Colombia’s socialist president has said cocaine ‘is no worse than whisky’ and is only illegal because it comes from Latin America – as he called for the illicit drug to be legalised around the world.
Colombia is the world’s biggest cocaine producer and exporter, mainly to the United States and Europe, and has spent decades fighting against drug trafficking.
President Gustavo Petro’s remarks came during a live broadcast of a government meeting on Tuesday, in which he also claimed that cocaine is being scapegoated by American politicians.
He stated that the illicit drug ‘is illegal because it is made in Latin America, not because it is worse than whisky.’
‘Scientists have analyzed this. Cocaine is no worse than whisky,’ he added, suggesting that the global cocaine industry could be ‘easily dismantled’ if the drug were legalized worldwide.
‘If you want peace, you have to dismantle the business (of drug trafficking),’ he said.
‘It could easily be dismantled if they legalize cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine.’
Petro also pointed out that fentanyl ‘is killing Americans and it is not made in Colombia’, referring to the opioid responsible for around 75,000 deaths in the United States a year, according to official data.
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