This Wednesday, September 17, the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, made a speech in which he referred to the decertification ordered by the United States government against Colombia for not meeting its expectations in the fight against drugs.
In his visibly upset statement, the Colombian president lashed out at his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, calling the punishment"a profound rudeness."
“It’s a response to the Trump administration and to the concerns of Colombians, and I’m basically referring to what I consider an injustice, a profound insult to the country that has shed the most blood to prevent US and European society from consuming so much cocaine,” said the Colombian president. In addition, he expressed in the speech that was broadcast live on public and private channels: “An insult, obviously, to my personal life, because if any political leader after Galán, Luis Carlos, has fought against drug trafficking, it has been me, at the cost of the permanent insecurity in which I have lived.”
President Petro also said that this decertification affects his political life: "From the attempted murders, from the ongoing persecution against me and my family. When a person and a family are attacked, one must undoubtedly defend oneself, and even more so when an entire society is unjustly attacked."
“Did that forced eradication work? Or were you completely wrong about the Colombian government? Because it undoubtedly poured huge amounts of poison on the peasantry, on our rivers,” the Colombian president questioned regarding the use of glyphosate for the eradication of illicit crops.
Following this, the head of state stated: “But instead of reducing the number of hectares, you increased it to 200,000, a 43% increase. That is the year the mafia won. The year you, the United States government, in another political representation, and the Duque government.”
“Figures, Mr. Trump, not ideology, you are not right-minded; I do not agree with that, I agree with the figures. And we can continue, because you have said that it is the current Colombian government that is not cooperating. Although I congratulate my"The Army, not yours; congratulate my Air Force, my Navy, and my Police, who received orders and complied more with the president elected in Colombia than with his orders, which are absolutely flawed," Petro insisted.
