Colombian President proposes Latin American alliance to transform 'war on drugs'

This is the best summary I could come up with:

BOGOTA, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro proposed on Saturday an alliance between Latin American countries to bring a unified voice to the fight against drug trafficking, by recognizing drug consumption as a public health problem instead of confronting it with what he called a "failed" militarized approach.

"What I propose is to have a different and unified voice that defends our society, our future and our history and stops repeating a failed discourse," said the Colombian president.

Colombia, like other Latin American countries, faces persistent violence resulting from drug trafficking and the presence of cartels with growing firepower and economic might, according to security sources and analysts.

The countries participating in the conference said in a joint statement that demand for illicit drugs must be reduced by educating the public and combating inequality, poverty, lack of opportunities and violence.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who attended the event, said countries must strengthen family unity with love, combat poverty, and encourage the planting of corn, beans, cocoa, coffee, fruits and timber to reduce land area dedicated to illicit crops like marijuana, as well as opium poppy and coca leaf - the raw materials for drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

The Mexican president said Latin American countries need to support the United States in its fight against fentanyl out of a "moral obligation" and "humanism."

The original article contains 369 words, the summary contains 228 words. Saved 38%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!