Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated that cocaine is illegal primarily due to its Latin American origin, not because it is worse than whisky. He suggested that legalisation could dismantle the drug trade and highlighted the opioid fentanyl as a greater issue in the US.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said that “cocaine is no worse than whisky,” as he suggested the multibillion dollar illicit trade in the drug could be “easily dismantled” if it was legalized worldwide.

Gustavo Petro made the bizarre claim during a televised cabinet meeting, as the U.S. implemented more measures to curb the flow of illegal immigration and drugs from South America.