Sign Up for Free Mailing List

Narco News 2001

March 15, 2001

Mexican Federal Police

Chief Says "Legalize"

De la Torre: "Measure Would Collapse Global Drug Economy"

A Narco News Global Alert

Translated from the Notimex News Agency by Narco News
March 15, 2001
Mexico City.

By Arturo Loyola

Federal Police Chief Proposes Legalizing Drugs in Mexico to Solve the Narco-Trafficking Problem

"This measure would collapse the global drug economy"

The director of Technical Support for the Federal Preventive Police (PFP, in Spanish), Miguel Angel de la Torre, announced his position in favor of legalizing drugs in Mexico, which he considers as the only possible solution to stop drug trafficking.

"It seems like this is the only possible solution, although it is utopian, to combat narco-trafficking, because the corrupting power that the narco generates is tremendous and in the consumer arena of money it is more important than the moral principles that the drug laws instill," he revealed.

In an exclusive interview with Notimex, the official admitted that this measure is presented as a utopia, given that it not only will have to be enacted in Mexico, but also in the entire world, to generate results. But in all cases, upon being accepted, the global drug economy would collapse.

"I have spoken at various forums where I have stated this opinion. The magnitude of my feeling about it is going to cause an argument, but if the number of people that have already called for a solution of this type are listened to, the solution is not so cruel," he said.

Although he coincides with the writer Carlos Fuentes in the sense that this solution could lose a generation of youths, De la Torre believes that the generations to come would be saved because the attraction of the drugs and the money they generate would be ended.

"The drug problem is so grave that I don't see any other solution than this one. Every kind of drug would have to be included to keep this from happening," he added.

De la Torre reported that the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) is composed of 6,000 Federal Transport Police, and 4,000 members of the Federal Support Forces, as well as the 100-member Alamo Group.

Grab a U.S. Journalist by the Ear and Yell!