Petro announces for the first time an assembly of cocaleros in Catatumbo, in the north of Colombia

MADRID, 27 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced this Friday that the first assembly of coca growers in the country will be held in the region to achieve dialogue and that Catatumbo be the origin of Colombian peace, inviting illegal groups to dialogue.

"I propose to leave that first place (in hectares of coca) last year and build the capital of peace in Colombia. That here in Catatumbo the conversations of society can be developed and that the conversations can begin somewhere to lay down arms and move on to the era of peace", expressed Petro, as reported by the newspaper 'El Colombiano'.

In this regard, it has also reiterated its willingness not to criminalize coca growers.

The president met with the local peasant guard and led the security council with the Army and the region's rulers, in what was the first presidential trip to the region.

"I have accepted the idea of ​​holding the first assembly of coca leaf growers in Catatumbo (...) with one intention: to show this government the ways (...) that will allow us to ensure that a peasant family that today dedicates himself to the coca leaf can replace this with an activity that guarantees a better quality of life", he explained to the inhabitants of the area.

To this, Petro has added that the idea is to "build a transition" of the region from a "worldwide cuisine export center to a large prosperous region of food production that can be industrialized," reports the newspaper 'El Tiempo'.

The Integrated Illicit Crop Monitoring System (Simci) of the United Nations in 2020 detected 40,084 hectares planted with coca bushes in Norte de Santander. These figures constitute the largest concentration of drug crops in the world. However, the authorities calculate unofficially that currently the number has increased and would be between 45 or 50 thousand hectares of coca.