ABSTRACT
The impact of criminal justice policies on Latinas in the United States, Latin America, and Europe must be viewed within an international context wherein Latinas(os) are targeted for arrest and incarceration under the auspices of the U.S.-sponsored “war on drugs.”2 Whereas Latin American governments criminalize particular groups of people within their own countries, the United States criminalizes entire Latin American nations while pursuing the war on drugs. The United States highlights the role that Latinas(os) play in the production, processing, trafficking, and consumption of “illicit drugs” such as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. At the same time, it masks the demand for such drugs in the United States and Europe3 and the role played by U.S. government agencies,4 law enforcement officers,5 and private corporations6 in the development of the drug industry.
