Thursday, December 8, 2011

Is Burma the next Mexico?

Federico Varese (OPINION), Reuters.com
Hillary Clinton had many “hard issues” to tackle during her recent visit to Burma (Myanmar). Yet there was no mention of one of the most, if not the most, difficult issue Burma faces: their lucrative drug trade.

Northern Burma is the home of the “Golden Triangle,” a hub for opium production and the location of hundreds of heroin and amphetamine refineries. So how do political leaders and the international community plan to tackle this problem in the event that Burma truly becomes a democratic country?

The totalitarian regime which has ruled Burma since 1962 has been, to a point, successful in keeping the production of illicit substances under control. In 1999, Burma’s notorious military junta... More

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