Military Review English Edition May-June 2014 | Page 36

Beyond Cocaine Cowboys (photo courtesy of ICE) Looking at Security in Latin America from a Different Perspective Maj. Gen. Frederick S. Rudesheim, U.S. Army and Maj. Michael L. Burgoyne, U.S. Army L ET’S PLAY A REGIONAL WORD ASSOCIATION GAME: I say “Latin America,” you say “drugs.” Perhaps you have visions of gun-toting 1980s Colombian drug cartel enforcers tearing up the streets of Miami as depicted in Billy Corben’s documentary Cocaine Cowboys.1 Since 1986, when President Ronald Reagan first designated drug trafficking as a threat to “the national security of the United States,” U.S. counterdrug policy has come to dominate every aspect of U.S. security efforts in the Western Hemisphere.2 In 2012, nearly 90 percent of law enforcement and military aid to Latin America was focused on counternarcotics.3 Yet, there is so much more to Latin America than drugs; it is a dynamic economic region. The United States needs a broad security policy for Latin America that looks beyond a counterdrug focus to create stability and foster increased prosperity. Maj. Gen. Frederick S. Rudesheim, U.S. Army, currently serves as the vice director of the Joint Staff. He most recently commanded U.S. Army South and previously served as deputy director, Western Hemisphere, J5, Joint Staff. He holds a B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.S. from Troy State University, an M.S. from the School of Advanced Military Studies, and an M.S. from the U.S. Army War College. Maj. Michael L. Burgoyne, U.S. Army, has served as the Andean Ridge desk officer at U.S. Army South. Previous assignments include two tours in Iraq. He holds an M.A.