Colombia is convinced of the preservation of the United States as its partner and the promises are not surprising changes in the focus of the bilateral agenda promoted by the first left-wing government of President Gustavo Pedro.
“There is a new head of state that has a speech, but it is not surprising. It will never be a surprise on our part with the relationship with our long-term partner, which is the United States of America”, Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán said on Monday in the organization of the 10th High-Level Dialogue between Colombia and the United States. which takes place in Washington.
Again, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, highlighted the strong relationship that both countries have shared over two centuries of relations and “expanded” by governments. He added that they seem to have a common basis for a vibrant democracy.
Leyva Durán emphasized that the bilateral agenda in the High-Level Dialogue should be varied and no longer focus only on the fight against drugs, but also on the environment, migration, economic opportunities and promoting energy.
“We were in the Coca region, today we are one of the great sponges to solve the possible removal of the human race on the planet, we are saving the planet,” said Leyva.
Blinken stated that the United States wants to help Colombia achieve its climate ambitions with protection of the Amazon and technical assistance in solar and wind energy projects.
Regarding the counternarcotics policy, Blinken stated that he works in a “holistic approach” in which they study how to reduce the demand for drugs by investing in the prevention of substance abuse and the treatment of those who struggle with addictions, because “This is it.” fundamentally a public health problem. “
Blinken added that it is also about discussing ways to reduce the supply, which is why he proposed to strengthen the ban on the land and sea drug trade and to provide vulnerable communities with alternative ways of earning a living.
Peter proposed to modify the anti-narcotics policy considering that “the war on drugs has failed” under the approach of the prohibitionists, for which reason he proposes to increase the power of interdiction, to arrest the intelligence of large drug dealers and to stop the persecution of small ones. The Coca-Cola Company proposes laws and programs to replace illegal products.
Colombia has reached a historic level of 204,000 hectares of coca leaf planted in 2021, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Leyva stated that in the second semester of this year he will attend the Latin American conference on drug trafficking which “is no longer a Colombian issue”. And he noted: “A multinational crime-trafficking is hitting the continent.”
