Colombia’s first leftist president says war on drugs has ‘failed’ as he is sworn in

Colombia's first leftist president Gustavo Petro was sworn into office on Sunday, 7 August.

A former member of Colombia's M-19 guerrilla group, the ex-rebel has promised to fight inequality in what has been seen as a turning point for the country that has been haunted by a long war between the government and guerrilla groups.

As he was sworn into office, Petro said that the war on drugs in Colombia had "emphatically failed."

"That war has left one million Latin Americans murdered, the majority of them Colombians, in the last 40 years," he said.

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