Strategies To Protect The Summit Of The Americas

Cartagena de Indias is ready for the Sixth Summit of the Americas that will be held during the next weekend.

The Government along with the Colombian police are performing different strategies to improve the security for the Summit, which will be taking place in Cartagena de Indias the 14th and 15th of April. The mayor of the city, Campo Elias Terán, issued a decree which aim is taking a special control of the transport from the 13th of April. There will be not transport between 7 am and 9 pm, and around ten avenues and streets will be closed. The people, who will be driving during the forbidden hours, are going to be charged and their cars will be taken by the police.

Today also the anti-explosives crew inspects the sewers around the Historical Center as part of the security plan proposed by the authorities.

The “Heroic City” will receive thirty-three presidents from almost all the Americas countries, but is kept the exclusion for the Cuban president, Raul Castro, by the United States. This veto has created many  critics of presidents from  Ecuador (Rafael Correa) and Bolivia (Evo Morales). While the Brazilian and Argentinian governments expressed that this Summit must be the last one without the Cuban participation.  

The next Summit of the Americas will be the Sixth and its main challenges will be the creation of strategies to fight the war against drugs and the decriminalization of drugs. The last Summit was in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago from the 17th to 19th of April in 2009.