Colombia urges international action against transnational drug trafficking

Colombian Vice President Jose Manuel Restrepo has urged the international community to step up efforts against drug trafficking, describing the illicit 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 on Thursday, according to the source report.

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

Colombia seeks shared responsibility

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

Restrepo said Colombia was prepared to take action against drug trafficking but stressed that other countries must also assume responsibility. He called on the international community to target criminal networks involved in the illicit trade.

The vice president also urged the adoption of a common international definition of terrorism that would be clear, precise and consistent with international law and fundamental guarantees.

Call for action against armed groups

“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,” Restrepo said.

Colombia has long faced armed groups and criminal networks linked to drug trafficking. Authorities have sought to disrupt drug production, trafficking routes and the finances of criminal organizations.

Restrepo called for stronger international cooperation against transnational crime and drug trafficking, urging the UN to focus on practical results.

“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 convert international cooperation into concrete action and place greater emphasis on achieving results.