New WOLA podcast on drug policy, Cuba at OAS General Assembly

News

New WOLA podcast on drug policy, Cuba at OAS General Assembly

19 June 2013

On June 4, 5, and 6, the Organization of American States (OAS) held a meeting of its General Assembly in Antigua, Guatemala. The meeting concluded with agreement that an extraordinary session of the General Assembly would be convened in 2014 to discuss drug policy. Although drug policy was clearly the focus of the session, Latin American opposition to U.S. policy toward Cuba was also on display, with Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela and Haiti leading the call for change. The foreign minister of Panama (which will host the Summit of the Americas in 2015) called for the formation of an ad hoc commission to address the issue of Cuba’s inclusion. These statements came at the same time that several Caribbean countries issued a joint statement opposing Cuba’s inclusion on the U.S. State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

In a podcast recorded on June 11, WOLA senior associates Adam Isacson and John Walsh, together with WOLA program director Geoff Thale, discussed the complex political dynamics at play in the OAS and the state of the drug policy debate. Thale, who coordinates WOLA’s Cuba program, highlighted the ways that the United States’ rigid approach to Cuba policy undercuts its other foreign policy goals in the region.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.


Related Profiles

  • Organization of American States

Translations