Colombia demands compensation from Walmart over sweater depicting Santa with cocaine, saying it's an 'offense to the country'
- Colombian government officials are demanding compensation from Walmart over a Christmas sweater depicting Santa Claus with what appeared to be three lines of cocaine.
- "Colombia must be respected," said Camilo Gómez Alzate, director of Colombia's National Agency for the Legal Defense of the State, according to El Tiempo. "What will the family of a person who died in the fight against drug trafficking feel when a firm like Walmart promotes a bag of cocaine from Colombia?"
- The sweater was listed for sale by a third-party seller on Walmart's Canadian website before the company removed it and apologized.
- The sweater's now-removed product description said, "Santa really likes to savor the moment when he gets his hands on some quality, grade A, Colombian snow."
- Sign up for Business Insider's retail newsletter, The Drive-Thru.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
A Colombian government agency is threatening to sue Walmart over a Christmas sweater depicting Santa Claus with what appeared to be three lines of cocaine.
"The Walmart sweater is an offense to the country," said Camilo Gómez Alzate, director of Colombia's National Agency for the Legal Defense of the State, according to the Washington Post and El Tiempo. "It generates damage to the legal products of Colombia and damage to the country's reputation. Although Walmart apologized, the damage was done."
The agency wants Walmart to pay monetary damages. If Walmart fails to comply, the agency said it plans to file a lawsuit.
"Colombia must be respected," Gómez said. "What will the family of a person who died in the fight against drug trafficking feel when a firm like Walmart promotes a bag of cocaine from Colombia?"
The sweater was listed for sale by a third-party seller on Walmart's Canadian website before the company removed it and apologized.
The now-removed product description tied the sweater to Colombia, saying, "the best snow comes straight from South America" and "Santa really likes to savor the moment when he gets his hands on some quality, grade A, Colombian snow."
The sweater has since reappeared on Amazon's website, but without any mention of Colombia.
Walmart said it had no further comment on the matter beyond its initial apology.
"These sweaters, sold by a third-party seller on Walmart.ca (our website in Canada), do not represent Walmart's values and have no place on our website," a representative told Insider.
