When Ivan Duque was sworn in as
Colombia's president last year
he became the youngest
elected leader in the country
for over a century.
And yet many of the
problems he faces are old.
They date from the long civil
conflict between the state
and Marxist rebels.
President Duque has the job of
implementing the historic peace
deal, agreed by the
previous government in 2016.
Cocaine production is
at an all-time high.
And he faces new
challenges - the crisis
in neighbouring Venezuela,
which has forced
over a million migrants
to pour across the border
into Colombia.
When I sat down
with President Duque
I started by asking him about
Colombia's fragile peace
process.
The most important thing
about the peace process
is to allow the people that
have left violence to enter
into a path of legality.
So that's what I call the
successful reincorporation.
We need to make it a success.
We need to make it
something that we can all
feel very proud of.
And secondly, we really
want to have justice,
so that there's no repetition.
And if and if I
may add something,
we also have to guarantee that
the perpetrators of the crimes
against humanity are the
ones who have to repair
the victims on the firsthand.
And then they have to tell
the truth about their linkages
with narco trafficking.
They have to tell the truth
about child recruitment.
And they also have
to tell the truth
about all the crimes
they have committed
against children in Colombia.
If we achieve
those three things,
I think we can build a lasting
and a sustainable peace.
Or as we call it, a
peace with legality.
And let's talk about
the war on drugs.
Coca cultivation and
cocaine production
is at an all-time
high in Colombia.
This is something that dates
from before your government.
The previous government
halted aerial spraying.
What do you want to do
with aerial spraying?
Obviously, when you have such
big receding makes things
difficult. Just... just
to show you the numbers,
a manual eradication group has
21 manual eradicators and 40
soldiers that have to provide
security to the eradicators.
There's some regions in the
country where the cultivations
are surrounded by landmines.
Or they are
surrounded by snipers.
I just can't stand to call a
family, a mother, or a father,
and express my sorrow
because their son has
died in a manual
eradication operation.
That doesn't make any sense.
So when we face
those threats we have
to be able to use all the tools.
The reason why we're
fighting illegal crops
is not because we have
to please anybody.
It's because it
is our moral duty.
Our relationship with
the United States
when we fight
against illegal drugs
is based on the principle
of co-operation.
And it's also based under the
principle of co-responsibility.
Let's talk about the economy.
You're heading to London
in a few days time.
What's your message to
potential investors in Britain?
When you see the
growth of Colombia,
in the first trimester of
2019, and you compare it
with the region, we
grew more than Mexico.
More than Chile.
More than Peru.
More than Argentina.
More than Brazil.
And that demonstrates the
resilience and the capacity
that we have.
But also, hand in
hand, we've seen
that the big companies in
technology coming to Colombia,
putting their web services,
with more than 700 employees,
and aspiring to have more
than 2,000 the next two years.
And we also have
seen Colombia open
the first Fourth
Industrial Revolution
Centre with a World
Economic Forum,
in a Spanish-speaking country.
And I think all
that demonstrates
that not only that
we're open for business,
but that we have not only
the incentives for people
to invest.
But also, that we have the
vision of policy development
and business development that
is going to make Colombia,
as I've said, the Silicon
Valley of Latin America.
That's why we've taken,
you know, wise decisions.
Like, zero income
tax for seven years
for start-ups that
are in that technology
and in the creative industries.
That's why we have
expanded the benefits
that we had for the movie sector
to all the audiovisual sector
and to all the
creative industries.
And that's why we want to call
the international community
to see Colombia as the
place in Latin America
where original content can be
developed for OTT platforms.
So I see Colombia becoming a
leader of this sector in Latin
America.
And I'm pretty sure that
during my administration
we're going to set the ground.
And when we look five years
down the road, or 10 years down
the road, Colombia
is going to be
seen as the leader of the
creative industries in Latin
America.
To close, I'd like to
talk about Venezuela.
An issue which is
obviously having
a huge impact on Colombia at the
moment, in terms of migration.
Is it not time, do you think,
for a rethink of policy?
And to maybe think about sitting
down with President Maduro, who
is the de facto president
still, and trying
to negotiate a solution?
Maduro is a dictator.
And let me begin by
saying something.
Most of the countries in Latin
American did not recognise
the results of the last election
where he manipulated all
the power to remain in his seat.
But he is still in his seat.
But let me finish.
When I was a senator, I
denounced Nicolas Maduro
before the International
Criminal Court.
And I said that if I became
president of Colombia
I will call all their heads
of state to do the same.
Now we have nine, and we also
have the OAS secretary-general
presenting a very contended
report before the ICC.
So when we look at that and we
analyse what is our moral duty?
The only viable solution to
the most horrendous migration
crisis in America and Latin
America's recent history,
where we, as Colombians,
have received more than 1.3m
Venezuelan brothers, begins with
Maduro stepping out of power.
Mr President, thank you
very much for your time.
I'll leave it there.
Thank you so much.
I know you have to travel.
Certainly been a great pleasure.
Lovely to speak to you.
Thank you.
All the best.
