Drug Trafficking Branded a ‘Crime Against Humanity’
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress and representatives of five South American drug-producing or drug-transit countries agreed Tuesday that narcotics trafficking is a “crime against humanity.â€
Officials of the Andean Parliament--an association of members of the legislatures of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela--and members of Congress called for greater cooperation in fighting the production and shipment of cocaine and marijuana.
There was general agreement that the fault does not rest solely with either the production countries or the great consumer--the United States.
“Our problem is your problem,†Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R-N.Y.) told the Andean delegation. “I shudder to think of the consequences if we fail to act together.
Julio Garrett, president of the Bolivian Congress, said the drug-consuming countries bear the same responsibility in fighting narcotics trafficking as drug-producing nations.
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