What America Taught A Murderous Drug Warrior

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte follows prohibitionist logic to its lethal conclusion.

- Jacob Sullum

THE MASKED GUNMEN came for Paquito Mejos two days after he surrendered to police in Manila, identifying himself as an occasional user of methamphetamine, known locally as shabu. The cops later claimed Mejos, a 53-year-old electrician and father of five, was a drug dealer who drew a gun on them. Relatives say the cops planted the gun, along with a packet of meth.

This is what daily life during Rodrigo Duterte’s murderous war on drugs looks like, which is why his critics were dismayed that Donald Trump seemed to bless it during a “very friendly” telephone conversation with the Philippine president in April. Trump’s chumminess with Duterte fits a pattern of admiration for authoritarian leaders around the world. But it is also a logical extension of the policies the U.S. government has been pushing for more than a century.

According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), more than 7,000 people have been killed by officers, vigilantes, or other unidentified gunmen since Duterte took office last summer. As of April 23, some 2,717 of the dead were described as “suspected drug personalities killed in police operations,” a category that supposedly includes Paquito Mejos.