NCJ Number
145230
Journal
Crime, Law, and Social Change Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: (July 1993) Pages: 1-12
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in U.S. v. Machain that American law enforcement officers can enter the sovereign territory of other countries to legally abduct violators of U.S. drug laws.
Abstract
After the decision, the ruling ayatollahs in Iran declared they could kidnap violators of Islamic law and take them back to Iran to stand trial; according to this author, kidnapping has become an accepted tool of international law enforcement. Using the involvement of Colonel Oliver North in the Iran-Contra scandal, the author makes the case that high- ranking U.S. officials have been violating drug laws for decades. Therefore, countries like Costa Rica, which are trying to prosecute drug law violators, should be able to try officials like North whom they believe are guilty of aiding and abetting, conspiracy, misprision of a felony, and perjury, committed in pursuit of American foreign policy goals. If the U.S. is not willing either to extradite North or to conduct a proper domestic narcotic conspiracy investigation, then, according to the author, law enforcement officers would be obliged and allowed to kidnap North and bring him to justice. 31 notes