Drago << DRAH goh >>, Luis María (1859-1921), an Argentine statesman and jurist, supported the principle that became known as the Drago Doctrine. Drago was minister of foreign affairs in 1902, when the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy aroused Latin America by blockading Venezuelan ports. Drago argued that no European country could use public debt as an excuse for armed intervention or for the occupation of American territory. The Hague Peace Conference of 1907 accepted his doctrine.
Drago was born in Buenos Aires on May 6, 1859. He studied law and became a judge of both the civil and criminal courts. The United Kingdom and the United States asked him to arbitrate the Atlantic fisheries dispute in 1909 and 1910. An expert in international law, Drago served on the Permanent Court of International Justice from 1912 to 1916. Drago died on June 9, 1921.
