'I Come From A Country Of Bloodied Beauty': Colombia's President Demands UN End The War On Drugs

By Franca Quarneti via El Planteo

Gustavo Petro, who recently took office as president of Colombia, made his first speech before the United Nations (UN) and denounced the failure of the war on drugs.

"I come from one of the most beautiful countries on earth," he said. "There, in the mountains and valleys of all the greens, not only do the abundant waters flow down but also the torrents of blood. I come from a country of bloody beauty. It is not only beautiful but there is also violence there."

"Who is responsible for breaking the spell with terror?" questioned Petro, addressing consumer countries.

Save The Amazon Rainforest

Thus, accusing developed countries of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the exploitation of its natural resources, Gustavo Petro, who assumed the presidency of Colombia last August 7, declared: "My country does not interest you if not to throw poisons into their jungles, take their men to jail and throw their women into exclusion".

"They are not interested in the child's education, but rather in killing its jungle and extracting the coal and oil from its entrails."

Ending the Irrational War on Drugs

In addition, the leftist high commander spoke of how the attempt to destroy coca crops, which he called "the sacred crop of the Incas," is destroying the Amazon.

"What is more poisonous to human beings - cocaine, coal, or oil?" he questioned.

"The dictum of power has ordered that cocaine is the poison and must be pursued, even if it only causes minimal deaths by overdose and even more by the mixtures caused by its clandestine dictum. But, on the other hand, coal and oil must be protected, even if their use could extinguish all humanity. These are the things of world power, things of injustice, things of irrationality because world power has become irrational," he added.

Moreover, during what was the most fervent presentation of the day at the UN, the former mayor of Bogota directly called for an end to the war on drugs.

"I demand from here, from my wounded Latin America, to end the irrational War on Drugs".

"Decreasing drug consumption does not need wars, it needs all of us to build a better society: a more solidary, more affectionate society, where the intensity of life saves us from addictions and new slavery."

"Do you want fewer drugs? Think about less profit and more love. Think about a rational exercise of power," Petro continued. "We serve them to excuse the emptiness and loneliness of their own society that lead them to live in the midst of drug bubbles. We hide from them the problems that they refuse to reform," concluded the 62-year-old politician and economist.

Watch Gustavo Petro's full speech at the UN

Photo via CNN