In a November interview with a Lyndon LaRouche-linked group, Virginia State Sen. Richard “Dick” Black, a Republican, hailed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs, which has left thousands dead after the president approved the use of extrajudicial killings for anyone accused of involvement in the drug trade.
Black told Mike Billington, a LaRouche activist, that Duterte’s support for vigilantism helped restore law and order to the country, while lamenting that the U.S. has been too soft in its fight against illegal drugs.
“To rule the Philippines you have to rule with a very firm hand and that is what the Philippine people have chosen, is to have a very strong ruler and I think he is well along the way to winning the war on drugs,” he said.
In the U.S., Black said, drug users “don’t go to prison,” claiming that by failing to crack down on people with “marijuana cigarettes,” the government has allowed the illegal drug trade to flourish.
Previously, Black came under scrutiny for his effusive praise of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Duterte has claimed that President-elect Donald Trump similarly praised his “campaign against the drug problem” in a post-election phone call.
