

Soldiers place a machine gun in a helicopter as they prepare for a flight to Huehuetenango's Mariscal Gregorio Solares military base from Guatemala City September 29, 2012. The military evacuated 44 villagers after they were threatened by the Zetas drug cartel for not assisting in drug trafficking, according to Ronald Vasquez, the base's third commander who was in charge of the operation. Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters
Mexican marines escort head of the Gulf Cartel (CDG) Jorge Eduardo 'El Coss' Costilla Sanchez, as he is presented to the media in Mexico City September 13, 2012. The navy captured one of Mexico's most wanted drug leaders Costilla Sanchez, in what would mark a major victory in President Felipe Calderon's crackdown on organized crime. Tomas Bravo/Reuters
Counternarcotics police officers guard a submarine seized from the FARC's 29th Front, in Mayorquin, Buenaventura, September 24, 2011. Colombian authorities said that the submersible ship seized could be used to carry seven tons of cocaine illegally to any port in Central America. Fredy Builes/Reuters
Members of the Caravan for Peace, a group of friends and family who lost loved ones to the violence in the Mexican drug war, march with members of Occupy Wall Street through the financial district in New York, September 7, 2012. The Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity began its march on August 12 in San Diego and arrived in New York before finishing off in Washington September 12, marching to protest the failed war against drugs. Brendan McDermid/Reuters
A soldier stands guard on a street in the neighbourhood of Nezahualcoyotl in Mexico City, September 20, 2012. Mexico has sent soldiers to patrol a suburb of Mexico City for the first time to combat a rise in drug-related violence that is beginning to encroach on the capital. Bernardo Montoya/Reuters
A gang member looks out from behind bars during a visit of members of The Transnational Advisory Group in Support of the Peace Process in El Salvador to the prison of Quezaltepeque, El Salvador, July 22, 2012. Luis Romero/AP
The mother of one of the students found at a grave reacts in the municipality of Santa Tecla, on the outskirts of San Salvador July 20, 2012. Agents of the National Civil Police (PNC) discovered a grave containing the bodies of five high school students who were kidnapped and killed by gang members, local media reported. Ulises Rodriguez/Reuters
A police officer stands on confiscated packages of cocaine on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Honduras is struggling with a huge narcotics problem. US drug agents, in a controversial move, have been assisting Honduran forces in carrying out drug raids, several of which have recently resulted in fatalities. Jorge Cabrera/Reuters
An Aymara witch doctor holds coca leaves during the inauguration ceremony at the headquarters of the vice ministry of social defense and controlled substances in La Paz, Bolivia, Jan. 5, 2011. David Mercado/Reuters/File
An aerial view shows drying coca leaves in Carrasco National Park in central Bolivia, where the government has started eradicating illicit plants. David Mercado/Reuters
A moon-suited antinarcotics worker disposes of a bag of confiscated cocaine by burning it in an incinerator in Lima, Peru. Mariana Bazo/Reuters
Investigators look for evidence after a home-made bomb exploded in a public bus in Guatemala City in this July 15, 2010 file photo. Central America is struggling to contain rising violence as powerful Mexican drug cartels, facing an escalating government crackdown at home, expand southward and intensify operations in neighboring nations. Daniel LeClair/Reuters/File
Backers of Bolivian President Evo Morales, who wants to expand legal markets for coca, chew leaves from the plant at a celebration in La Paz, Bolivia. David Mercado/Reuters
A neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro where police say crack cocaine users gather has been the source of an unusual probe: Authorities are looking into reports that a gang of drug traffickers is prohibiting crack sales in the area – so the police won’t come around. Ricardo Moraes/Reuters
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, shown below greeting members of the country’s special forces before he took office, stunned Latin American officials in March when he called for a complete rethink of the ‘war on drugs,’ including the option of running a legal drug market. Moises Castillo/AP/File
The military carries out random checks of vehicles in search of illicit drugs and money in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Sara Miller Llana/TCSM /File
Suspects accused of being members of the Los Zetas drug cartel, look on during sentencing in the Supreme Court of Justice in Guatemala City on June 27, 2012. 37 suspects of various nationalities accused of belonging to a group called 'Los Zetas,' are being sentenced in the Supreme Court on charges of kidnapping and murder. William Gularte/Reuters