This year, Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina, a former
general elected as a hard-liner, dramatically reversed course and spoke
up in favor of drug legalization. This earned him extraordinary visits from
both U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and
Homeland Security Secretary Janet
Napolitano. According to Eduardo Stein, the former vice president of Guatemala, Biden said that the United States was eager to
discuss drug reform, just not at the summit, while Napolitano reportedly
plainly said, "Don't think of raising the issue at the summit." Pérez
then went ahead and called a meeting of regional leaders, who could not agree
on an alternative set of policies but decided to raise the issue in Cartagena. Pérez later said
that drug policy was the only issue discussed at the summit's final closed-door
session.