UN General Assembly
1994

prevail as a nation. I know that some here must have asked themselves why I have not referred in this speech to the problem with which my country is everywhere associated: the problem of drug trafficking. I have not done so because in Colombia we believe that we are entitled to be recognized by other, positive factors: those that identify us as an honest, hard-working people that offers respect to friendly countries and expects respect in return. Of course, we have struggled and will continue to struggle out of conviction, while paying a high price to fight the scourge of mankind that is drug trafficking. But I must confess that we sometimes feel alone in this task. We feel alone when we see the drug consumption rates increase in countries that request our help to defeat a problem whose origins and consequences concern all of us. We feel alone, very much alone, when we see mayors who are avowed chronic drug users elected by popular vote. We feel alone when, after extensive efforts