Colombian Leader Vows To Give $4.9Bln In Drug Cartels' Assets Back To People

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2022) Colombia's first leftist president, Gustavo Petro, has promised to give 22 trillion pesos ($4.9 billion) worth of assets seized from drug cartels back to the people as part of his ambitious social agenda.

"We must make sure that illicit proceeds go to the Colombian people. It is not just any amount, it is 22 trillion pesos," he said at an event in the presidential palace in Bogota.

This will mark the start of the government's agrarian reforms, the former guerrilla fighter said. Money will go to the farmers, women's associations, youth cooperatives and universities in the coming months.

Petro said that putting drug money back into the "popular economy" required much courage because there were bound to be arguments against giving it to the people. No questions were asked when confiscated assets were passed on to those in power, he argued.