International

Colombia breaks coca-growing record, slams ‘war on drugs’

Photo: Raul Arboleda / AFP

| 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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.

International

Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition

he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.

Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”

International

Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may

The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.

The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”

The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”

Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.

The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.