© Romeo Ranoco / Reuters
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday during a meeting that President Obama “can go to hell.” Duterte was said to be upset that the U.S. has criticized his deadly anti-drug campaign in the nation. He also lashed out at the European Union, which has also denounced the controversial effort. The EU, he said, “better choose Purgatory. Hell is filled up.” Since taking office in June, Duterte’s crackdown has resulted in the extrajudicial killings of some 3,000 drug suspects. He has in the past called Obama a “son of a whore” but later expressed regret for the slur, because it led to the cancellation of a meeting between the two leaders. He said at the time he regretted that “it came across as a personal attack on the U.S. president.” Duterte has made similar comments about Pope Francis and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.