Exclusive: Colombian President Santos seeks “rational” debate on drug policies
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos called for a “rational” debate on drug policy, during an interview with Univision News on Thursday night.
Santos, who will host more than 30 heads of state in his country for this weekend’s Summit of the Americas, said that the region should engage in an “objective” discussion of the drug issue that is not contaminated by politics.
”Sometimes you feel like you’re in a static bicycle, pedaling, pedaling and the business is there, the crime is there, consumption is there,” Santos told Univision News’ Enrique Acevedo.
“Let’s stop and see if there is a better alternative,” he said of current policies that focus on the prohibition of drugs.
Regional leaders attending the two day summit, include President Barack Obama and Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, who began pushing for the legalization of drugs in Central America in February, shortly after he came into office.
Drug policy will be among the items discussed in the summit, although Santos said it was not the “main topic” of discussion.
During his interview with Univision News, Santos also talked about the loose fitting guayabera shirts that politicians wear when they attend meetings in sweltering Cartagena.
It is rumored that President Obama will wear one of these shirts as he attends this weekend’s summit.
“I’m going to touch the guayabera of President Obama, to see if it’s as good as they say it is,” a smiling Santos said.
