Incoming leftist president says war on drugs has failed

Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group, was sworn into office as Colombia’s first leftist president, promising to fight inequality and bring peace to a country long haunted by bloody feuds between the government, drug traffickers and rebel groups.

The incoming president said he was willing to start peace talks with armed groups across the country and also called on the US and other developed nations to change drug policies that have focused on the prohibition of substances like cocaine, and fed violent conflicts across Colombia and other Latin American nations.