Guatemala raises legalising drugs

24 March 2012 Last updated at 20:01 ET

Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina has said the war on drugs has failed, and it is time to end the "taboo" on discussing decriminalisation.

He was addressing a Central American summit in the Guatemalan city of Antigua.

Mr Perez Molina convoked the meeting to consider decriminalisation as a way of reducing drug-related violence.

But the presidents of Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras all cancelled their attendance at short notice.

Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Mauricio Funes of El Salvador and Porfirio Lobo of Honduras decided not to attend.

All three countries were represented by senior officials, and Mr Perez Molina was joined by President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica and Ricardo Martinelli of Panama.

"We have seen that the strategy that has been pursued in the fight against drug trafficking over the last 40 years has failed," he said.

"We have to look for new alternatives. We must end the myths, the taboos, and tell people you have to discuss it," he added.

Central America is a major transit route for South American cocaine heading north to the US.

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Guatemala raises legalising drugs