Gustavo Petro Urego, President of Colombia, noting that this is his fourth and last Assembly statement in that post, recalled that in his first address before that body, he announced that there would likely be conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine, and suggested a peace conference.  “However, those with large bombs and budgets are not seated here,” he said.  Four years later, the horrific situation in Palestine did not lead him to believe that the same thing could happen in the Colombian Caribbean area, where 17 unarmed young people were killed by missiles in the open seas under the pretext of stopping drug trafficking, he said, stressing:  “Perhaps a Global Stone Age has descended on mankind.”  Decrying the expulsion of millions of migrants, the killing of 70,000 people in Gaza, and a lack of action against the climate crisis, he stressed: “All are linked and have the same cause:  migration is an excuse for a rich, white racist society that believes it is a superior race, not realizing its leaders are leading it to an abyss, along with all of humanity.”

Highlighting his Government’s achievements on drug trafficking, including the largest amount of cocaine seized in the country between 2023-2024, and 700 drug traffickers extradited to the United States and European Union, he said his policies, which involve substituting coca crops rather than forcing peasants to use poison to eradicate them, are more effective, unlike the violent war against drugs, which is a failure.  Referring to the attack on the unarmed youths, some of whom were Colombian, he said, “Anti-drug policy is not meant to stop cocaine coming to the United States, but to dominate the people of the South as a whole.”  Despite his achievements, he had been “decertified” by [United States] President Donald J. Trump, he said, “without human right, or divine right, or a sensible reason”, because his Government wanted to force tens of thousands of peasants to carry out its foreign policy, which is influenced by mafia groups in Colombia.

“I myself denounced these politicians, paramilitaries and drug traffickers, naming them by their names in Congress when I was a senator,” he went on.  “They wanted to kill me because of that. They didn’t want me to become President.”  His decertification was the result of the influence of such groups, who did not want another progressive President to be elected, he said, adding:  “I confiscated the highest amount of cocaine in the history of the country, and I have been decertified.”  During his term, his Government stopped the increase in the rate of expansion of coca crops, dropping it to 3 per cent from former President [Iván] Duque [Márquez], when it was 43 per cent, he said, noting that the latter’s campaign was financed by a drug trafficker.  “Instead, they decertify me,” he said.  While the real drug traffickers live in New York or Miami, the poor young people in speed boats were trying to escape poverty, he said, condemning the killings and calling for criminal cases to be raised against United States officials, “including the utmost official, President Trump”.

Underscoring that his country’s policy is “not an anti-drug policy but an anti-drug trafficker policy”, he highlighted other achievements by his Government, including the lowest unemployment rate in its history, the development of agriculture by 10 per cent, and industry by 5 per cent.  Turning to Gaza, he said:  “Trump is an accomplice to genocide.  This forum is a mute witness to a genocide.”  The UN must uphold the decisions of the International Court of Justice; it should stop the genocide by a General Assembly vote; and it should establish a peacekeeping force to protect Palestinians.  “Instead of Blue Helmets, who lack training, we need a powerful army of countries who do not accept genocide,” he stressed, adding:  “We’ve had enough words; to use the slogan of [Venezuelan statesman and soldier Simón] Bolívar, “Freedom or death.”