Colombia calls for international action against transnational drug trafficking

Colombian Vice President Jose Manuel Restrepo on Thursday called for greater international cooperation against drug trafficking, describing the illicit drug trade as a transnational problem.

“Illicit drugs are produced in Colombia but they do not end up in Colombia. Drug trafficking is a transnational enterprise,” Restrepo told the UN General Assembly in New York.

“I will do whatever is necessary to confront this scourge. But this requires the international community to do its part,” he added.

Colombia remains a major departure point for cocaine shipments, with trafficking routes extending across the Americas and into Europe and other regions.

Restrepo stressed that Colombia is prepared to act against drug trafficking but said other countries must also assume responsibility.

“The international community” must take action against criminal networks involved in the illicit trade, he said.

Restrepo also called for a common international definition of terrorism that is clear, precise and compatible with international law and fundamental guarantees.

“Organizations that kill, kidnap, recruit minors and resort to terror to subdue society are terrorist groups, and we are confronting them with the full force of the state, within the Constitution and the law,” he said.

The country has long faced armed groups and criminal networks linked to drug trafficking, while authorities have sought to disrupt production, trafficking routes and the finances of criminal organizations.

Restrepo stressed the need for greater international cooperation against transnational crime and drug trafficking.

“My country wants a United Nations whose effectiveness is measured less by the volume of documents it produces and much more by the results it achieves,” he said.

He urged the UN to turn international cooperation into concrete action and focus more on achieving results.