ABSTRACT
The Washington Consensus was only partially responsible for encouraging US and Mexican leaders, as well as Canadian ones, to create North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The success of the European Union in promoting trade and economic growth suggested that all nations would be stronger as part of a regional free trade bloc. Although the Washington Consensus favored increased trade, it did not include substances such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. In 1971, US President Richard Nixon declared a 'War on Drugs' to demonstrate that he would aggressively fight crime and challenge the excesses of the counterculture of the 1960s. In the United States, Miami, Florida, became the most important port of entry for drug shipments from Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s because of its proximity to the Caribbean. In the case of Panama, US leaders authorized a military action against drugs to deal with government.
