In his speech, President Gustavo Petro urged the United States and other developed countries to change their drug policy. According to him, the current line has fueled violent conflicts in Colombia.
Colombia the first leftist president Gustavo Petro declared the war on drugs a failure in his inaugural address.
The news was reported by the British broadcasting company BBC, a newspaper The Guardian and Reuters news agency.
Petro told a crowd of supporters in Colombia’s capital, Bogota, on Sunday that it was time for a new global convention to acknowledge that the war on drugs had failed.
“As a result, over 40 years, one million Latin Americans have died. And 70,000 North Americans die from overdoses every year,” Petro said in his speech.
In addition, Petro urged the United States and other developed countries to change their drug policy, which has focused on banning substances such as cocaine. According to Petro, the current line of politics has fueled violent conflicts in Colombia and other Latin American countries.
Read more: The first left-wing president was elected in Colombia – former left-wing extremist Gustavo Petro gets his hands on a country ravaged by poverty
“Drug abuse is the number one public enemy of the United States,” declared Richard Nixon in 1971.
Over 50 years ago, the then President of the United States Richard Nixon launched a global anti-drug strategy that emphasized the criminalization of drugs and the use of police forces.
Eventually, Nixon’s strategy came to be known as the War on Drugs.
According to Colombia’s new president, the war on drugs has only strengthened the power of organized crime and weakened Latin American countries for decades.
In Colombia, which is estimated to produce more than half of the world’s cocaine, criminal groups and local law enforcement are heavily involved in drug production and transportation to different parts of the world.
Gustavo Petro’s predecessor Ivan Duque made the war on drugs a top priority of his government and secured significant support from the United States to crack down on cocaine production in rural Colombia.
Petro has said he wants to work with the United States as “equal partners” to build infrastructure in rural Colombia, where many farmers say coca leaves are the only viable crop.
Over 100,000 Petro supporters gathered in Bogota’s main square on Sunday to watch the former Marxist rebel make history by being sworn in as Colombia’s first left-wing leader.
Petro’s presidency marks a major political change in the country, which has been led by moderate and conservative politicians for decades.
“I don’t want two countries, just as I don’t want two societies, but a strong, just and united Colombia,” Petro said after taking the oath of office.
Petro was elected vice president Francia Marquezwho is the first black woman in Colombian history to serve as vice president.
Francia Márquez elected Vice President of Colombia.
In his election program, Petro promised Colombians policies that reduce inequality, free university education and pension reforms.
He also promised to fully implement the 2016 peace deal that ended the 50-year conflict with the communist Farc guerrilla group. In addition, Petro promised to strive for negotiations with the still active ELN rebels.
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