LatinNews Daily - 29 September 2025

Colombia: On 23 September Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro delivered his speech before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in which he condemned the deadly attacks which occurred off Venezuela’s coast following the US deployment of US Navy ships, and called for criminal cases to be raised against US officials, “including the utmost official, President [Donald] Trump”. Petro said that “while the real drug traffickers live in New York or Miami, the poor young people in speed boats were trying to escape poverty”. He also used the speech to trumpet his government’s achievements on efforts to fight drug trafficking, including “the largest amount of cocaine seized in the country between 2023-2024, and 700 drug traffickers extradited to the United States and European Union”. According to the UNGA statement, Petro said that his policies, which “involve substituting coca crops rather than forcing peasants to use poison to eradicate them, are more effective, unlike the violent war against drugs, which is a failure”. However, he complained that despite this, his government had been decertified by Trump – a reference to the US decision announced on 15 September. Petro said this decision had been taken “without human right, or divine right, or a sensible reason”, because Washington wanted to “force tens of thousands of peasants to carry out its foreign policy, which is influenced by mafia groups in Colombia.”

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