On August 24th, President Petro took the first steps to make good on his campaign promise regarding the extradition of drug traffickers to the United States. Petro's proposal follows a series of failed attempts by previous administrations to deal with drugs within Colombia. Petro pointed out that “despite billions of dollars in security spending and decades of U.S. pressure to reduce drug production, Colombia remains a top global supplier of cocaine” (Vargas, 2022). In fact, a White House study reported in 2021, Colombia produced around 972 tons of cocaine, most of which was exported to the U.S., while 234,000 hectares were planted with coco, the plant used to make cocaine.
The World This Week 9/21/21
This is a brief overview of the week's top news stories organized by region. LATIN AMERICA - Covered by Daniel Stephens In El Salvador, massive protests have erupted over Bitcoin becoming legal tender. Thousands of demonstrators in the capital San Salvador have expressed frustration over the controversial decision, emphasizing that it will bring instability and inflation to the developing... Continue Reading →