A “Peace” caravan led by Mexican poet Javier Sicilia is planning to travel over 6,000 miles across the U.S. to raise awareness among Americans about the destruction The War on Drugs is wreaking in Mexico. The caravan will take almost a month to make the trip from California to Washington D.C.

The Drug Policy Alliance put out a press release recently detailing the caravan, and it read in part:

Mexico City, D.F.—As the number of innocent people who continue to die in Mexico because of the failed war on drugs rises to 71,000 , the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) has announced that it will lead a month-long “Caravan for Peace” across the United States to draw attention to the misguided drug war policies that have caused a crisis of violence and impunity. The MPJD and dozens of organizations from both countries are joining together to coordinate the Caravan, a more than 6,000-mile journey, leaving San Diego, CA, on August 12^th and arriving in Washington, D.C., on September 10^th.

Led by victims of the drug war on both sides of the border, the Caravan aims to inspire U.S. civil society to stem the flow of weapons into Mexico, to support humane and health-oriented alternatives to drug prohibition, and to demand more effective, non-violent security strategies. Bi-national respect for justice and human dignity lies at the heart of this initiative, making humane immigration policy another central concern of the Caravan.

On Monday June 18^th, organizers will hold a live press conference in Mexico City (and subsequent international teleconference) to formally announce “#CaravanaUSA”. The conferences will feature speakers from Mexico and the U.S., including renowned mexican poet Javier Sicilia, other family members of victims of the violence, and a diverse group of supporters from across the U.S. that includes the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), Border Angels, Latin America Working Group (LAWG), Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Presente.org, Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Global Exchange.

The violence in Mexico has reached unheard-of levels, all because of the massive black market in the United States that feeds the power and coffers of the cartels. These cartels have our neighbor to the south in their clutches, and it’s just a  matter of time before the U.S. is torn apart as well.

There will only be peace when the drug war is ended and the black market collapses.

- Joe Klare