Part I: Latinas and the War on Drugs in the United States, Latin America, and Europe
Article Overview
Juniata Diaz-Cotto canvases how the US-sponsored and propagated global war on drugs has affected women of South American descent, commonly known as Latinas. The article evaluates how the approach to the war on drugs in the USA, Europe, and South America specifically affects Latinas through a combination of gender-based and racial discrimination (Diaz-Cotto, 2005).
Subheadings Overview
Latinas (os) and the US Criminal Justice System
Diaz-Cotto provides evidence and a discussion on how the American criminal justice system is specifically calibrated to target Latinas. For example, in 2000, one out of 7 people in state prison and a third of the federal prison population was Latina, a fact that evidence institutionalized racial and gender-based discrimination (Diaz-Cotto, 2005).
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Latinas and the War on Drugs in the US
Under this subheading, the author provides evidence on how the war on drugs is specifically designed to net more women offenders. For example, in 1996 in New York, 60.4% of women prisoners had drug convictions as opposed to 32.5% for men (Diaz-Cotto, 2005). Latinas are more likely to be convicted for drugs than Latinos, according to the author.
Women in Latin America and the War on Drugs
Latinas living in South America are affected by the US-sponsored war in drugs in their own home countries. The author specifically addresses the plight of women in Mexico and Bolivia, some of the two countries where the War on drugs is most prominent. In Mexico, the war on drugs has been fully militarized on some areas, creating active war zones that adversely affect women, including those who are not involved in the narcotics trade. In Bolivia, there is evidence of corruption among US Drug Enforcement Agency agents who collude with drug dealers (Diaz-Cotto, 2005). The collusion has inter alia led to the Latinas being threatened, tortured, raped, and even killed. The war on drugs in South America thus adversely affects women more than men.
The war on Drugs and Latinas in Europe
The author canvases how women are arrested acting as mules, most of whom not knowing what they are carrying and its value, and mistreated in Europe. According to the author, Latinas are often denied due process, lack an understanding of the judicial systems in the countries where they are arrested and often get harsher sentences than the locals for similar crimes (Diaz-Cotto, 2005).
Conclusion
The author concludes by summarizing how the US-sponsored war on drugs has adversely affected Latinas in the USA, South America, and Europe. In most cases, Latinas are involved in the handling of only small amounts of drugs in a fully non-violent manner, yet they are treated harshly and given long sentences. The lack of due procedure and social justice of Latinas in the war on drugs is a lack of civil rights and social justice for all people (Diaz-Cotto, 2005).
Part II: Playing the Global Cop
Chapter Overview
The Chapter “playing the global cop” by Linda Evans relates to the disintegration of social justice as sponsored by the USA, beginning from the 1990s when the cold war ended, leaving the US as the only global superpower (Evans, 2005). Linda examines how the US began by oppressing its own minorities and dissenters through mass incarceration. Gradually, the US degenerated from the free world into a police state. After the 2001 terror attack, the US sought to propagate the police state created locally to the rest of the world.
Sub-titles Overview
Preemptive Strikes
The segment titled preemptive strikes canvases how the US commenced the creation of a police state through the concept of mass incarceration (Evans, 2005). New laws were created and more funds availed to law enforcement which led to a larger ratio of the population, more so the colored, ending up in prison.
Punishment for Profit
The author canvasses how the mass incarceration movement has been transformed into a multifaceted profitable sector. The building and running of prisons are billion-dollar industries, just like transport and communication in and out of prisons (Evans, 2005).
Life inside a Police State
Under this subheading, the author describes how women inside American prisons mimic lives in police states in both nature and effect (Evans, 2005). The author also outlines how any semblance of rehabilitation in American prisons was gradually replaced with full control and punishment, leading to adverse psychological consequences for prisoners.
The Permanent Stigma of Imprisonment
The author provides evidence that even after leaving prison, the stigma follows the former prisoners. The stigma emanates from a combination of social perceptions about convicts and actual rules and regulations that discriminate against ex-prisoners and convicts (Evans, 2005).
After September 11th
The author, under this subheading, reveals how the covert police state became an active police state, after the September 11th, 2001 terror attacks. Through laws such as the infamous PATRIOT Act, the government gave itself more powers to incarcerate people, even without due process and also to stem any form of dissent (Evans, 2005).
Criminalizing Immigration
Under the same excuse of the 2001 terror attacks, the government criminalized immigration mainly based on racial profiles as canvassed under this subheading. It became much harder for any colored people to get refuge in the US (Evans, 2005). Some women who had fled danger in their home countries would be deported back!
Exporting War against Terrorism
Upon creation of a police state at home, the US government extended the same measures globally through the supposed war on terrorism, which included active wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many lives are lost or ruined with freedom jeopardized wherever the war on terror was prosecuted (Evans, 2005).
Legacy of a Global Police State
Under this heading, the author shows how the war on terror reverted the world back to the times of imperialism, with women being major victims. From the Philippines to Puerto Rico, the US militarism and imperialism has spread and those who oppose it suffer, including women (Evans, 2005).
Conclusion
The author’s conclusion is a rallying call for all women and feminists to arise and fight against the US-propagated global police state locally and internationally (Evans, 2005). Racial justice and the dismantling of the prison-industrial complexes are among the important areas to be canvassed in the social justice war.
References
Diaz-Cotto, J. (2005). Latinas and the war on drugs in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. In Global Lockdown: Race, Gender, and the Prison-Industrial Complex (pp. 77-85). New York, NY: Routledge
Evans, L. (2005). Playing Global Cop. In Global Lockdown: Race, Gender, and the Prison-Industrial Complex (pp.111-116). New York: Routledge
