Colombia's President Gustavo Petro slams US policies on drugs, migration

​​​​​​​By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro delivered a fiery address to the 80th UN General Assembly that directly challenged the policies of the US, prompting the American delegation to walk out.

Petro began with accusations against US President Donald Trump, asserting that his anti-migration policies "obey the same cause: migration is an excuse for a rich, white and racist society to be created by a superior race."

He then directly questioned the US' anti-drug strategy, framing it not as a fight against narcotics but as a means to control the poorest countries.

Citing the 17 victims of recent US military strikes in the Caribbean, Petro said it was "possible that there are dead Colombians" among them.

"Innocent young people are being murdered with missiles ordered by a President of the United States. It's not a war against drug traffickers, but a war against the poor of the south," he said.

Petro claimed the US anti-drug policy, along with the "genocide in Gaza" and anti-migration policies, are all connected. He charged that some of Trump's political advisors are, in fact, "allies of the cocaine mafia."

Petro compared the situation in the Gaza Strip to the experiments of Adlof Hitler.

"What they are doing in Gaza is an experiment like Hitler's, when he began to test gas chambers and concentration camps," he said, asking the UN to form an armed peace force to stop the violence.

The Colombian president criticized the US for its decision to "decertify" Colombia in the anti-drug fight.

"I am a president decertified by a foreign government. What international right can a president of another country ignore a representative elected by his country?" Petro said, questioning the White House's announcement to remove Colombia from the list of nations cooperating on anti-drug efforts.