Duval Times

President Gustavo Petro's policies endanger two decades of progress in Colombia, according to a statement made on May 16, 2024. The ELN terrorist group announced on May 6 that it was resuming kidnappings because the Colombian government did not yield to its absurd demands. This is the latest death sentence for President Petro's "Total Peace" initiative aimed at appeasing drug traffickers and narcoterrorists.

Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla, campaigned for the presidency with a platform of greater equality and justice. However, since his election, the biggest winners have been drug traffickers and human traffickers. Now as president, Petro reneges on his campaign promises and prepares to rewrite the Colombian constitution in his favor. All this while his policies prove counterproductive and jeopardize two decades of progress in Colombia.

Foreign Terrorist Organizations, specifically the ELN and FARC, used terrorism and kidnappings to extort the Colombian government. This took more than 10,000 lives, including nearly 4,000 civilians. Drug traffickers thrived amid chaos, with Colombia supplying up to 90% of global cocaine.

This began to change when the U.S. invested over $10 billion to help the Colombian government restore security through Plan Colombia. Even former President Obama's liberal administration vouched for the success of this program. Former Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted that Plan Colombia "transformed a country on the brink of collapse into a strong institutional democracy with historically low levels of violence."

In contrast, President Petro has rolled back these achievements. He even convinced the Biden Administration to release murderer Salvatore Mancuso from a U.S prison; he is now free. President Petro has also appeased drug cartels by ordering his troops to eradicate coca by hand only, which hinders efforts to eliminate crops. The result? Both murderers and drug traffickers "expanded their territorial control, improved their recruitment power, and diversified their income."

Last year, terrorist-related homicides increased by 72% depending on the region, while nationwide kidnappings increased by 77% and extortion by nearly 15%. And now that "Total Peace" has crumbled, more crimes can be projected—including more incidents of sexual exploitation in Colombia, a topic tragically in the news spotlight.

Drug trafficking in Colombia incentivized mobsters who attacked a news broadcast in Ecuador during its live airing earlier this year. There are also reasons to believe that Colombian arms traffickers are supplying anarchic forces in Haiti. In summary, President Petro's failures bode ill for societies in our region.

I urge President Joe Biden to respond firmly to his Colombian counterpart. American taxpayers should not be responsible for aiding the poor policies of weak leaders. Moreover, we should never again relinquish our right to reject the extradition of Colombian mobsters or terrorists who have violated U.S laws, as we did with Salvatore Mancuso. Combining appeasement with concessions only amplifies the misery that follows.