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Colombia breaks coca-growing record, slams ‘war on drugs’

Photo: Raul Arboleda / AFP

| By AFP |

Colombia, the world’s leading cocaine producer, broke its own record for coca leaf cultivation in 2021, a UN body said Thursday, as the government highlighted the “failure” of the US-led war on drugs.

There was “an increase of 43 percent in the area planted with coca… from 143,000 hectares in 2020 to 204,000 ha in 2021,” the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a statement.

This was the highest figure since the UNODC started monitoring Colombia’s cocaine production 21 years ago.

The increase in coca cultivation went hand-in-hand with a rise in cocaine production from 1,010 tons in 2020 to 1,400 tons last year, destined mainly for the United States and Europe.

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This continued an “upward trend that has been consolidating since 2014,” said the UNODC.

At the presentation of the report in Bogota, Justice Minister Nestor Osuna said the numbers were clear evidence “of the failure of the war on drugs.”

He said the government was working on a new drug policy, which for now would not include legalizing cocaine.

But he expressed the hope that “one day” the cocaine trade will be regulated at a global level.

As part of a new approach, Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro has mooted an amnesty for drug traffickers willing to give themselves up and abandon the trade.

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He has also proposed purchasing arable land to redistribute to small farmers to make a living from legal crops, free from the violent yoke of the drug gangs they rely on to make a living.

‘Holistic approach’

Petro considers small-scale coca growers the victims of a state that for years poisoned their land with pesticides to eradicate the illegal plantations.

Thousands of coca growers and pickers are behind bars on trafficking charges in Colombia.

Petro’s predecessor, Ivan Duque, had been a key ally of the drug war led by the United States — the world’s leading cocaine consumer.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Petro in Colombia, saying afterwards they shared “extensive common ground,” despite the new president’s change of tack.

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“We strongly support the holistic approach the Petro administration is taking,” Blinken said after the meeting.

“On both the enforcement side but also on the comprehensive approach to the problem… I think that we’re largely in sync,” he added.

The UNODC said coca cultivation “continues to threaten the cultural potential of the country and its biodiversity,” contributing to deforestation.

Half of the plantations are in special management areas, it said, and a high percentage on the lands of black communities and in forest reserve areas.

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Central America

El Salvador extends condolences to Turkey following deadly hotel fire

The Government of El Salvador extends its condolences and expresses solidarity with the Government of Turkey following the death of at least 76 people and more than 50 injuries in the fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Province on January 21.

“El Salvador offers its hopes for the swift recovery of those affected and expresses its deepest sympathy to the families of the deceased due to this tragic event,” said a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Our country reaffirms the strong bonds of friendship shared with the Republic of Turkey, especially during this time of profound sorrow.”

The Turkish government began burying the victims on Wednesday, amid accusations of negligence.

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International

Trump’s decree to halt electric vehicle subsidies and support combustion engines

A presidential decree signed on Monday after the inauguration aims to bring internal combustion engines back to the forefront and suspend federal subsidies for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in the United States.

Other measures could follow, such as the elimination of a federal tax credit for those purchasing electric vehicles, or the cancellation of an exemption that allows California to have stricter automotive standards than the rest of the country.

Upon taking office, Trump stated that he intends to end the “Green New Deal,” an initiative that includes the incentives promoted by Biden to stimulate electric vehicle sales.

Shares of electric vehicle manufacturers like Rivian and charging equipment providers such as EVgo fell on the stock market. Tesla, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, also saw a decline.

For Kathy Harris, director of the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), which focuses on clean energy vehicles, Trump is seeking to please “the big bosses of the oil industry.”

Harris insists that electric vehicles are better for the environment and allow for fuel savings.

The presidential decree on electric vehicles, like other ones signed since Monday, could lead to legal challenges.

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International

Student killed, two injured in shooting at Nashville High School

A student was killed and two others were injured in a shooting that occurred this morning at a high school in Nashville, the capital city of Tennessee, in the southern United States, according to the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department.

The shooter, a 17-year-old student armed with a handgun, opened fire in the cafeteria of Antioch High School around 11:00 a.m. local time before taking his own life, police reported during a press conference.

One student was fatally shot. Of the injured, one student sustained a gunshot wound to the arm and is in stable condition at a hospital. Another student suffered a facial injury that was not caused by a gunshot and is receiving treatment, according to ABC News.

The school was placed on lockdown following the shooting. Students were transported by bus to an off-campus reunification site where distraught parents picked them up.

“Antioch High School is on lockdown due to shots fired inside the school building,” the school posted on social media. “Metro police are on the scene. The person responsible for the shooting no longer poses a threat.”

A SWAT team cleared the school, and authorities have launched an ongoing investigation.

Antioch High School serves approximately 2,000 students in grades nine through twelve, according to its website.

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