Left-wing Colombian candidate plans drug war shakeup
BOGOTA, (Reuters) - Leading Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro is roundly critical of the U.S.-led war on drugs and has questioned the extradition of a drug kingpin, views that may herald a shakeup of how the Andean nation battles the narcotics industry.
Petro points 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 and the site of bloody drug violence.
A left-wing senator who was once the mayor of Bogota, Petro has about 40% support ahead of the May 29 election. He is expected to face a runoff vote.
Petro decried the extradition this month of the accused leader of the Clan del Golfo cartel, Dairo Antonio Usuga. He also more broadly questions the effectiveness of extradition, a legal tool Washington considers a powerful deterrent to crime.
"Extradition: it merits a discussion - a review of the figures - to see if what's been done for 40 years has worked or not; if a million dead Latin Americans - the majority Colombians and Mexicans - has been worth it," the candidate told Semana magazine this month.
Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla organization, has said no accused criminals should be extradited until they confess to their victims. He alleges that Colombia's current authorities rushed the departure of Usuga, widely known as Otoniel, to avoid embarrassing revelations ahead of the election.
"Alias Otoniel wanted to say which generals in the police, in the military, which senators, which representatives, which governors, which ministers, which presidents had been allied with him," Petro told a rally in the agricultural city of Fusagasuga.
Before his extradition, Otoniel's lawyers argued he should be allowed to testify to a transitional justice tribunal and reveal links between the military and armed groups.
President Ivan Duque has promised Otoniel will be returned to Colombia to face further charges after serving time in the United States. The Interior Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Petro's allegations.