International
Colombia breaks coca-growing record, slams ‘war on drugs’
| By AFP |
Colombia, the world’s leading cocaine producer, broke its own record for coca leaf cultivation in 2021, a UN body said Thursday, as the government highlighted the “failure” of the US-led war on drugs.
There was “an increase of 43 percent in the area planted with coca… from 143,000 hectares in 2020 to 204,000 ha in 2021,” the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a statement.
This was the highest figure since the UNODC started monitoring Colombia’s cocaine production 21 years ago.
The increase in coca cultivation went hand-in-hand with a rise in cocaine production from 1,010 tons in 2020 to 1,400 tons last year, destined mainly for the United States and Europe.
This continued an “upward trend that has been consolidating since 2014,” said the UNODC.
At the presentation of the report in Bogota, Justice Minister Nestor Osuna said the numbers were clear evidence “of the failure of the war on drugs.”
He said the government was working on a new drug policy, which for now would not include legalizing cocaine.
But he expressed the hope that “one day” the cocaine trade will be regulated at a global level.
As part of a new approach, Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro has mooted an amnesty for drug traffickers willing to give themselves up and abandon the trade.
He has also proposed purchasing arable land to redistribute to small farmers to make a living from legal crops, free from the violent yoke of the drug gangs they rely on to make a living.
‘Holistic approach’
Petro considers small-scale coca growers the victims of a state that for years poisoned their land with pesticides to eradicate the illegal plantations.
Thousands of coca growers and pickers are behind bars on trafficking charges in Colombia.
Petro’s predecessor, Ivan Duque, had been a key ally of the drug war led by the United States — the world’s leading cocaine consumer.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Petro in Colombia, saying afterwards they shared “extensive common ground,” despite the new president’s change of tack.
“We strongly support the holistic approach the Petro administration is taking,” Blinken said after the meeting.
“On both the enforcement side but also on the comprehensive approach to the problem… I think that we’re largely in sync,” he added.
The UNODC said coca cultivation “continues to threaten the cultural potential of the country and its biodiversity,” contributing to deforestation.
Half of the plantations are in special management areas, it said, and a high percentage on the lands of black communities and in forest reserve areas.
International
Colombian president Gustavo Petro warns against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela
Colombian President Gustavo Petro defended his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro after the U.S. administration labeled him as the leader of the “Cartel of the Suns” and authorized the Pentagon to use military force against drug cartels, which could lead to an intervention on Venezuelan soil to combat these criminal groups. Petro stated that any military operation without the approval of Colombia or Venezuela would represent an “aggression.”
Petro responded over the weekend following reports on Friday from U.S. media about President Donald Trump’s order to confront designated global terrorist organizations such as the Cartel of the Suns, the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Tren de Aragua, including operations on foreign soil. Furthermore, the U.S. State Department increased the reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture from $25 million to $50 million.
“I publicly convey my order given as commander of the Colombian armed forces. Colombia and Venezuela are one people, one flag, one history. Any military operation without the approval of the brother countries is an aggression against Latin America and the Caribbean. It is fundamentally contradictory to our principle of freedom. ‘Freedom or death,’ Bolívar shouted, and the people revolted,” Petro posted on his social media, clearly expressing his disagreement with potential U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview on The World Over program on Friday that controlling these terrorist groups is decisive. He added that, for the U.S., these gangs are no longer just local street gangs but well-organized criminal enterprises spreading from Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador.
“We cannot continue treating these guys as local street gangs. They have weapons like terrorists, in some cases they have armies. They control territories in many cases. These cartels extend from Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, which is not a legitimate government,” Rubio told the audience.
International
U.S. offers $5 million reward for arrest of haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier
The United States announced on Tuesday a $5 million reward for the arrest of Haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, accused of violating U.S. sanctions. Haiti, the poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean, is engulfed in a political crisis and a wave of armed gang violence, which an international security mission led by Kenya is trying to end.
Cherizier, 48, and Bazile Richardson have been formally charged with attempting to transfer funds from the United States to Haiti to finance gang activities, the Department of Justice reported.
“There is a good reason to offer a $5 million reward for information leading to Cherizier’s arrest,” said federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro at a press conference.
“He is a gang leader responsible for atrocious human rights violations, including violence against U.S. citizens in Haiti,” she added.
Cherizier has been subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions since 2020 and UN sanctions since 2022.
International
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to meet Guatemalan leader Bernardo Arévalo next friday
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Monday that she will hold her first bilateral meeting with her Guatemalan counterpart, Bernardo Arévalo, next Friday.
During her press conference at the National Palace, Sheinbaum detailed that the August 15 meeting will include a brief visit to Guatemala, followed by a trilateral meeting with Belize’s Prime Minister, Juan Antonio Briceño, in Calakmul, Campeche, in southeastern Mexico.
Sheinbaum explained that the meeting was proposed by Arévalo during a phone call last Friday, in which the Guatemalan president invited her to visit Guatemala.
The agenda will begin on Thursday night when Sheinbaum travels to Chetumal to lead her morning press conference on Friday.
Afterwards, she will travel to Guatemala for the bilateral meeting with Arévalo, then return to Calakmul to meet Belize’s Prime Minister Briceño for a trilateral meeting with Arévalo.
Later, Sheinbaum will hold a bilateral meeting with the Belizean leader.
The president announced that many agreements will be announced during the meetings with the southern border countries but avoided providing details to keep them as a surprise for that day.
Colombian president Gustavo Petro warns against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela
U.S. offers $5 million reward for arrest of haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier
Honduras condemns U.S. reward against Nicolás Maduro as baseless attacks
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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