Guns, Drugs, and Military Aid: Exploring Unintended Effects of US Policy in Latin America

Featuring
Daniel Mejia
Associate Professor and Director of the Research Center on Drugs and Security, Universidad de los Andes

Peter Reuter
Professor, University of Maryland
Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Development

Javier Osorio
Assistant Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

James B. Story
Director, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs' Office of Western Hemisphere Programs (INL/WHP), Department of State

Host

Michael Clemens
Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

The last ten years have seen escalating violence south of the US border. The violence manifests in different forms and intensity levels, and affects Mexico, Central America, and several countries in South America. Politicians and pundits debate the appropriate role for US policy in combating this trend, but data-driven research is scarce and many questions remain. What do leading academic researchers find about the effects of US policy on violence in Latin America and the indirect effects of US efforts to combat arms and drug trafficking on public health, migration, public security, and development? What do researchers know that policymakers should know, and what priorities should drive future research aimed at informing policy decisions?

To address these questions, the Center for Global Development has created the Beyond the Fence Study Group . Beyond the Fence includes many of the preeminent scholars investigating the relationship between drugs, crime, violence, trade, and migration. The panelists discussed ongoing, leading-edge research on the ripple effects of US policy in Latin America, key findings from this work, and point to areas where future research is needed. After a brief, moderated discussion, the panelists fielded questions from the audience.