Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington has returned from Central American Drug Summit which was held in Antigua, Guatemala.
The meeting is making world news tonight because Guatemala's President Otto Perez Molina proposed legalizing and regulating drug and the drug trade.
His proposal would see the regulation of the trans-shipment of drugs - creating a regional corridor for the transport of drugs and establishing border controls for the proper registry of the movement of drugs.
He also proposes the legalization of the consumption of drugs with all necessary.
And while it may seem radical, proponents argue that it is the only rational response to curtail illicit trafficking activity which has taken over a portion of Guatemala's north-eastern Peten and has taken thousands of lives throughout Mexico.
So what position did Belize's Foreign Minster take? We discussed that with him today at his Belize City Office:
Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Minister of Foreign Affairs
"Yeah, it was a somewhat surprising to think that the newly elected president of Guatemala would have brought it on so quickly. I don't think anybody expected that. The United States regards the whole question of drug trafficking as a national security treat, a treat to their national security, and that no useful discussion could really be taken by the countries of the region on this subject without the presence of the United States."
Jules Vasquez
"Might we not say that President Molina was bold and perhaps prescient in his thinking and that those among the group who advised caution are simply kowtowing to the United States?"
Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"President Otto Perez Molina was bold. In terms of prescient I don't necessarily agree with you, that's because it is my own view that happens around the world, that really and truly, it is really these super powers that set the agenda and the pace for the rest of the world. So if they see this as a national security treat, and they genuinely believe that, nothing that we do in this region, outside of the collaboration with them, stands any chance of succeeding because they are so powerful and so dominant. Therefore, if we are thinking so seriously about solving the problem, the solution will have to be, to my mind, one which is arrived at in collaboration with them."
Jules Vasquez
"Would you say the proposal has picked up traction or that it has not?"
Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I don't think that it is a proposal that can really gain traction, in the absence of the United States being around the table, because as I'm saying we are peripheral actors, we are not principal actors. This is a major issue that concerns the security interest of the super power in the world, not only the region but the world. And how can you discuss a matter that affects the national security interest of the world's super power, without having that super power at the table?"
Jules Vasquez
"Yes, but we are not slave states. The super power is bankrupt and ineffective in its effort to try and stem either the demand for drugs or effectively reduce the supply."
Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I never agree with the view that the super power is ineffective and bankrupt."
Jules Vasquez
"Well, we will have to judge by the results, Minister"
Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"I will never ever make that statement and concur with that statement at all."
Officially, the meeting failed to arrive at a consensus. Notably, the Presidents of Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua did not attend. Only Panama's President, Ricardo Martinelli and Costa Rica's President Laura Chinchilla attended.
The so-called "northern triangle" of the Central American isthmus, comprising, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras form what is considered the most violent region on earth.
And so, the subject of drug decriminalization isn't going away. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has put it on the agenda for discussion at next month's Summit of the Americas.
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