Pubdate: Wed, 04 Jul 2012 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 2012 Bloomberg News Contact: http://www.chron.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198 PENA NIETO CALLS FOR DEBATE ABOUT LEGALIZING DRUGS Mexico's incoming president said he's in favor of a debate over the legalization of drugs as the current U.S.-led crackdown fuels violence in his country without stemming the flow of narcotics across the border. Enrique Pena Nieto, in an interview with the PBS "Newshour" program broadcast Tuesday, insisted he's not personally in favor of legalizing drugs. Still, he joined a growing chorus of leaders in Latin America who have called on the U.S. to rethink its strategy. "I'mnot saying we should legalize," Pena Nieto said, according to a partial transcript on the "Newshour" website. "But we should debate in Congress, in the hemisphere, and especially the U.S. should participate in this broad debate." More than 47,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon began an offensive against cartels in December 2006. Pena Nieto has said he would shift direction in the drug war by working to reduce the most violent crimes, and named the former head of Colombia's police as a security adviser to signal he won't cut deals with traffickers. Five Central American presidents and Calderon have said they are willing to engage in regional discussions over a change in tactics, including the decriminalization of drug use, to reduce drugtrafficking that is fueling a rise in violence and homicides in the region. Like Pena Nieto, Calderon has said he is against legalization. Colombian President JuanManuel Santos, who helped carry out a U.S.led anti-narcotics strategy as his nation's defense chief until 2009, called for a legalization debate last year and has likened the war on drugs to a stationary bike. Last month, Uruguay's President JoseMujica said that his country could be the first to break a taboo in the drug legalization debate by starting to sell marijuana. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom