In late 2011, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos became
one of the first sitting world leaders to oppose the war on drugs. "A new
approach should try and take away the violent profit that comes with drug
trafficking," Santos told
the Observer in 2011. "If that means legalizing [drugs] ... I will welcome it." According
to Engle, up to that point, most Latin American leaders who urged their countries to rethink drug policy had waited until
retirement.
In this photo, taken on Feb. 22, Santos arrives at the Justice House in Commune 13, one of the shantytowns in Medellín, Colombia with the highest rates of urban violence and displacement due to disputes between gangs.
RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images
