Casualties on the Battlefield of the "War on Drugs"

[malaise]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/madeleine-bair/casualties-on-the-battlef_b_1196972.html
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On January 17, a Southern District Court Judge will determine the prison sentence for Coke, who has been held in a Manhattan jail cell since he was apprehended by Jamaican security forces last June and pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in September. Federal prosecutors and the DEA will consider the long chapter of his extradition resolved, and pat themselves on the back for one more victory in the "war on drugs:" a major don of the illicit underworld locked up.

But before they move on to the next traficante, capo, or don, they should ask themselves what Jamaicans, Mexicans, and others who inhabit the battlefields of this war are forced to ask: At what cost do we lock up the traffickers? And is it a price worth paying?

In Jamaica, at least at least 73 civilians, counting Paulette's son, and one soldier were killed in the hunt for Coke. A year and a half later, investigations into those deaths have not been completed, and no one has been held accountable.

Add to those lives the harm to the society as a whole. The killings in West Kingston further alienated the community from those charged with protecting it. Who would approach officers with valuable information when they have witnessed uniformed men kill their husbands and brothers?
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