When discussing measures to combat drug addiction in the country with his aides, US President Donald Trump often speaks out for the death penalty for drug dealers, Axios news portal reported, citing sources in the US administration.
According to the sources, Trump does not believe that prison can help the drug traffickers, and compares them with serial killers who deserve only the highest penalty. Trump gives an example of how the problem is solved in other countries. Most often, he mentions Singapore.
Trump had earlier congratulated Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte for his fight against illegal drugs.
"Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing, and I just wanted to call and tell you that," Trump told Duterte.
Trump also often repeats that "the Chinese and Filipinos do not have a drug problem, because they just kill [them]," a representative of the administration told the news portal.
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According to the estimates of the medical publication STAT, unless urgent measures are taken, about 500 thousand people may die from opioid overdose in the United States over the next 10 years.
Rodrigo Duterte started a large-scale anti-drug campaign in the Philippines in June 2016 following his election promises. After that, thousands of suspected drug users and dealers have been killed.