Former Colombian President Iván Duque on Climate Change, The War on Drugs, and the Latin American Migration Crisis

The Burn Bag is collaborating with the Climate Migration Council to conduct several episodes on the security risks surrounding climate change, amidst severe heat and climate-related crises that are gripping the country and the world.

This week, A'ndre spoke with Iván Duque, who served as President of Colombia from 2018 to 2022, on a range of topics related to climate change, the Latin American Migration Crisis, and the War on Drugs -- and how all three issues intersect with each other. President Duque outlines the key challenges he faced during his tenure and the specific actions his government took on environmental policy, energy consumption, and deforestation. The former President also provides his view on the environmental impacts of drug trafficking, highlighting the ecological cost of cocaine production, while also responding to claims that his government didn't do enough to stop the killings of land defenders and environmental activists. A'ndre and President Duque then open up a lengthy conversation on the Latin American Migration Crisis -- specifically discussing migration from Venezuela, and President Duque's actions to take in 2.5 million refugees from the country into Colombia. The President provides his view on whether the United States and Colombia should engage with Venezuelan President Maduro, and whether the world is doing their 'fair share' on engaging with the Latin American Migration Crisis. We close out the conversation with President Duque's takes on why migrants are traveling to the Southern Border of the United States via the Darien Gap, and his prognosis on the severity of climate-driven migration in the coming years and decades.