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For the first time a Marxist in charge of Colombia: The war on cocaine has failed

2022-08-08 17:57:50Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
For the first time a Marxist in charge of Colombia: The war on cocaine has
New Colombian President Gustavo Petro

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for a new global strategy to combat illegal drug trafficking.

Speaking at his inauguration, the left-wing Marxist leader in the country has declared the "war on drugs" so far a failure.

Hundreds of thousands of people died in Colombia's decade-old civil war, driven in part by the cocaine trade.

The 62-year-old former mayor of Bogota and former rebel fighter was elected in June in a radical manifesto promising to fight inequality and ban new oil projects from foreign companies.

He told his supporters in Bogota that it is time for a new global convention that "acknowledges that the war on drugs has failed". "It has left one million Latin Americans dead over 40 years," he said, "and leaves 70,000 North Americans dead from overdoses every year."

More than 50 years ago, US President Richard Nixon launched a global anti-narcotics strategy highlighting the criminalization and use of police force, which became known as the "war on drugs".

Colombia's newly sworn-in president said the strategy had simply strengthened the power of mafia gangs and weakened Latin American states over the decades.

In Colombia, which is estimated to produce more than half of the world's cocaine, criminal groups and local militias are heavily involved in producing and transporting drugs to consumers worldwide – including in the US and Europe.

Petro's predecessor, Ivan Duque, made the war on drugs a key priority of his government - seeking considerable U.S. support to crack down on cocaine production across Colombian villages.

More than 100,000 supporters gathered in Bogota's main square on Sunday to see the former Marxist rebel sworn in as Colombia's first leftist President.

He will serve with Francia Márquez, who was elected along with Mr. Petro to serve as Colombia's first colored vice president.

"I don't want two countries, just as I don't want two societies, I want a strong, just and united Colombia," Mr Petro said after the swearing-in.

The June vote was held amid widespread discontent with the way the country was run, and there were anti-government protests last year in which dozens of people died.

The new leader was elected in a radical manifesto to fight inequality by offering free university education, pension reforms and high taxes on nonproductive lands - a departure for Colombia, which has so far voted only conservative sitting presidents.


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