“If we don't react, we are at risk of being virtually taken by their gangs, with consequences that will transcend local spaces and will turn into a clear challenge to international security,” Laura Chinchilla Miranda said.

She told the opening day of the General Assembly's high-level debate that the illicit drug trade puts in jeopardy the development gains posted by many Central American countries in recent years.

“From being just a transit point, due to our geographical location between the great drug producers of the south and the great consumers of the north, ours have been becoming, with different degrees, countries that produce, traffic and consume drugs.

“We are not free today of any of the manifestations of the drug trade, which has extended its tentacles to many areas of our social life. Youngsters, in their schools and neighbourhoods, see their future menaced by the easy offer of drugs; our health systems are overwhelmed by the problem of addiction; the integrity of our institutions is menaced by corruption and aggression, and violence reaches never-seen levels.”

Ms. Chinchilla Miranda said it was time for countries to both better coordinate their anti-drug strategies and to overhaul their existing policies, many of which had failed.

“I call to the highest drug-consuming countries so that they undertake more effective actions against such major problems, and cooperate with the countries suffering from a malaise we have not created.

“I make an urgent call for worldwide solidarity in this chore, and for multilateral organizations to develop an agenda more integral in its strategies, more balanced on its resources and responsibilities, and better supervised through its development. If no new efforts germinate in a vigorous manner, we will repent very soon of the inaction.”