This Friday, September 15, the decision of the United States to certify Colombia in the fight against drugs was announced.
This is one of the clearest steps to support Colombia. It is a key issue in the disbursement of resources that the United States authorizes to the country every year, and Justice Minister Néstor Osuna has confirmed in Washington DC that it has been pre-approved by the US Senate.
In this case, the required certification arises from the law that the legislature passes annually and which contains some conditions that Colombia must meet in order, strictly speaking, to receive funds from the United States.
However, the decision still raises concerns about illegal trade and the fact that coca cultivation remains at historically high levels.
It should be recalled that W Radio revealed for the first time the full document containing the Petro government’s new drug policy.
The 80-page document states: “Colombia’s National Drug Policy (2023-2033) recognizes that despite anti-drug efforts for more than half a century, results have not met expectations.” Illicit drug production is at an all-time high , global demand for old and new psychoactive substances has increased and criminal networks continue to increase their profits.”
In this sense, it is said that drug policy will have a strategy based on two paths that the government calls “oxygen” and “asphyxiation”.
‘Oxygen’
As they explain, this route specializes in areas and populations “disproportionately affected by the illicit drug market.”
According to the document, the three priorities of this pillar are:
- “Support the comprehensive transition to a legal economy and reduce the vulnerability of the areas and populations (rural and urban) dependent on and affected by the illicit drug market,” thereby transforming the economic conditions of this population.
- “Implementing environmental management and climate change measures” to, the document states, “maintain and restore areas directly and indirectly affected by the illicit drug economy.”
- Finally, the final priority is to “address the use of psychoactive substances from a public health and rights perspective.”
‘Suffocation’
On the other hand, this second path is linked to the criminal spectrum, “where military, police and punitive measures are concentrated on the strategic nodes of the criminal system, which are those that generate violence and benefit to a greater extent from this illegality.” Economy.
