After meeting Gustavo Petro and Joe Biden at the White HouseAdvisor to the US President Juan González spoke on Thursday, April 20th, on the issues discussed by both Presidents. At the meeting, the two heads of state discussed economic relations between Colombia and the United States, anti-drug policies, Amazon rainforest restoration and clean energy in the region.
According to González, “The meeting with Petro was good and positive, the conversation was very fluid and extensive.” Indeed, at the end of the day “the mood was optimistic because they agreed on the goals. One topic they agreed on was work on connecting electrical networks in the hemisphere‘ the official said in an interview with W Radio.
What were the conclusions on the anti-drug policy?
According to Gustavo Petro, both countries “agree to build a much more effective drug policy, where the peasantry can have better guarantees or conditions to produce something other than coca leaves”.
That is why the two senior leaders have put on the table the creation of a new agrarian reform that will not attack the peasant population, but the economic structure of the drug dealers. “The farmer is not a threat, it is the money that Coca puts in the pockets of criminal groups that have been threatening the state and attacking the Colombian peoplebut we have very positive discussions with Colombia on this,” González told Caracol Radio.
Finally, According to González, while fentanyl is not a drug made in Colombia, fighting drug trafficking could reduce the substance’s impact in countries like Mexico and the United States. “The fight against fentanyl is the key to the conversation with Colombia, the key is how to design an anti-drug policy that shows impact, how the policy will impact on this issue,” González stressed.