Colombia’s Petro accuses U.S. of hypocrisy over drug policy and trade restrictions: Video
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has criticised the United States for what he described as a contradictory approach to global drug policy, accusing Trump of blocking Colombia’s legal cannabis exports while turning a blind eye to its own deadly fentanyl crisis.
Speaking during a national address, Petro said U.S. federal restrictions preventing Colombia from exporting medical cannabis had deprived the country of a peaceful, sustainable alternative to the cocaine trade.
“The U.S. federal government does not allow Colombian cannabis to be exported, which could have been a great opportunity to reduce these ‘red zones’,” he said, referring to regions hit hardest by drug-related violence.
Petro contrasted Washington’s stance with the scale of its domestic opioid crisis, saying, “They are essentially supporting a mafia inside the United States that produces fentanyl… consumed within the U.S. with an effect that multiplies by 30 the deaths that cocaine used to cause, reaching 100,000 deaths a year.”
The Colombian leader, who has sought to redefine his country’s relations with the U.S., framed the issue as one of double standards, arguing that the same nations calling for drug reform continue to impose trade barriers that hurt developing economies. “Look at what happens with the ‘green,’ the cannabis product hasn’t been produced for three years; it has been abandoned,” Petro said.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
