Gustavo Petro says the drug is just unlawful as a result of it’s produced in Latin America
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has claimed that cocaine is not any worse than whiskey, arguing that the drug’s illegality stems from its Latin American origin slightly than its results. Petro made the remarks amid tensions with US President Donald Trump’s administration over deportation insurance policies and up to date threats to impose commerce tariffs.
Colombia has lengthy been related to cocaine manufacturing, with important parts of the worldwide provide originating from the nation. The drug is constituted of the leaves of the coca plant, native to Latin America.
“Cocaine is illegitimate not as a result of it’s worse than whiskey, however as a result of it’s produced in Latin America,” Petro mentioned throughout a cupboard assembly on Tuesday. The president apparently used whiskey for the comparability as a result of the US is a number one producer and exporter.
Petro went on to argue that the “enterprise” from prison organizations engaged in drug trafficking could possibly be “simply dismantled if cocaine have been to be legalized around the globe.”
“It could possibly be offered like wine,” he mentioned, claiming that the earnings could possibly be used to forestall underage consumption.
Cocaine is a robust stimulant that may result in habit and extreme well being points. It isn’t authorized for leisure use anyplace on this planet. Extreme alcohol consumption has additionally been confirmed to result in habit and a variety of significant well being points.
Petro’s remarks are consistent with his broader criticism of US insurance policies, which he has described as oppressive towards Latin America and which place the area at an financial drawback.
Final month, he described Trump and different American leaders as “slaveholders” who see Colombians as an “inferior race.”
Trump angered Bogota by launching deportations of Colombian migrants and threatening the nation with steep tariffs if it didn’t comply. Petro initially refused to simply accept deportees however backed down when Trump threatened a 25% emergency tariff on all Colombian items getting into the US and sanctions on officers.
The US is Bogota’s largest buying and selling accomplice, with round $12 billion price of Colombian items getting into the US yearly.
Trump has linked migration to drug-related crime, a declare that Petro has rejected. In line with the Colombian chief, artificial opioid fentanyl, not cocaine, is the issue within the US.
Initially developed for extreme ache administration, fentanyl is 50 occasions stronger than heroin and 100 occasions stronger than morphine. Illicitly manufactured fentanyl has flooded the US drug market, resulting in skyrocketing numbers of opioid-related deaths.
Trump has attributed the fentanyl disaster primarily to exterior sources, notably China, Mexico, and Canada. He has imposed tariffs on imports from these nations in response. Trump has since delayed tariffs on Mexico and Canada till March, after the 2 nations agreed to strengthen patrols of the borders they share with the US.
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