Colombians are angry and bemused by The Sun’s controversial Harry Kane “Cocaine” front page
The tabloid has its fair share of opponents at home, but across the Atlantic, people in the South American country were upset and bemused by the paper's headline, above a picture of the smiling England striker.
“As 3 Lions face nation that gave world Shakira, great coffee and er, other stuff, we say... Go Kane!”, it read - a play on words mocking Colombia’s history as a leading global producer of cocaine.
Colombians are no stranger to one of the Premier League’s top stars, but they were less familiar with the controversial humour that accompanied the image of the England captain and they largely failed to see the funny side of the joke.
Calling it "controversial", local newspaper El Espectador said it reminded the country "of its difficult past with drugs hours before the clash".
It went on to warn: “Colombia’s response will be on the pitch."
Néstor Osorio-Londoño, the country's ambassador to the UK had earlier expressed his displeasure to The Independent.
“It’s rather sad that they use such a festive and friendly environment, as the World Cup, to target a country and continue to stigmatize it with a completely unrelated issue”, he said.
In his homeland, his fellow countrymen displayed a variation of emotions ranging from anger to bewilderment, when they spoke to The Independent.
“I’m totally annoyed because it isn't the first time that a newspaper relates us to drugs”, said Valeria Cuevas, a journalist based in Bogotá. “Colombia has many things to be recognised for…unfortunately, the international press returns to a headline relating Colombia to drugs”.
In late 2016 Colombia signed a historic peace deal with the left-wing rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) group, formally ending 52 years of conflict that left an estimated 220,000 people dead and more than seven million displaced.
Cocaine use is highly stigmatised in the Andean nation as the production of coca – cocaine’s base ingredient - has fuelled the activity of violent communist insurgencies and right wing paramilitaries.
Colombians are often uncomfortable and embarrassed by their association with the drug trade and are hoping to reinvent their international image thanks to a drop in violence and the peace process. The fascination of global media and the success of TV series such as Netflix’s Narcos has not helped this process, however.
Colombia’s ambassador to the US recently issued a public letter in response to John Oliver’s jokes at the expense of the nation’s drug trade and national media reported outrage at suggestions made by Dutch football commentators that the large number of Colombian fans in Russia resulted from the money of Pablo Escobar.
“The Sun, although a popular newspaper in England, continues to spread the misconception of the country we are not”, added Ms Cuevas.
Other Colombians see the tabloid’s cover as yet another example of a frustrating international misinterpretation of the "war on drugs".
“I still think that if we stop selling cocaine it won’t stop first world countries from using drugs”, said Irene Arenas, an English teacher and human rights consultant. “So I think it’s unfair because it’s obviously a prejudice against all Colombians, but I also think it’s an international problem of supply and demand”.
Following a failing crop substitution program for coca farmers, coca production in Colombia has reached its highest level in decades and has been blamed for a rise in purity and drop in price of the drug. At present England and Wales have the fourth highest consumption of cocaine per capita, while Colombia stands at 34th.
Others are less outraged by the headline than they are amused by the seemingly poor quality of English media.
“I found it funny because I didn’t think it was real ”, said Nicolas Ruiz, a humanities professor. “It’s too stupid to be real, it looks more like a joke than a story… Its as if they used the ironic format of a meme”.
Those who are truly outraged by The Sun’s allegedly poor humour will be hoping for revenge on the pitch today as the "cafeteros" because of the coffee production in the country, have a chance to prevent England from winning their first knock round in 12 years.
