Bolivia v. Peru: How Objective are US Drug Certifications?
On March 7, the US released the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. Drug policy advocates have long criticized the yardsticks used by the US government to measure efficacy in drug control. But even by US standards, Bolivia surpasses Peru in most categories, though the US certified Peru and determined that Bolivia “failed demonstrably to make sufficient efforts to meet its obligation under counter-narcotics (CN) conventions.” When seen alongside these figures, the US verdict gives the impression that there are unspoken conditions for certification, and that countries that follow US policy dictates are more likely to receive US approval and funding regardless of the numbers.
