Article

Applying the "war on terror" to the "war on drugs" : the legal implications and benefits of recategorizing Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations

Madison Standon

• San Diego international law journal, Vol. 22, issue 2, Spring 2021, p. 365-408

English

Source : https://digital.sandiego.edu/ilj/vol22/iss2/7 (last accessed on 07.10.2021)

This Comment analyzes, and ultimately rejects, the proposal for reclassifying Latin American Drug Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Section I provides a brief history about the War on Drugs, the ineffectiveness of the policies implemented to combat the War on Drugs, and a brief history about the War on Terror. Section II discusses applicable international and domestic laws, including the Geneva Conventions, international human rights law, U.S. terrorism laws, U.S. drug laws, and U.S. case law. Section III considers whether Latin American Drug Cartels can be recategorized as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under current the current statutory scheme, analyzes how international laws would interact with the recategorized Latin American Drug Cartels, and outlines both the benefits and consequences of recategorizing Latin American Drug Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Finally, section IV advocates against recategorizing Latin American Drug Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and instead advocates for change in U.S. domestic drug laws, which would have an international impact and fundamentally alter the War on Drugs and the American way of life.

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