still rising despite a decades-long battle against organized crime, and producer and consumer nations need to come up with new strategies, Mexico and four Central American countries said on Monday.Latin Americans are increasingly skeptical about Washingtons hard-line prohibitionist approach to drugs, particularly because the United States is a leading market for the narcotics.via New strategies needed in drugs fight: Mexico, Central Americans –...

Remember Operation Fast and Furious? Mexicans sure do. And now some are planning to sue their government, and ours, for one of the dumbest maneuvers in the history of warfare — part of a 6-year drug war that has exacted more casualties than any other involving the United States in that period.Mexican legal sources tell me that lawyers there are putting the final touches on a massive lawsuit by relatives of Fast and Furious victims against the American and Mexican governments that launched the botched operation.via Avni: Putting an end to the drug wars in Mexico –...