Colombia maintains forced eradication of illegal crops: Petro

The president of the republic, Gustavo Petro, has clarified his anti-drug policy and revealed that the forced eradication of illegal crops in the country will continue during his administration.

This announcement was made by Petro after a meeting with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who in the press conference outlined the red lines of the US administration following the recent speeches by the Colombian president who criticized the anti-drug policies of the United States. the United States. .

Petro stressed that crops that do not belong to the farmers will be eradicated and that he will not use glyphosate spray.

“Industrial crops must be eradicated by force. There is no one to negotiate with to replace these crops. What is happening is that they will not be fumigated from the air which makes the problem more dangerous for the people doing the forced extermination and it is a cost that we have to bear. But the forced eradication continues in industrial crops that are not owned by farmers,” said Gustavo Petro.

Faced with this, Blinken indicated that “the Petro-government’s comprehensive approach” will be firmly supported in the fight against drugs.

It should be noted that Petro had said that in his administration he would “immediately implement the comprehensive national program for the substitution of illegal crops, supplemented with land replacement, and projects for the agro-industrialization of legal crops owned by the farmers”.

Petro asked the United States for support in two areas: increased surveillance of the drug exiting Colombia by air and sea; and “increase intelligence capacity to catch drug traffickers.”

Petro also blamed the United States for keeping Cuba on the list of countries that promote terrorism, in which it is at the request of former Colombian President Iván Duque for receiving the negotiators of the guerrilla fighters of the National Liberation Army (Eln ).

He said it is “an injustice” as it was the Colombian government of Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) who asked the island to organize peace negotiations first with the FARC and then with the ELN.

But Blinken insisted his government adheres to “clear criteria, clear laws and clear requirements” when placing a country on that list, which entails the application of sanctions.

Finally, the Colombian president requested Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from his country who are in the United States. “I believe Colombians need a TPS,” Petro told the US official, which is home to an estimated 2.6 million Colombians and has seen a significant increase in arrests of migrants from our country at the border this year.