Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday targeted President Obama with a new message: “You can go to hell.”
{mosads}Duterte lashed out at the U.S. and European Union in a speech pushing back against criticism of his recent anti-drug crackdown and rhetoric, according to The Associated Press.
Western nations have been concerned with Duterte’s actions since he took office in June. More than 3,000 suspected drug dealers and pushers have died in just three months under his policies.
And the Philippines leader drew worldwide condemnation when he approvingly compared himself to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler last week, likening his own “slaughter” of drug addicts to Hitler’s mass murder of Jews.
“There are 3 million drug addicts [in the Philippines]. I’d be happy to slaughter them,” he said.
Duterte angrily cursed at Obama last month, saying he would tolerate no criticism of his drug war.
“Who does he think he is?” he asked on Sept. 5 ahead of a planned meeting with Obama in Laos. “I am no American puppet.
“I am the president of a sovereign country, and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people. Son of a b—h, I will swear at you.”
Obama canceled his planned huddle with Duterte following the remark, also insisting the U.S. opposes extrajudicial killings as a means to resolving drug crises.
“Fighting narco-trafficking is tough,” the president said at the time. “But we will always assert the need to have due process and to engage in the fight against drugs in a way that’s consistent with basic international norms. And so, undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, that this is something that’s going to be brought up, and my expectation is, my hope is, is that it could be dealt with constructively.”
Obama ultimately met Duterte in early September after the Southeast Asian leader voiced regret for cursing at his American counterpart.
Duterte on Sunday threatened to end the Philippines’s defense pact with the U.S., following ongoing backlash toward his war on drugs.