Colombian President Gustavo Petro Seeks To Legal Cocaine After Production Spikes 53%: ‘No Worse Than Whiskey’

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said cocaine is “no worse than whiskey” and is only illegal because “it’s made in Latin America.” Colombia is by far the largest producer and exporter of cocaine. Its production increased under Petro’s presidency by 53% in 2023, a record high according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

“If you want peace, you have to dismantle the business [of drug trafficking],” he said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday night. “It could easily be dismantled if they legalize cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine.”

Under Petro’s leadership, military and police operations targeting cocoa farmers have been significantly reduced to focus on seizures of drug shipments at sea.

Petro’s statements reflect his stance that traditional anti-drug policies had failed to curb trafficking. He also highlighted that fentanyl is what is “killing Americans,” and it “is not made in Colombia.” Fentanyl is responsible for the death of over 70,000 Americans each year.

“Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals,” and those who consumed it “became addicted,” Petro added.

President Donald Trump has also taken a strong line against drug trafficking, fentanyl in particular, which resulted in threats to tariff Mexican goods.

This comes after the longtime allies, the U.S. and Colombia, nearly avoided a trade war when the Colombian government refused to accept military flights carrying deported migrants from the U.S.

Nicholas Watson, Latin America managing director at public relations company Teneo, said on Wednesday, “If the idea to televise the cabinet meeting was conceived as a way to show Petro as unruffled by the crisis with the US over tariffs that he triggered on 26 January, it backfired spectacularly.”

Also on Wednesday, ministers of Petro’s cabinet resigned. Other cabinet members criticized his statements as “unsustainable.” Petro addressed the matter in an Instagram post, alluding to the idea that the resigned officials were aiming for his spot in the 2026 presidential election.