Colombia Hosts Summit on
Drug Trafficking
A Regional Summit on the
World Drug Issue,
Security and Cooperation
in the Caribbean,
Central America,
Colombia, Mexico and
Venezuela will be held
in the city of
Cartagena, starting on
July 30.
Presidents of El
Salvador, Guatemala,
Panama, Mexico, the
Dominican Republic and
Colombia are expected to
attend, as part of 16
delegations from the 23
countries of the area.
The three-day gathering
is aimed at
strengthening
cooperation and
coordination in facing
up to the drug problem
by joint action from all
States in the region.
Technical work sessions
have been scheduled for
Wednesday and Thursday
morning, and foreign
ministers are expected
to meet on Thursday
afternoon.
Heads of State and
Government have planned
to attend the final
session on Friday, when
delegations are expected
to approve the
Declaration of
Cartagena, including an
action and cooperation
plan for the next two
years.
According to the United
Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime, coca
plantation grew by 16
percent in Andean
countries in the past
year, with a 27-percent
increase in Colombia.
Nearly 1,000 tons of
drugs leave the region
bound for the United
States, the largest
consumer, through a
complex trafficking
network led by Mexican
and Colombian drug
cartels, supported by
local gangs in
Guatemala, El Salvador
and other countries in
Central America and the
Caribbean.
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