Colombia .. the first left-wing president to be sworn in

Bogota-Sana

Gustavo Petro, the first leftist president in Colombia's history, was sworn in in front of hundreds of thousands of people in the capital, Bogota, calling for armed groups to sign a peace agreement as well as an end to the "war on drugs" that has proven to have failed.

Petro, 62, succeeds former President Ivan Duque, who suffered from low popularity, and assumes the presidency for a four-year term, which he begins with the support of the left-wing majority in Parliament.

The new president suggested to the armed groups that are still active in Colombia "legal incentives" in the event of signing a peace agreement, and said: "We call on all armed groups to lay down their arms and accept legal incentives in exchange for peace and a final cessation of violence."

Petro also suggested reconsidering the policy to eradicate narcotic plants, which proved its failure in cooperation with the United States, the main consumer of cocaine derived from coca leaves. “.

He added that during forty years of fighting drugs, a million Latin Americans were killed, while 70,000 North Americans die annually from overdoses, stressing that "the war on drugs has strengthened mafias and weakened countries."

Colombia is the number one producer of cocaine in the world, while the United States is its main customer.

After taking the oath, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro congratulated Petro in a video, saying: "I extend a hand to the people of Colombia and the new president to rebuild brotherly bonds on the basis of respect and love between the two peoples."

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