Trump Brands Colombian President 'Drug Leader,' Forgets CIA's Latin American History
Trump's claim, leveled after Petro dared to question a US strike, positions the US as the arbiters of drug enforcement. Yet, this narrative conveniently airbrushes decades of documented CIA involvement in Latin American drug networks, from funding Contras with drug money in the 1980s (see: Garry Webb's reporting, Congressional inquiries) to the broader 'war on drugs' that has destabilized the
region while failing to stem drug flow to the US. Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla turned elected president, represents a break from the US-backed conservative regimes that often facilitated such networks. So, when a former US President calls a democratically elected leader a 'drug leader,' it's not merely political bluster; it’s a conveniently selective memory of US foreign policy, where
'narco-state' is a label for disobedient nations, not a self-reflection. One might wonder if 'drug leader' is merely the latest pejorative for a leader who puts his country's interests above unquestioning US deference.