Colombian drug traffickers facing charges in the United States will avoid extradition if they turn themselves in, the new leftist president Gustavo Petro said Wednesday.

Petro said members of the powerful and heavily armed Gulf drug cartel will enjoy "legal benefits" if they quit the narcotics trade and surrender but he did not specify if this meant not having to serve prison time, as happened with leftist guerrillas under a 2016 peace accord.

"A drug trafficker who negotiates with the government," Petro told a press conference, "will not be extradited."

Petro, the first leftist president in Colombia's history, took power on August 7.

He said he would negotiate with the United States on how to implement the non-extradition offer.

After four decades of international efforts to fight the drug trade, Colombia is still the world's largest cocaine producer and the United States is the biggest consumer of the drug.

Petro said the drug war has failed and he wants to focus instead on reducing demand for cocaine in developed countries.

Petro says he will also resume negotiations with Colombia's last active guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN).

Most of the main guerrilla army, the FARC, laid down their arms under the 2016 peace accord, but some renegade members are still fighting the government.

These fighters and the ELN use revenue from drug trafficking to remain active.

During the press conference Petro said he has received letters from the Gulf cartel seeking peace and a "different way out" of the drug war.

"So far we have letters. Now we must move on to action," Petro said.

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