Colombian President Gustavo Petro claimed Tuesday that cocaine is only illegal around the world because it’s produced in Latin American countries, and that legalizing it would help strip power from cartels.
“Cocaine is illegal because it’s made in Latin America. Not because it’s worse than whiskey,” Petro said at a roundtable with his cabinet on Tuesday. “The scientists analyzed this,” he added, “It’s not worse than whiskey.”
In a Council of Ministers meeting, Petro and his cabinet broadcasted live on Colombian television as they discussed different national interest issues on Tuesday. His comments suggesting that cocaine is only illegal because of political interests and not the lethality and addictive nature of the drug have sparked controversy.
The National Center for Biological Technology Information noted that “cocaine can adversely affect every organ in the body” and that “patients who abuse cocaine risk life-threatening consequences.” Some of the consequences included were severe hypertension, stroke, heart failure, seizures, hyperthermia, acute coronary syndrome and many more.
During a meeting session on black markets and drug policies, Petro said that fentanyl is the real problem, and that criminal organizations in Colombia could be “easily dismantled if cocaine were to be legalized around the world.” He also argued that underage consumption would not be an issue, as cocaine “could be sold like wine.”
This was the first time Colombia had live streamed a meeting like this, and after resulting in “rancor” and “acrimony,” it was cut short to instead show a youth soccer match, according to Bloomberg.
Petro has said numerous times over the years that Latin America has been oppressed by wealthy governments like the U.S., a claim that reemerged late last month during the exchanged tariff threats between Colombia and the U.S.
After Petro refused to accept illegal migrants living in the U.S. back to Colombia, President Donald Trump announced a 25-50% tariff threat on Jan. 26. Around an hour later, the Colombian government confirmed that it had had arranged a plane to transport the illegal migrants back to their home country.
Despite this agreement, Petro announced a retaliatory threat on the U.S. if Trump were to enact the proposed tariffs, and unleashed a long rant on X. In it, Petro said he would “resist” and described Trump as a “slaveholder” who views Colombians as an “inferior race.”
“I don’t shake hands with white slavers,” Petro continued, saying that “maybe one day, over a glass of whiskey” he could speak with Trump about these issues, though the alcohol might upset his “gastritis.”
Trump, a mi no me gusta mucho viajar a los EEUU, es un poco aburridor, pero confieso que hay cosas meritorias, me gusta ir a los barrios negros de Washington, allí ví una lucha entera en la capital de los EEUU entre negros y latinos con barricadas, que me pareció una pendejada,…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 26, 2025
“Petro’s so-called ‘battle against the empire’ lasted no more than three hours,” Colombian congressman Christian Garcés told The Latin Times on Wednesday. “Obviously, mistreating Colombia’s main trade partner would mean destroying the Colombian economy.”
It is estimated that around 240,000 illegal migrants from Colombia were in the U.S. as of 2022, according to the most recent report from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics. This estimate is likely outdated, as illegal migration further surged throughout 2023 and 2024 under former President Joe Biden.
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