Colombian President Gustavo Petro insisted during a recent government meeting that "cocaine is not worse than whiskey" and said that if the drug were legalized worldwide, the global cocaine industry would be dismantled. 

"Cocaine is illegal because it is made in Latin America, not because it is worse than whiskey," Petro said during the meeting, which lasted for six hours, Politico reported Thursday.

"Scientists have analyzed this: Cocaine is not worse than whiskey," he added.

Petro added that fentanyl, not cocaine, is what's killing Americans, as it has contributed to the opioid overdose crisis. 

"It's killing Americans but it's not made in Colombia," said Petro. "Fentanyl was created as a pharmacy drug by North American multinationals," and those who used it "became addicted."

Colombia is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocaine. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, cocaine production in Colombia was at a record high in 2023, when it climbed by 53% to more than 2,600 tons. 

For decades, the United States has been fighting back against the trafficking in the highly addictive drug. 

However, Petro said that American politicians have targeted the drug because it's not made in the United States. 

"If somebody wants peace, the business [of drug trafficking] has to be dismantled," the Colombian president said. "It could be easily dismantled if they legalized cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine."

Petro and President Donald Trump have already been at odds after Colombia refused to allow U.S. military planes carrying migrants to land there. 

Trump's administration threatened punitive tariffs against Colombian exports, the White House said, which pushed the nation to accept migrants "without restriction or delay."

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