A president nicknamed “the Punisher” who is responsible for a brutal “war on drugs” that so far has killed over 7,000 people has been cordially invited to the White House. President Donald Trump on Saturday told Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte to visit Washington, during a call that the White House described as “a very friendly conversation.”The invitation further signals Trump’s willingness to praise and publicly associate with illiberal world leaders. Along with Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Duterte is the latest leader accused of widespread human rights abuses and authoritarian tendencies who Trump has embraced in recent weeks. Duterte last year dismissed the comparison, saying that Trump is a bigot while he is not. In less that a year, at least 7,000 people have died in Duterte’s “drug war.” Many of the killings are carried out extrajudicially by vigilantes who Duterte has encouraged to kill drug dealers and users.

Source: Huffington Post April 30, 2017 17:03 UTC