In his speech at the Seventh Summit of the Americas that took place in Panama last weekend, President Danilo Medina called for more responsibility from consumer nations in the fight against drug trafficking. Describing the Dominican Republic as a victim, he protested that the onus is on smaller countries to fight drug trafficking.
“If this struggle is to be taken seriously, it must be shared, especially by the countries whose demand puts the drug trafficking machinery into operation,” he said. “Our societies cannot go on paying the highest price in terms of victims and violence, while the business continues to grow in the destination countries in the shadow of big profits.”
It is estimated that drug production results in 20% of the revenue, while 80% of the revenue is obtained primarily from transactions in the consumer markets.
“We believe that in the same way that we share the will and urgency for solving this problem, we must all take part with the same of responsibility and means,” said Medina.
The President added that the greatest challenge in the Americas today comes from the degrading of public institutions due to the proliferation of drug trafficking.
He commented that the demand for drugs in rich countries is a constant challenge to the stability of regional democracies and the lives of our citizens.
“It is no coincidence that Central America is the most violent region in the world, with 30 killings in 100,000 related to drug trafficking, according to the United Nations,” said President Medina.
“The Dominican Republic is committed to fighting drug trafficking and organized crime, as proven by constant confiscations and the priority we place on this in our relationship with the United States,” he said. “Nevertheless, our states have other priorities such as education, health, energy and other areas. That is why even if we dedicate large sums of public funds to fighting trafficking year after year, it is always small compared to the amount of funds handled by the drug trade. This asymmetric struggle between fragile states and criminal organizations that have enormous resources for corruption is what leads to institutional weakness and poverty.
“It is a key factor in social disintegration and thousands are killed, most of them young. It is a situation that is threatening to become endemic in many countries. It is a cancer that penetrates deeper into our societies every day and takes lives, families and entire territories and the peace of the region,” said Medina.
He said it is unrealistic and unfair to expect countries on the drug trafficking route to consumer markets to bear the bigger brunt of the problem, when they are the victims that pay the highest price for the transnational problem.
http://presidencia.gob.do/noticias/danilo-medina-pide-paises-desarrollados-equilibrar-carga-del-narcotrafico