News conference on 2005 UN report on drug trafficking in Central America

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• published: 30 Jul 2015
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Mexico City - 2 March 2006 1. Various of officials entering press conference 2. Military officials in audience of press conference 3. Wide shot of press conference 4. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Jose Villa del Castillo, United Nations Regional Representative for Mexico and Central America: "Due to its geographic location, Mexico has been used as a country for the trafficking of illicit drugs to the United States of America. The country's efforts for federal control has mostly focused on this area. However, drug trafficking has had a multiplying effect, the council no longer considers Mexico to be simply a drug trafficker but a major consumer of illicit drugs and a producer of such drugs as cannabis, heroin and amphetamines." 5. Cut away 6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ernesto Cespedes Oropeza, Mexican Foreign Ministry Director of Global Relations: "When you compare it (referring to Bolivia) to other initiatives that have become drug sources, I would say Mexico does not support this initiative. We deal with this sort of thing in an institutional way and the role of the foreign ministry is precisely to consult with their (Bolivia's) foreign ministry and consult any sanitary risks, to make the final determination." 7. Wide of press conference FILE - Mexico City - 2002 8. Various of people smoking marihuana during unofficial drug "Liberation Day" STORYLINE Mexico is becoming one of the main sources of heroin to neighbouring United States, according to a United Nations (UN) report released on Wednesday. The report by the UN's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), says Mexico is the second largest provider of heroin to the United States, with more than 40% of exports produced on Mexican soil. UN representative Jose Villa de Castillo, said Mexico's drug trafficking has had a "multiplying effect." "Due to its geographic location, the council no longer considers Mexico to be simply a drug trafficker but a major consumer of illicit drugs and a producer of such drugs as cannabis, heroin and amphetamines," Castillo said. And according to figures released in the annual US State Department's narcotics report on Wednesday, there was no change in Mexico's role as the principal transit country for cocaine entering the United States. The report said coca leaf, the raw ingredient of cocaine, was up 38 percent in Peru and 8 percent in Bolivia last year compared with 2004, despite coca eradication and programs that encourage farmers to grow alternative crops. Critics of the multimillion-dollar US funded war on drugs in the region have pointed to the increased cultivation as evidence of its failure. Bolivia's new President Evo Morales has gone a step further, pushing to legalise coca leaf production in his country - a move Mexico's Foreign Ministry say they do not support. The State Department report said Mexico was also the main foreign source of marijuana consumed in the United States. The report also credited Mexico with the arrest of numerous traffickers and the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs during the year. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/9f7f6a6fad0c1bcddc0e5516f8f838cc Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork